---
title: FDA — Sunscreen: How to Help Protect Your Skin from the Sun
entity_type: Source
canonical_url: https://skinknowledgebase.com/sources/fda-sunscreen-how-to-protect-skin
date_modified: 2026-05-09
date_reviewed: 2026-05-09
mcp_eligible: true
source_type: regulatory
original_source_url: https://www.fda.gov/drugs/understanding-over-counter-medicines/sunscreen-how-help-protect-your-skin-sun
evidence_sources: []
product_fact_sources: []
---

# FDA — Sunscreen: How to Help Protect Your Skin from the Sun

## Quick Summary

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's consumer-facing sunscreen page. It is the U.S. regulator's plain-language overview of what to look for on a sunscreen label — broad-spectrum coverage, SPF level, water-resistance — and how to use sunscreen correctly. It is the foundational regulatory reference for daily-wear sunscreen guidance in the United States.

## What Studied

Not a study. This is an FDA consumer-information page that translates the U.S. OTC sunscreen monograph and labeling rules into patient-facing guidance. It compiles what the FDA wants U.S. consumers to know about choosing and using sunscreen.

## Main Findings

The page recommends a broad-spectrum sunscreen with SPF 15 or higher for daily use, and SPF 30 or higher for extended outdoor exposure. It frames "broad-spectrum" as the label cue tying a product to UVA-and-UVB protection, names the every-two-hours reapplication norm during active sun exposure, and notes that products labeled "water resistant" still require reapplication after swimming or sweating.

## Why It Matters

For a Question on what SPF to wear every day, this is the first regulatory reference any U.S. consumer source builds on. It anchors the broad-spectrum requirement, the SPF floor, and the reapplication cadence that the rest of the page discusses, and it grounds the cosmetic-appearance use case in the FDA's own labeling vocabulary.

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- [Sun Damage](https://skinknowledgebase.com/concerns/sun-damage)
- [Early Wrinkle Prevention](https://skinknowledgebase.com/concerns/early-wrinkle-prevention)
- [What SPF should I use every day?](https://skinknowledgebase.com/questions/what-spf-should-i-use-every-day)
- [How do I prevent wrinkles in my 20s?](https://skinknowledgebase.com/questions/how-do-i-prevent-wrinkles-in-my-20s)
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