Published July 17, 2026 10:50AM
This article has been medically reviewed by Dr. Ingrid Yang, MD.
Social media can be a hotbed of health misinformation, but recent research suggests the platform can be particularly problematic when it comes to spreading sunscreen myths.
The research study, published in PLOS Digital Health, analyzed nearly 1,000 TikTok videos with the highest number of views across five of the most popular sunscreen-related hashtags. While approximately 87 percent of the videos promoted sunscreen use, the researchers found that the videos with the highest amount of engagement—in the form of likes, comments, and shares—contained misinformation. In other words, even though the videos containing inaccurate claims are fewer than those advocating for sunscreen use, they are being viewed more widely. This suggests that more people might be exposed to myths about sunscreen. “Sunscreen misinformation on TikTok constitutes an area of concern,” the researchers said in the study.
The research comes just a few weeks after an American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) survey that found that more than 16 million adults said they reduced or stopped using sunscreen because of what they learned online. The AAD noted that 21 percent of Americans look to social media influencers for skincare advice, although nearly half say they’ve encountered sunscreen misinformation online.
Dermatologists agree that sunscreen myths are a problem. “I encounter these in my office all the time,” Dr. Ife J. Rodney, a double-board-certified dermatologist and founding director of Eternal Dermatology and Aesthetics, a dermatology practice based in Fulton, Maryland, told Outside.
Sunscreen myths spread because many people don’t like sunscreen to begin with, said Dr. Spencer Dunaway, a dermatologist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. “When people don’t like doing something, they’re naturally more willing to believe or even seek out information that tells them they don’t have to do it,” he told Outside. While Dunaway said that some of these myths have a “kernel of truth,” that often gets exaggerated or taken out of context, allowing these myths to thrive.
With that in mind, these are the most common myths dermatologists hear—and the truth behind them.
Myth #1: Sunburns Aren’t Dangerous
This is not true, the doctors told me. “A sunburn is your body’s alarm system telling you that a tremendous amount of DNA damage has occurred,” Dunaway said. “That DNA damage accumulates over your lifetime, and that’s one of the main ways skin cancers develop.”
Dunaway said that one sunburn “isn’t the end of the world,” but they add up over time. One study published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention found that young white women who’d had five or more blistering sunburns between the ages of 15 and 20 had an 80 percent higher risk of developing melanoma—the most serious type of skin cancer. “While an individual sunburn will likely not kill you, cumulatively, they increase your risk of skin cancers,” Rodney said. (FYI: This study was conducted exclusively on white women. The relationship between sunburns and melanoma risk in people with darker skin tones is not well established, and UV-driven risk factors differ substantially by skin type).
Myth #2: Sunscreen Causes Cancer
This is definitely false. “There are no studies demonstrating an increase in skin cancer associated with sunscreen use,” said Dr. Ida Orengo, a dermatologist and medical director for the Department of Dermatology at Baylor College of Medicine.
Rodney agrees. “Sunscreens have been tested extensively over decades,” she said. “They do the exact opposite of being carcinogenic—they help to prevent skin cancer.”
Dunaway has heard several arguments to support this myth. One is that melanoma rates have increased, even as sunscreen use has increased. But he points out that melanoma usually takes decades to develop after the UV exposure that caused it. “A melanoma diagnosed in a 65-year-old today may reflect sun exposure from the 1980s or 1990s, long before sunscreen use became as common as it is today,” he said. “At the same time, we’ve gotten much better at detecting melanoma, and biopsy rates have increased substantially, so we’re finding cancers today that might have gone undiagnosed years ago.”
One scientific review study commonly cited by skeptics found that people who reported using sunscreen regularly had a slightly higher risk of melanoma. However, the researchers noted that the link between melanoma and sunscreen use had declined since the 1980s. By the early 1990s, this link was “no longer statistically significant.”
“The problem is that people who need to use sunscreen are already at the highest risk for developing skin cancer,” Dunaway said. “Sunscreen users tend to be fair-skinned, burn easily, and spend lots of time at the beach or pool. Studies that account for these differences show that sunscreen is indeed protective.”
