Customer reviews on Amazon are a great way to research things like shoes, electronics and household products — but maybe not sunscreens.
Read more: These are the top sunscreens to buy right now
Top-selling sunscreens may not offer adequate protection
A study published in JAMA Dermatology found that some of the most popular sunscreens sold on Amazon.com don’t offer proper protection.
What exactly is proper protection? There are only three things to look for on the label, according to the American Academy of Dermatology:
- Broad-spectrum protection (protects against UVA and UVB rays)
- Sun Protection Factor (SPF) 30 or higher
- Water resistance
By examining the labels, researchers found 26 of the 65 most popular sunscreens (40%) didn’t meet those three standards, NBC News reported.
And the problem with most of those products is they weren’t water resistant.
Looking further into the Amazon reviews, researchers said customers pointed out cosmetic factors — like whether the product felt greasy — over performance.
Take a look at how Amazon’s most reviewed and highly rated sunscreens fared:
Daily sun protection is so important because about 5.4 million basal and squamous cell skin cancers are diagnosed annually, making skin cancer the most common cancer.
Melanoma, the deadliest type of skin cancer, accounts for about 76,000 cases a year.
The good news is that these cancers can be cured when they’re caught early, so in addition to wearing sunscreen, visit your dermatologist every year for a skin exam.
Read more: Nearly half of sunscreens don’t meet the SPF claim on the label
