Thats not too much to ask, is it?

Back off, EWG, okay?

Yes, your sunscreen works.

No, it wont kill you.

It makes you think that the categoryin this case sunscreenshas products you should buy and others you should avoid.

The EWG has a history of playing this game with products where theyreactually all fine.

Remember their Dirty Dozen produce lists?

And thats twisting the truth.

The EWG directly benefits from doing this.

The world is soconfusing, they say, andonly EWG can guide you.

Are you starting to feel manipulated yet?

I am, and I havent even checked yet which list my sunscreen falls on.

This all results in cash going directly to EWGs pockets.

EWG also lets companiespay to put an EWG Verified sealon their products.

The EWGs Concerns Are Valid But Overblown

The EWG doesnt actually test sunscreens.

Instead, theyanalyze the sunscreensbased on their labels.

First, they ask whether each sunscreen contains any worrisome ingredients.

And second, they calculate how effective the sunscreens ingredients should be at blocking sun.

So were dealing in shades of subtlety here: is this ingredientprobablyfine?

Or onlysort of likely to befine?

And, to be fair, some may turn out to be harmful when future research is done.

But she stresses that she wouldnt shop for a sunscreen based on these results.

But you have to look at the relative risk there, Omberg says.

I looked upwhat the EWG says about dimethicone.

The EWG maintains a huge database of concerns like these.

Oxybenzone is bad for rats that eat (yes, eat) large amounts of it.

Short-term tests in humans found no ill effects.

This may be unsafe, and again, we dont have evidence to say for sure.

The FDA iscurrently looking into the situation.

There may well be something in EWGs database that does turn out to be harmful to humans.

But right now, its pretty much impossible to say, because the data are just not there.

Unfortunately theres not a good way to play the better-safe-than-sorry game, because your sunscreen has to containsomething.

They consider how quickly each ingredient breaks down in the sun, for example.

But I have a few gripes about this aspect of their ratings, too.

First of all, the EWG rates sunscreens poorly if they list an SPF of 50 or more.

(It does, however, mean that you shouldnt pay more for 100 than you do for 50.

Theyre both going to be effective.)

Both EWG and Consumer Reports take a stab at quantify how much protection a sunscreen provides from UVA.

When youre choosing a sunscreen, go for something with a high-ish SPF.

Definitely dont pay extra for a higher number.

Look for something labeled as broad spectrum.

Other active ingredients tend to be more specific about which wavelengths theyll protect you from.

Do you want to know which sunscreens, specifically, give great protection from both UVA and UVB?

The best source I know is the Consumer Reports testing, but their full results are behind a paywall.

Water-resistant sunscreens can take a little more wear and tear than others, but theyre not magic.