Good UV protection is now the be-all and end-all in summer. But which sunscreen keeps what it promises and ideally does not contain any problematic ingredients? Stiftung Warentest tested well-known brands.
Sunburnt skin is not only painful, every sunburn also increases the risk of premature skin aging and skin cancer. Good sun protection is all the more important, and people with light skin should pay particular attention to it. If you then reach for a sun protection product, you should be able to rely on its effectiveness. But that is not always the case, as Stiftung Warentest shows.
Out of 20 popular sunscreens with a high sun protection factor (30, 50 and 50), 4 failed, 3 of which are natural cosmetic products. This can be fatal for users.
Although the test result was not very negative overall, almost all tested products from the natural cosmetics sector failed. In some cases, they fell significantly below the specified sun protection factor of 30. These are the rather expensive brands Lavera, Boep and Speik, where you pay up to 19 euros for 100 milliliters. Even the conventional sun spray Sunozon from Rossmann does not adequately protect the skin from UVB and UVA radiation.
Although the products from Müller and Eucerin protect the skin, they were only able to achieve the grade “satisfactory” in the test. This is mainly due to the problematic ingredients in the products. Eucerin gel sunscreen contains the critical UV filter homosalate. It is suspected of having a negative impact on the endocrine system. Müller’s sun spray contains benophenone, a potentially carcinogenic substance.
Fortunately, nine tested sunscreens received the grade “very good”. The test winner turned out to be the inexpensive Ambre Solaire Hydra 24h sun protection milk from Garnier (grade 1.3) for 3.50 euros*. Also highly recommended are, among others, the Anthelios Hydrating Lotion by La Roche Posay for 8.35 euros, the protection
However, the price-performance winners with a grade of 1.4 in the test are the Cien Sun sunscreen from Lidl for 1.12 euros and the Penny/Rewe Today sunscreen for 1.33 euros. According to the testers, if you want to use natural cosmetics, you should use the Sensitiv sun milk from Alverde (dm) for 4 euros.
*All prices refer to 100 milliliters
