The Ultimate Sunscreen Quiz

Estimated Completion Time
1 min
The Ultimate Sunscreen Quiz
Image: ©iStockphoto.com/Denise Bush

About This Quiz

Most people know by now that you should always wear sunscreen. But do you use it correctly? Do you know what ingredients to look out for? Take our quiz and find out.
Is an SPF 30 sunscreen twice as strong as one with an SPF of 15?
yes
no
It depends.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

SPF 15 sunscreens block 94 percent of the sun's rays, and SPF 30 blocks 97 percent -- so the SPF numbers are a bit misleading to consumers.

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What's the minimum SPF you should use?
15
30
50
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Dermatologists recommend a minimum 30 SPF.

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How long before you go out in the sun should you apply sunscreen?
15 to 30 minutes
30 minutes to an hour
at least an hour
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Most dermatologists recommend that you apply sunscreen 30 minutes to an hour before you go out.

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If you usually burn after 10 minutes of being out in the sun, how many minutes do you have using a 30 SPF?
1,000
300
30
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

If you put on sunscreen with 30 SPF, you should have around 300 minutes, or five hours, of safe sun time.

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There's a product that can add sunscreen to clothes in the washer. What is it called?
Sunguard
Sunblocker
Sunstop
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Sunguard is a chemical dye that applies a UPF (ultraviolet protection factor) of 50+ to clothes.

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What are the two sunscreen ingredients that are safest for babies?
titanium dioxide and octinoxate
zinc oxide and octinoxate
zinc oxide and titanium dioxide
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Zinc oxide and titanium dioxides are safest for a baby's delicate skin. These are also good ingredients to look for in adult sunscreen.

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Why are zinc oxide and titanium dioxide such good ingredients?
They're chemical blockers -- they keep the sun's rays from penetrating the skin.
They're physical blockers -- they physically deflect the sun's rays from the skin.
They penetrate the skin more deeply than other ingredients do.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Physical blockers are much more effective sunscreens -- sometimes chemical blockers break down in the sun.

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What are some other ingredients you can keep an eye out for?
avobenzone and Mexoryl SX
oxybenzone and octisalate
oxycontin and avobenzone
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Avobenzone and Mexoryl SX are fairly new ingredients that protect against both UVA and UVB rays.

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You have a face powder with an SPF of 15. How much powder do you have to apply to get the advertised SPF?
your normal amount
7 times as much
14 times as much
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

You'd have to cake your face with 14 times the powder you'd typically use to get that SPF of 15.

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The Environmental Working Group studied 1,000 sunscreens in 2008. What percentage earned a passing grade?
15 percent
50 percent
75 percent
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A shocking 85 percent of the sunscreens failed to pass the study's standards -- only 15 percent passed.

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You Got:
/10
©iStockphoto.com/Denise Bush