Which?, 2026: No Don't Buy Sun Creams

Last updated November 8, 2026

Which? says that none of the sun creams in its 2026 tests "completely failed" its UVB and UVA testing, so it named no Don't Buys that year. The free pages read for this round give no per-product results and do not say how many products were tested.

What the round was

Method, as Which? states it. British Standard tests, performed in a specialist independent lab on samples Which? buys itself: BS EN ISO 24444:2020 for SPF, with a minimum of ten people in each SPF test, and BS EN ISO 24443:2012 for UVA, using a spectrophotometer to check the sun cream against the EU recommendation of a UVA protection factor at least a third of its rated SPF. A product that fails is retested on a second sample, and a second fail makes it a Don't Buy. Which? keeps the identity of its accredited labs secret.

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.

In our 2026 tests, we didn't uncover any sun creams that completely failed our UVB and UVA testing which meant there were no Don't Buy sun creams.

Which?, on its Don't Buy page, dated 9 September 2026 — source

We don't currently have any sun creams that have failed our tests in 2026, but we will update this section in our next round of testing if anything fails.

Which?, in its best sun creams guide, dated 15 June 2026 — source

Any products failing one of the tests and then passing the two retests won't be Don't Buys, but we will stop them from being Best Buys…

Which?, on its method — so "no Don't Buys" is not the same as no product failing a single test — source

When combined with the fact that Don't Buy sun cream reviews from our 2024 and 2025 tests were archived due to reformulation or retests, it means we don't currently have any Don't Buy sun creams on the Which? website.

Which?, on its Don't Buy page, dated 9 September 2026; it does not say which products were reformulated or retested — source

What the result is

A year with no failures is still a result, so it is recorded here. Which?'s wording is that no sun cream “completely failed” its UVB and UVA testing in 2026, and that this meant there were no Don't Buys. It names no products on the free pages we read, and those pages do not say how many it tested.

The date above is the one Which?'s Don't Buy page carried in the earliest Internet Archive capture of the page with this statement, taken on 16 July 2026. Which? gives no separate publication date for its 2026 results on the pages read here, and its Don't Buy page now carries the date 9 September 2026.

What “no Don't Buys” does not tell you

Which?'s rule is that a product fails its way to a Don't Buy by failing twice, on two samples. A product that fails one test and then passes both retests is not a Don't Buy; Which? says it loses Best Buy status and is flagged in its review. So a year with no Don't Buys is not the same as a year in which no sample failed a test. The free pages do not say whether that happened in 2026.

The Don't Buy page also says that Don't Buy reviews from Which?'s 2024 and 2025 tests have been “archived due to reformulation or retests”, without saying which products that covers. So the absence of current Don't Buys on the site is partly a product of those archived names as well as of the 2026 results. See the 2025 round for the two products Which? named that year.

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.

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