Your Sunscreen Might Have a Carcinogen In It, According to a New Report

Get the downlow on which sunscreens dermatologists want recalled.

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Heading into the summer months, it's more important than ever to have a sunscreen on hand that you trust. But as a report from independent laboratory Valisure revealed last week, 27 percent of the sunscreen and after-sun products it tested contained benzene, a carcinogen — and unsettlingly, many of them are household names.

Valisure, a pharmacy that batch tests medication before it reaches consumers, tested 294 different batches of sun care products from 69 different companies (find the full results here, on page 12). It found that 78 of the samples tested contained benzene, a substance that the CDC, World Health Organization, and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) defines as a carcinogen via inhalation, skin absorption, ingestion, and skin and/or eye contact.

The NIOSH sets benzene's recommended occupational exposure limit at .1 parts per million (ppm), which makes Valisure's findings of 2 ppm or higher in some sunscreens, from Neutrogena, Sun Bum, and CVS Health, concerning. Meanwhile, the FDA sets a recommended limit of 2 ppm per day — but according to board-certified dermatologist Heather Rogers, any exposure to benzene is worse than none, and there is an accumulative effect of being exposed to benzene, meaning multiple exposures leads to more DNA damage.

She adds that benzene is associated with the development of blood cancers like leukemia, as well as cancers of the lungs, GI tract, liver, ovaries and breasts, so if you spot your sunscreen on the lists of affected products, stop using it. And while the CDC notes that benzene is "widely distributed in the environment," that's not exactly cause for comfort. "Benzene is a well-studied and well-known carcinogen in humans. It has been shown to be linked to blood cancers even when its levels in products were in trace levels of parts per million," board-certified dermatologist Emily P. Gerson tells InStyle.

Intensifying her concern is the FDA's 2020 finding that six sunscreen ingredients — avobenzone, oxybenzone, octocrylene, homosalate, octisalate, and octinoxate — were absorbed through the skin and into the body, resulting in measurable blood levels. Given that and Valisure's discoveries, both Gerson and Rogers are in favor of the FDA recalling the affected products.

The silver lining(-ish)? The lab highlights that the presence of benzene appears to be from manufacturing contamination, unrelated to the specific sunscreen ingredients used. Based on that, it's safe to select a sunscreen from the list of options that Valisure didn't detect any benzene in, among them the below SPFs from Neutrogena, Aveeno, La Roche-Posay, CVS Health, and Banana Boat. However, Gerson recommends avoiding spray sunscreens out of concern about inhaling the ingredients.

For their part, a Neutrogena representative says: "Nothing is more important than the health and safety of the people who use our products. Benzene is not an ingredient in any of our personal care products and we are reviewing the findings presented in this petition. Every ingredient we use in our products is carefully selected to ensure safety and performance in line with our rigorous 5-step safety assurance process. We are committed to making high-quality, safe and effective sunscreens available to consumers."

Shop certified benzene-free sunscreens ahead.

Our Top Picks
La Roche-Posay Sunscreen Lotion at Amazon ($27)
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Neutrogena Age Shield Face Sunscreen at Amazon ($30)
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Aveeno Ultra-Calming Daily Moisturizer SPF 30 at Amazon (See Price)
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Sun Bum Mineral Sunscreen Lotion at Amazon ($14)
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Supergoop! PLAY Body Sunscreen Mousse at Amazon ($36)
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Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunscreen at Amazon ($10)
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EltaMD UV Daily Broad-Spectrum at Amazon ($39)
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Sun Bum Sunscreen Lotion at Amazon ($19)
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Neutrogena Sheer Zinc Face Dry-Touch Sunscreen at Amazon ($14)
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Coola Classic Body Sunscreen at Amazon ($20)
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La Roche-Posay Sunscreen Lotion

La-roche-posay-anthelios-melt-in-milk-body--face-sunscreen-lotion-spf-100

Walmart

View On Amazon $27 View On Ulta $29 View On Walmart $39

Neutrogena Age Shield Face Sunscreen

Neutrogena-age-shield-face-lotion-sunscreen-spf-110

Amazon

View On Amazon $30 View On Safeway.com View On Walmart $17

Aveeno Ultra-Calming Daily Moisturizer SPF 30

Aveeno Ultra-Calming Daily Moisturizer SPF 30

Amazon

View On Amazon View On Walmart $16

Sun Bum Mineral Sunscreen Lotion

Sun Bum Mineral SPF 50 Sunscreen Lotion

Amazon

View On Amazon $14 View On Ulta $18 View On CVS $20

Supergoop! PLAY Body Sunscreen Mousse

Supergoop! PLAY Body Sunscreen Mousse SPF 50

Sephora

View On Amazon $36 View On Nordstrom $36 View On Sephora $36

Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunscreen

Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunscreen SPF 55

Amazon

View On Amazon $10 View On Walmart $11 View On Instacart.com

EltaMD UV Daily Broad-Spectrum

EltaMD UV Daily Broad-Spectrum SPF 40

Amazon

View On Amazon $39 View On Dermstore $43 View On Walmart $42

Sun Bum Sunscreen Lotion

Sun Bum Sunscreen Lotion SPF 70

Ulta Beauty

View On Amazon $19 View On Ulta $19 View On Target $17

Neutrogena Sheer Zinc Face Dry-Touch Sunscreen

Neutrogena Sheer Zinc Oxide Dry-Touch SPF 50 Face Sunscreen

Amazon

View On Amazon $14 View On Neutrogena.com View On Target $15

Coola Classic Body Sunscreen

Coola Organic Classic Body Sunscreen Guava Mango

Amazon

View On Amazon $20 View On Nordstrom $20 View On Sephora $28

Vanicream Sunscreen

Vanicream Sunscreen SPF 35 Sport

Amazon

View On Amazon $35 View On Walmart $17

Solimo Sunscreen Lotion

Solimo Sport Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 50

Amazon

View On Amazon $6

EltaMD Face and Body Sunscreen

EltaMD UV Pure Broad Spectrum SPF 47 Face and Body Sunscreen

Amazon

View On Amazon $36 View On Dermstore $36 View On Strawberrynet.com

Australian Gold Instant Bronzer Spray Gel Sunscreen

Australian Gold Instant Bronzer Spray Gel Sunscreen SPF 30

Ulta Beauty

View On Amazon $8 View On Ulta $9 View On Ulta $9

Hawaiian Tropic Everyday Active Sunscreen Lotion

Hawaiian Tropic Everyday Active Sport Sunscreen Lotion

Amazon

View On Amazon $11 View On IHerb $11 View On Hawaiiantropic.com
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