Consumer Reports, 2026: 130 Sunscreens Tested, Five Named for Free
Last updated September 13, 2026
Consumer Reports tested 130 sunscreens bought off US shelves and reported that a majority averaged below the SPF on their label. Its full ratings table is members-only; five products are named with a measured figure on the free page, and those five are the only ones listed here.
What the round was
- Published by Consumer Reports, United States
- Date 27 April 2026
- Publishes a measured SPF per product yes — measured SPF is published for a handful of named products; the full 130-product table is behind CR's paywall
- Original publication 21 Best Sunscreens of 2026, Lab-Tested and Reviewed
Method, as Consumer Reports states it. Consumer Reports' own protocol, modelled on but not identical to the FDA monograph: a standard dose on a 2x3-inch area of the back, 40- or 80-minute water immersion where a water-resistance claim is made, then five or six UV intensities from a solar simulator read for redness about 24 hours later. Three samples of each product are bought at retail, preferably from different lots. UVA is measured in vitro by transmission through sunscreen-coated plates.
What the body itself said about the limits
Republishing a number without the hedge that travelled with it changes what the number means. These are the qualifications the bodies published alongside the results.
For SPF, we test the sunscreens on three people, which is fewer than the FDA's protocol calls for, but we use a statistical analysis to verify our results.
In CR's tests of 130 sunscreens, a majority had an average tested SPF below the SPF listed on the label.
The products named with a measured figure
These five are the only products in the round for which a measured SPF appears outside Consumer Reports' membership paywall. They are also the only products anywhere in this database where the tested item and a US retail item are the same thing: CR buys off US shelves, while the Australian and European rounds test products formulated and labelled under other standards.
| Product | Label | Measured | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Gold Botanical Mineral SPF 30 Lotion | 30 | 4 | measured | not published |
| JLo Beauty That Big Screen SPF 30 Moisturizer | 30 | 8 | measured | not published |
| Black Girl Sunscreen Kids Lotion SPF 50 | 50 | 13 | measured | not published |
| Coppertone Kids Tear Free Lotion SPF 50 | 50 | 13 | measured | not published |
| Soleil Toujours Clean Conscious Antioxidant Mist SPF 50 | 50 | 14 | measured | not published |
CR published a measured figure for five products on the free page; the rest of the 130-product ratings table is members-only.
Why these numbers do not belong in the same column as CHOICE's
Consumer Reports uses its own protocol and its own panel. It states plainly that it tests SPF on three people, fewer than the FDA's protocol calls for, and that it uses statistical analysis to verify the result. The ISO 24444 method behind the Australian and British rounds requires a minimum of ten subjects. A measured 13 from Consumer Reports and a measured 13 from CHOICE would not be the same measurement, and this site never averages across bodies or computes a consensus SPF.
Consumer Reports has been finding this gap for a long time. Its 2017 press release — free, and quotable — reported that of 58 sunscreens tested, one-third delivered less than half of their labelled SPF protection.
Primary documents
SPF List did not test these products. The results on this page were published by the named test body or regulator; quotes and links go to the original publication. Brand responses and later developments are listed where they were published. Formulations change; a result applies to the batch and date tested.