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Best Buy sun creams

by Yvette Fletcher

Best Buy sun creams can be relied on to both protect you from the sun and feel great on your skin.

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Our Test Labs compare features and prices on a range of products. Try Which? to unlock our reviews. You'll instantly be able to compare our test scores, so you can make sure you don't get stuck with a Don't Buy.

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Every sun cream we review is put through rigorous tests to ensure they protect you from the sun. Our independent tests go the extra mile to ensure that the sun creams we recommend pass British Standard tests for sun protection and feel great on your skin. 

And we don't just highlight the best products in our reviews – we also name the Don't Buy sun creams that failed our tests.

No one in the UK tests sun cream like we do – we go further than anyone else to ensure that the products we recommend are both effective and pleasant to use. The Best Buy sun creams that we recommend are products you can rely on.

  • Our sun creams are tested on volunteers who spend hours covered in cream to ensure that the product you pick meets the claims on its label.
  • We reveal which sun creams didn't pass our strict tests so you know which products to steer clear of.
  • We know you don't like products that leave skin feeling greasy or sticky, so we get our panel of testers to rate each sun cream for how it looks and feels on the skin.

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How we uncover the best sun creams

With an estimated 100,000 new cases of skin cancer in the UK each year, it's vital that you can trust your sun cream to protect your skin. We test popular products to make sure they provide the protection they claim.

  • We use strict British Standard tests to check the SPF of each sun cream that comes through the Which? test lab so you can be sure the sun cream you buy is effective. We've found affordable brands that work perfectly – and big name brands that don't.
  • We check whether each sun cream meets the EU recommendation for protection against UVA radiation so you can be confident in the sun.
  • We use a panel of testers to check how each sun cream looks and feels on the skin, so you don't end up feeling sticky or greasy.

Sun cream reviews you can trust

We test sun creams from popular international brands like Hawaiian Tropic, Nivea and Piz Buin, as well as own-brand products from Boots, Superdrug and supermarkets. We've found affordable products that are both effective and pleasant to use, and pricey products that are best avoided.

Which? is independent – we work for you, the consumer, so you can be sure that our product recommendations are influenced only by our test results. We don't take advertising and we buy all the products that we test ourselves, so our advice helps you to make the right choice first time and avoid costly mistakes.

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