EWG doesn’t actually think that some sunscreens are worse than nothing at all. In the end, any sunscreen –even the one we rank the lowest — is better than no sunscreen. While many of the sunscreens we looked at were less effective than their claims would imply to commonsense, and many of them contain potentially harmful chemicals, avoiding sun exposure (including using any sunscreen) would go a long way to reducing the over 1 million cases of skin cancer each year in the United States.

The bottom line is that consumers should wear plenty of sunscreen — one that protects well against UVA and UVB rays and that remains effective while out in the sun.