Dunaway has also fielded concerns that chemical sunscreen ingredients are absorbed into the bloodstream and could be carcinogenic. “There is some truth to the fact that some older chemical UV filters can reach detectable levels in the blood after repeated application,” he said. “However, ‘detectable’ doesn’t mean ‘dangerous’ and these ingredients have not been shown to cause cancer in humans.” (He also notes that more modern sunscreen technology, including the recently approved sunscreen ingredient bemotrizinol, causes minimal absorption into the bloodstream. “Mineral sunscreens work well and largely avoid the concern about systemic absorption altogether,” Dunaway said.
Myth #3: Sunscreen Contains Microplastics
This one is slightly complicated. Dunaway calls these claims “technically true,” but said the reality is complex. “Many daily facial sunscreens, particularly those made by cosmetic companies, contain synthetic polymers that improve the way the product feels and spreads on the skin,” he said. Those include ingredients such as acrylate copolymers (which help prevent product ingredients from separating), dimethicone (which helps the product glide smoothly on the skin), and polyethylene (a plastic used in packaging).
“What often gets left out of the conversation is that these ingredients aren’t unique to sunscreen,” Dunaway said. “They’re found throughout the cosmetic industry in moisturizers, makeup, and many other skincare products.”
Dunaway also stresses that the synthetic polymers used in sunscreens are “far too large” to be absorbed through intact skin. “Even much smaller ‘nanoplastics’ have been shown to remain in the outermost layers of the skin barrier without reaching viable tissue,” he said. Still, there are plenty of mineral-based “clean label” sunscreens available that don’t rely on these polymers, Dunaway said.
Myth #4: Ingesting Sunscreen Can Kill You
You’re bound to ingest small amounts of sunscreen accidentally, like when you lick your lips or when sweat drips into your mouth, Orengo said. This is “not harmful,” she added.
But both mineral and chemical sunscreens are considered non-toxic, Dunaway said. “It would take an enormous amount of sunscreen for an adult to reach toxic levels,” he said. “Even for a small toddler, it would take multiple full tubes of a chemical sunscreen before you would expect even the potential for toxicity.”
Myth #5: Sunscreen Causes Vitamin D Deficiencies
This is another slightly complicated one. Broad-spectrum sunscreen blocks UVB radiation, and UVB is the wavelength responsible for helping the skin produce vitamin D, Dunaway said. “That doesn’t necessarily mean sunscreen use translates into vitamin D deficiency in the real world,” he said. “It actually takes surprisingly little sun exposure to maintain healthy vitamin D levels.”
The amount of sun exposure needed to maintain adequate vitamin D varies widely, from as little as 5 minutes in summer to more than 45 minutes in winter, depending on latitude, season, time of day, skin tone, and how much skin is exposed.
One important note: the science on how much wearing sunscreen impairs vitamin D absorption is constantly evolving. A 2025 scientific review suggests that sunscreen use may hinder vitamin D synthesis, which in turn might lower vitamin D levels in the body. However, the researchers of this review state that “further research is necessary to determine the broader health implications and guide public health recommendations.” A 2025 study found evidence suggesting that using high-SPF sunscreen may affect how much vitamin D the body absorbs from the sun. The researchers noted that people who wear high-SPF sunscreen, which this study defines as SPF 50 or greater, might need to ensure they get vitamin D through supplementation.
Myth #6: People with Darker Skin Don’t Need Sunscreen
“This is the biggest myth of all,” Rodney said. “Everyone, including people with dark skin, can get skin cancer, fine lines, and wrinkles from sun exposure.” While darker skin provides more natural protection against UV damage, Dunaway said that lower risk doesn’t mean zero risk.
The picture differs by skin tone: the most common melanoma in people with darker skin tends to appear on the palms, soles, and nail beds and isn’t tied to UV, so awareness and early detection matter as much as sunscreen.
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