Nivea Suncream FAILS Which? Testing

A warning to all parents and caregivers; this sun cream has FAILED Which? tests!

As the summer holidays approach, many of you will be getting organised for days spent outdoors in the sun and stocking up on summer essentials; sun cream being one of the most vital items on your list! When it comes to sun cream, as parents, most of us keep an eagle eye out for some seriously important elements, such as SPF. This is the most essential thing to consider for sun safety, I’m sure you’ll agree!

Which? have recently announced that the Nivea Kids Protect & Care SPF50 Spray has failed their testing.

Which? are a great organisation to utilise when it comes to finding out important information about products; they test products to ensure they’re up to scratch and correctly sold and let the public know when something worrying is found. The Nivea Kids Protect & Care SPF50 Spray was tested twice. The first sample failed the tests as it did not come close to meeting the criteria for SPF50 protection. The second sample failed to an even great degree, with an even lower SPF being reached!

READ THE FULL REPORT HERE.

Image Credit: Which?

What Have Nivea Said?

Beiersdorf, the maker of Nivea, told Which?:

‘The safety of our products is of utmost importance. Nivea Sun prides itself on its decades of experience in sun care, and when this product was independently tested in 2019 it achieved an SPF of 62. When we re-checked this batch, the result was a UVA protection factor of 25.8. Based on this data and our comprehensive quality requirements, we disagree with the Which? findings.’

You can read more about which suncreams Which? does and doesn’t recommend here!

We would also recommend signing up to the Which? top tips for parenthood newsletter to receive baby product safety alerts. Sign up here.

What is SPF & Why is it Important?

SPF stands for ‘sun protection factor’ – this is a measure of the amount of UV (ultraviolet) radiation the cream protects against. The higher the SPF, the greater protection the cream provides. This is important to know; more sensitive skin, and fairer skin, requires a higher SPF as it’s more sensitive to sun damage. This is why it is so worrying that this cream has failed Which? testing not only once, but twice – as parents, we rely on these sun creams providing the protection that they are sold as giving!

You may also see a star rating – this measures the UVA (ultraviolet A) radiation that the cream protects against.

Read the NHS guidance on sun cream here.