Sunscreens Not Created Equal

Even with the new Food and Drug Administration regulations on sunscreens, many companies can't get it right and some of the worst are advertising heavily to make their poor products be the first in the minds of some consumers. Neutrogena, while not the most expensive and certainly not one of the best, is heavily advertised in my area and is about the only one advertising this heavily. I have seen occasional ads for a few others, but most are for sunscreens at the bottom of the list. I guess this is the manufacturer's way of getting people to forget about the low rating they have received by Consumer Reports.

Here in the Midwest, we have not had a lot of need for sunscreens because of the rainy weather. I suspect there will be a need when the weather starts to warm up and remain above 75 degrees for much of the day and there are dry days.

Consumer Reports is one of the more objective reports on sunscreen. The top recommended include the following and it is worth quoting:

• Target's Up & Up Sport, at the top spot, costs $1.16 an ounce.
• Walmart's Equate Ultra Protection SPF 50, is just 47 cents an ounce. It won the CR Best Buy award of the dozen.
• Coppertone Water Babies SPF 50, at $1.38 an ounce.
• Walgreens Continuous Spray Sport SPF 50, at $1.33 an ounce. 
• Hawaiian Tropic Sheer Touch SPF 30, at $1.38 an ounce.
• Coppertone Sport High Performance SPF 30, at $1.67 an ounce.

I have mentioned one of the worst above. But do not feel that the others should receive space. If you are interested, you may read this.