What’s Driving the Anti-Sunscreen Movement?

Are you still wearing sunscreen? There’s been a recent wave of viral TikToks declaring that sunscreen is “toxic,” and they’ve helped ignite an anti-sunscreen movement. With recent surveys showing that millions of Americans are cutting back on sun protection, dermatologists worry that misinformation will lead to higher rates of skin cancer and melanoma. We look at what’s driving “sunscreen hesitancy,” dig into the social media claims and hear how health providers are pushing back against misinformation.

Guests:

• Brian Underwood, beauty and grooming director of Men’s Health and Women’s Health and writer of “The Anti-Sunscreen Movement Is Coming for You”
• Heather Woolery-Lloyd, board-certified dermatologist and founder of DermFriends

This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.

Mina Kim: Welcome to Forum, I’m Mina Kim. Some 16 million adults reported reducing or stopping sunscreen use, according to the American Academy of Dermatology’s 2026 Practice Safe Sun Survey, because of online claims about its safety. And a 2024 survey by the Orlando Health Cancer Institute found that one in seven adults under the age of 35 now believes that daily sunscreen use is more harmful to skin than direct sun exposure.

This I learned from Brian Underwood’s piece in Men’s Health last month, called “The Anti-Sunscreen Movement Is Coming for You.” In this hour, we take a closer look at the growing influence of sunscreen opponents and what impact it’s had. Underwood is Beauty and Grooming Director of Men’s Health and Women’s Health and joins me now. Brian, welcome to Forum.

Brian Underwood: Thank you so much for having me, Mina.

Mina Kim: Also with us is Dr. Heather Woolery-Lloyd, board-certified dermatologist and founder of DermFriends. Dr. Woolery-Lloyd, really glad to have you with us too.

Heather Woolery-Lloyd: Thank you for having me.

Mina Kim: So, Brian, let me start with you. Tell me about some of these claims on social media. What are influencers saying?

Brian Underwood: Yeah, well, a myriad of things, but I think that some of the researchers that looked into this have found that the number one thing that sort of anti-sunscreen creators are talking about is the toxicity of certain ingredients that they claim are in sunscreens. And this is mainly the organic filters, commonly known as chemical filters. And that is sort of the main driving argument that these creators have, is that these ingredients are somehow toxic. Some of them, you know, they claim are cancer-causing themselves. And, you know, among other things, I would say that is probably the most prevalent claim that they make on social media platforms.

Mina Kim: And how colorful shall — I always say, hey, are some of these videos or messages getting —

Brian Underwood: Yeah, well, as somebody who did quite a deep dive into this topic for Men’s Health, I viewed quite a few of these videos. And obviously, you know, we’re talking about social media here. So you want to get and hold people’s attention. And the more outlandish you are in doing so, the more the algorithm is going to favor you.

So you have people setting fire to spray sunscreens to create these sort of — almost look like makeshift torches from The Walking Dead or something. But, of course, that’s really what it’s about. It’s about capturing people’s attention, and the way that these platforms prioritize that is by being as outlandish as possible.

Mina Kim: And from the stats I quoted, they are capturing people’s attention, right? These messages have been convincing.

Brian Underwood: Yeah, it appears that way. And that was sort of the genesis of this story. I was speaking to some of my friends at some major skin cancer nonprofits, and some of my other contacts at dermatology associations like the American Academy of Dermatology. And both of those organizations were taking sunscreen misinformation on social media platforms very seriously and have launched campaigns to combat some of it.

And that’s when I realized, that’s what it became — something that I was just seeing on my feed. That’s when it transformed into something that I thought was a bigger story. If these organizations were taking this seriously, then perhaps I, as a journalist, should be taking it seriously. And that is kind of what led me to do this story.

Mina Kim: Yeah. And which groups do you find that these messages seem to be having the most effect on right now?

Brian Underwood: You know, it’s hard to say, but anecdotally, from diving into this world, a lot of the creators were young men. And that’s kind of why we decided to run this story in Men’s Health. We know that men, I think it’s in the 80 percents, do not use sunscreen daily. And so we know that they are already primed for that message. And so that’s one of the reasons, as I said, that we decided to run this piece in, you know, in Men’s Health in particular.

Mina Kim: Dr. Woolery-Lloyd, when you hear this, that these messages are having an impact, they’re having an impact among men in particular, and even Gen Z, I understand. You know, what goes through your mind? Does it concern you?

Heather Woolery-Lloyd: Yes, because, of course, we know that sunscreen is important to protect us against skin cancer and some of the effects of the sun. I treat a lot of patients with darker skin where sun is really responsible for hyperpigmentation when you’re treating pigmentary disorders. So it’s a really important tool for dermatologists, and it is concerning because it’s an unnecessary fear that we’re seeing on social media, and it’s really not based on a lot of data or science.

Mina Kim: So what does the American Academy of Dermatologists sort of recommend when it comes to sunscreen use, or you as a doctor?

Heather Woolery-Lloyd: So we recommend sunscreen, a minimum of SPF 30, ideally broad spectrum, which means UVA and UVB coverage, daily to exposed areas. And we use sunscreen for different reasons. One reason, as I mentioned, is to prevent skin cancer, especially in people who are at risk for skin cancer with lighter skin tones. And then with people with darker skin tones, we use sunscreen to help manage certain pigmentary disorders, like hyperpigmentation, uneven skin tone.

