Sun creams, the best and worst according to Altroconsumo. Surprise Nivea and Piz Buin on the podium

Altroconsumo conducted a series of analyzes testing high protection sun creams and sprays. Here are the results

Don't store avocado like this: it's dangerous

Protecting the skin at the sea or in the mountains is essential, at any age. But you have to choose one sunscreen that has a composition as free as possible of dangerous or polluting ingredients. The latest sunscreen test comes from Altroconsumo, which examined 28 products with protection factors of 30, 50 and 50+.

There are really a lot of them but sunscreens are by no means all the same. To demonstrate the differences and effectiveness, Altroconsumo conducted a series of analyzes testing high protection sun creams and sprays.

Index

The criteria used

In particular, the effectiveness, the label and the presence of critical ingredients were analyzed. But the association also let ordinary people try the creams to find out what they thought.

The main purpose of the test was to evaluate the effectiveness of sunscreen products against UVB (SPF) and UVA rays, according to the degree of protection declared on the label to assess compliance. The test to determine the sun protection factor SPF (which refers only to UVB rays) was performed according to the ISO 24444: 2019 standard "Sun protection test methods ‐‐ In vivo determination of the sun protection factor (SPF)", which it involves the application on a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 20 subjects, on a specific and limited area of the back that is “irradiated” through the use of a tool that simulates the activity of sunlight.

To verify the adequacy of UVA protection, the analysis was performed by evaluating the transmittance of UV rays through a thin sample layer of the solar product applied to a rough substrate. It is therefore an in vitro method unlike that used to determine the SPF. In addition, sunscreens and other ingredients were taken into account to assess the environmental impact based on the manufacturers' declarations.

Also assessed the potential effect from endocrine disruptor, la toxicity towards different living systems (fish, algae, daphnia), the degradability (ease and time required for the filter to degrade), the bioaccumulability and risk to corals.

We also determine the presence of some ingredients that have negative effects on the environment and which, unlike sunscreens, are not necessary, but could be easily replaced with ecological alternatives, such as some preservatives, antioxidants and perfuming substances. The evaluation was also carried out taking into account the packaging materials used, the weight / container ratio and the residual product contained in the package at the end of normal use and, therefore, not usable by the consumer, which inevitably represents a waste.

The information was also examined to verify, among other things, the presence of the protection category - in this case "very high", the presence of precautionary advice, exhaustive instructions on application, claims used for marketing purposes ( such as, for example, "hypoallergenic", "dermatologically tested", "paraben free",) which most of the time give the consumer a false perception of safety.

The critical ingredients

Do you really know what you are wearing? A question that Altroconsumo has tried to answer by highlighting and penalizing, good ranking, the products in which critical ingredients were present, such as:

Endocrine disruptors, or substances capable of interfering with our hormonal system (propylparaben, butylparaben e ethylhexylmethoxicinnamate)
buthylphenyl methylpropional, a fragrance that from 1 March 2022 will be included among the substances prohibited in cosmetics;
allergenic fragrances, to be avoided in baby products.

The best brands according to Altroconsumo

The Altroconsumo ranking awarded the following products:

Nivea Sun Protect & Bronze sun spray with melanin activator (Top quality)
Piz Buin Moinsturing Sun Lotion (Excellent quality)
Biotherm Spray Solaire Lacté Hydratant ultra leger (Good quality)
Piz Buin Instant Glow Skin Illuminating - sun spray (Good quality)
Nivea Sun Protect & Bronze (Good quality)
Garnier Ambre Solaire protective spray (Good quality).

Following are other creams including Eucerin, Garnier Ambre Solair Kids and others.

The worst brands according to Altroconsumo

Unfortunately, some creams have not convinced Altroconsumo and some are intended for children. Reversing the ranking, among the worst we find:

Angstrom Ultra Moisturizing Sun Milk (Low Quality)
Uriage Bariésun Spay Kids (Average Quality)
Lancaster Sun beauty velvet cream (Medium Quality)
Havaiian Tropic Satin protection (Qualità media)
Equilibra Aloe sunscreen 40% alore vera (Medium quality)
Clinians anti-aging protective milk (Medium quality).

THU the complete ranking of Altroconsumo

It can be seen that quality does not necessarily mean high price and vice versa. According to the ranking, one of the products placed lower, the Lancaster Sun Beauty has a high price (around 38 euros), while the first classified, the Nivea Sun Protect & Bronze solar spray costs around 13 euros.

The comparison with the Il Salvagente test

Other tests on sun creams have recently been conducted, for example that of the Lifebuoy, the results of which partly coincide with those of Altroconsumo. The products examined are not exactly the same, but among those in common we find two Clinians creams, (one with SPF 30 and one with SPF 50) ranked among the worst in both tests. Il Salvagente, however, placed Bilboca Burrocacao sun milk among the worst, which Altroconsumo considered to be of medium quality. In reality, the magazine, which also examined organic products, had a lot of difficulty in identifying excellent quality solar products, for this reason it limited itself to classifying the Omia Ecobiosun Organic solar milk 50+ as good, followed by products classified as medium quality, including Attiva Face Body 50+ and Esselunga Body Sun Milk 50+. Unlike Altroconsumo, which instead placed Angstrom at the bottom of the ranking, Il Salvagente placed it among those of medium quality.

Click here to read all of our articles on sun creams