Forget the questionable TikTok beauty trends or facelift inquisitions. The summer (and early fall) of 2025 can be defined, at least beautywise, as the season of the great sunscreen debate.
Sunscreen, as we know, is the best defense against certain skin cancers like melanoma, sunburn and other skin damage, and premature skin aging. But lately, many of our favorite sun products are being called out for their lack of safety and efficacy. Recalls do happen, but it’s never been easier for one misstep to cause the internet to put an entire beauty category into question.
“Public trust in sunscreen has taken a few hits over the past few years,” says Krupa Koestline, founder and chief cosmetic chemist of KKT Labs. Koestline points to the benzene contamination recalls in 2021 and when the US Food and Drug Administration found that chemical filters in sunscreen could enter the bloodstream as a few of the recent instances that have caused many to wonder if sunscreens are safe at all. (It should be noted that the latter recalls were limited to certain aerosol products and there wasn’t evidence of harm with chemical filters in the blood.) Add that to debates on reef safety, a wave of misinformation online, and a health administration sowing doubt in science, and you’ve got the perfect storm for a movement against a product that experts have long championed for our skin and overall health. “Together, it’s created an environment where consumers are asking harder questions about sunscreen,” she says.
The Australian Recall
The excitement over popular Aussie-founded sunscreen brands, which have been lauded by beauty lovers as being superior to ones found stateside, making their way to the US was very high. But in June, Australia’s consumer advocacy group, Choice, found that many popular sunscreens tested lower in SPF than what was advertised. Out of the 20 popular sunscreens it tested, 16 failed to match their SPF claims. One of those sunscreens was from Ultra Violette.
Choice revealed that the Ultra Violette Lean Screen SPF 50 tested the lowest, coming in at only an SPF ranking of 4. The viral sunscreen brand, which made its highly anticipated US debut earlier this year, refuted those claims. But later in August, Ultra Violette took Lean Screen off of shelves in Australia after finding inconsistencies upon further testing.
“We had multiple independent labs conduct new tests of Lean Screen. This week, we received results from those tests that demonstrated significant and, candidly, atypical variability,” reads a statement the brand posted on its Instagram feed. “Across eight different tests, Lean Screen has now returned SPF data of 4, 10, 21, 26, 33, 60, 61, and 64. That wasn’t good enough for us, and it isn’t good enough for you.”
Certain products from other popular Australian sunscreen brands that were called out by that initial report by Choice include Cancer Council, Bondi Sands, and Aldi Ombra—all of which refuted those findings in The Guardian. Naked Sundays, which was not one of the brands named in the report, voluntarily took its Collagen Glow Mineral off of shelves as a precaution. “We paused the sale of one product made and sold only in Australia while we awaited further testing from an independent lab,” Sam Brett, founder of Naked Sundays, tells Vogue. “But we can report preliminary results above SPF 50, so we’ll be back on the shelves in the coming weeks for this product, which does not share a manufacturer with any sunscreen products investigated in the Choice article. No other Naked Sundays products are impacted.”
The Whipped Formula Doubt
Then came the letters from the FDA to beloved whipped sunscreen formulas. In August, the federal agency sent out five warning letters to brands, including Vacation Inc. and Supergoop!, stating that their foam sunscreens are in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and that they had 15 days from when the letters were sent to correct these violations.
“The FDA takes a risk-based approach to regulatory and enforcement actions, prioritizing activities that minimize consumer exposure to unsafe drugs,” reads a statement the FDA sent to Vogue. “The products described in the warning letters…did not establish the safety or efficacy of these products via any of the available pathways. They did not seek FDA approval through the NDA [New Drug Application] process, and they did not comply with the requirements of the OTC [over-the-counter] sunscreen monograph, even though the products were distributed by the manufacturers as products marketed under the OTC monograph.”
As Koestline explains it, sunscreens can only be sold legally in the US if they follow the OTC sunscreen monograph or if the brand files an NDA. The sunscreen monograph that the FDA is referring to can be seen as a “rule book,” she says, that OTC products must follow if they are being sold without FDA preapproval. It lists which ingredients are allowed and what forms of the product you can sell without an NDA: These include oil, lotion, cream, gel, butter, paste, ointment, stick, spray, and powder forms. Foams, mousses, or any type of “whipped cream” formula isn’t on that list. “The FDA’s warning letters simply enforce that a foam sunscreen either needs a special FDA order adding ‘foam’ to the monograph or it needs a full drug application,” she says. “Neither exists today.”
But why now? Why is the FDA coming for these sunscreens, when The Vacation Inc. Classic Whip and Supergoop!’s Play Body Mousse have been on the market for years? Koestline says that because the FDA doesn’t preapprove products under the monograph, companies can launch products based on their own interpretation of it. Enforcement comes later. She adds that after the 2020 CARES Act reformed how OTC drugs were to be regulated, the FDA may be prioritizing risk-based enforcement. “It’s not unusual for enforcement to lag launches [of investigation],” she says. “Resources and priorities shift, and once a format becomes popular (and in one case is packaged to look like food), it attracts scrutiny.”
Though they could not go into detail about what specific steps they are taking to address the FDA’s concerns, the brands affected are handling it. “At Vacation Sunscreen, we take regulatory compliance seriously and appreciate the opportunity to address the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recent Warning Letter,” reads a statement Vacation sent to Vogue. “We have full confidence in the safety, efficacy, and integrity of our product. We are committed to working collaboratively with the FDA to satisfactorily resolve this matter.”
Supergoop! sent a similar statement. “At Supergoop! we remain committed to innovation in sun care and the highest standards of product efficacy and safety,” the brand tells Vogue. “The recent communication from the FDA regarding our Play SPF 50 Body Mousse is focused on product labeling and has nothing to do with its safety, effectiveness, or formula. We are working closely with the FDA to resolve this matter as we continue to uphold the high standards our consumers expect from us.”
What now?
Though this might seem like a win for the anti-sunscreen movement, experts say to wait and see how everything plays out. Medical professionals continue to urge the importance of wearing sunscreen on a daily basis. Koestline says the recalls in Australia don’t automatically translate here, as the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) and the FDA have different regulatory systems and testing protocols. Ultra Violette’s Lean Screen SPF 50+ recall was also about SPF performance and not a specific ingredient hazard. But if that still gives you pause, you can wait until the brand officially puts the product back on shelves. “I’d avoid affected lots [of the sunscreen in Australia], and if a US-sold version exists, I’d wait for clear, up-to-date testing from the brand or retailers,” she adds.
As for the Vacation, Supergoop!, and other foamlike sunscreens, they are still being sold at Ulta and their respective retailers despite these letters. (Ulta could not comment in time for publication.) While Koestline says that the issues with these products technically have more to do with misbranding than with them being found totally unsafe, you might want to practice some caution just to be safe. Cosmetic chemist and founder of BeautyStat, Ron Robinson, says that while these foam sunscreens provide a lighter and fun, fluffy texture that many prefer over conventional oils and lotions, it may be challenging to create an even layer on skin to provide adequate protection. Marisa Garshick, MD, board-certified dermatologist at MDCS Dermatology, agrees and adds that correct application is key.
Robinson says to look for sunscreens that are not expired and provide at least SPF 30 broad-spectrum protection. Garshick agrees and adds that it wouldn’t hurt to look for one that is water-resistant, especially if you’re going to be swimming or doing an activity where you’ll be sweating a lot. For sensitive skin, she recommends opting for something mineral based to minimize irritation. And regardless of what type of sunscreen you choose, be sure to practice best sunscreen practices: Apply a shot glass amount, reapply every two hours, and find a sunscreen you’ll want to use every day.
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