So it’s a really important tool for dermatologists, and I think it’s important that the public understands that this fear that we see online is not really based on any science.

Mina Kim: So FDA-approved sunscreens, you would say, are safe?

Heather Woolery-Lloyd: Yes, and the FDA has stated that.

Mina Kim: Yes. And so why, then, is there some power to the social media messages, Brian? Because I feel like, you know, I remember, for example, that, you know, there were concerns about oxybenzone or avobenzone, mainly that it can mess with your hormones or that it’s an endocrine disruptor and things like that. So there were things that the FDA, you know, was sort of suggesting in its messaging, there was science that was sort of suggesting — we were coming out of tests and so on. Can you just talk about where some of the believability for the messages of these influencers may have come from?

Brian Underwood: Yeah, well, you know, there is some data that shows that certain organic sunscreen filters do have some hormone-related effects. There was a research review, I believe in 2023, that looked at more than 200 studies and found some of that. I think, and that is the data that these anti-sunscreen creators are sort of latching onto.

But I think what’s really important is that you give that data some context, and that’s what’s not happening on social media. So a lot of that data, the vast majority of that, was conducted in rodents and cell cultures and fish. And it is what Dr. Robert Nelson, who I also interviewed for this story, describes as low-relevance data. So it is really not data that you can extrapolate any conclusion from that would lead you to say that sunscreen is unsafe.

I think at the same time, as you mentioned, in 2019, I believe it was, the FDA did a review of sunscreen ingredients and, you know, categorized them differently. So organic and, or chemical, sunscreen filters were Category 3, which means that the FDA was looking for more safety data because they did find that these ingredients were absorbed into the bloodstream at levels higher than what they would have liked to have seen. And I think that caused a lot of confusion.

Now, that 2019 study, it specifically states that the conclusion of the study should not lead anyone to not use sunscreen. So that’s very important to know. And there really is decades of data, safety data, on these ingredients from use overseas that I think the FDA is just a little sluggish to adopt as part of its monograph.

And I think that’s where the confusion came in, because if you’re a consumer and the FDA is telling you, “We need more safety data on these,” but they’re not pulling products from the shelf, I can see why you as a consumer or a creator would be confused by that. But I think it’s really important to understand that in its own conclusion, the FDA says, do not use this data to justify not using sunscreen.

Mina Kim: So, Dr. Woolery-Lloyd, how do you interpret what came out about oxybenzone? What do you tell your patients as well? And do you agree with what Brian is saying? The FDA and other doctors have told them, which is that this is not a reason to refrain from using sunscreen.

Heather Woolery-Lloyd: Yes, I totally agree with what Brian described so perfectly, which is that the information where a lot of this online interest comes from was this study that was done by the FDA. However, in that study, they concluded that — they stated that sunscreens were safe, including oxybenzone, and it shouldn’t stop people from wearing sunscreen.

So in my practice, I absolutely recommend sunscreens to my patients. And I, you know, luckily in my practice, no one has really asked me so much about this. It might be more of a discussion online in certain groups of people, but it hasn’t trickled into people who I see every day.

But that being said, I feel very comfortable and confident recommending sunscreens for my patients based on the data we have today.

Mina Kim: You know, the studies show that oxybenzone could be absorbed into the bloodstream. You’re saying does not mean conclusively that it causes harm?

Heather Woolery-Lloyd: Correct, because there’s no studies to suggest that. We have decades of research on sunscreens, like real-life human use of sunscreen, and not lab studies done on rodents and on other animals. And it is considered safe. And the FDA has stated that.

Mina Kim: So it sounds like you’re saying the greater risk really is avoiding sunscreen altogether than the ingredients that have been necessarily singled out. And then you’re talking about these other studies. What are these other studies showing in terms of effectiveness of sunscreen in preventing skin cancer?

Heather Woolery-Lloyd: And actually, I just wanted to mention one other thing because we’re talking a lot about oxybenzone, but interestingly, oxybenzone is not now commonly used in sunscreen. So it used to be a very common sunscreen ingredient. It used to be seen probably in more than 90% of sunscreens, but now it’s actually less frequently used. So even though there’s a lot of discussion about it, it’s not commonly used anymore. So I did want to mention that.

Mina Kim: Right. An important point that, regardless of whether or not you are worried about it, probably in part because of the bad PR, regardless of the science, it is no longer in as many bottles of sunscreen.

Heather Woolery-Lloyd: That’s correct.

Mina Kim: We’re talking with Dr. Heather Woolery-Lloyd, board-certified dermatologist, and Brian Underwood of Men’s Health, who’s written a piece called “The Anti-Sunscreen Movement Is Coming for You.” And you, our listeners, join the conversation at 866-733-6786, at the email address [email protected], or on Discord, Bluesky, Facebook or Instagram.

Do you wear sunscreen regularly, listeners? Why or why not? Have you noticed anti-sunscreen influencers in your feeds? You know, do they make you sunscreen-hesitant? Or are the messages concerning to you? Stay with us for more after the break. You’re listening to Forum. I’m Mina Kim.