Annual Sunscreen Protection Can Cost as Little as $40 per Year

MONDAY, March 9, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Using sunscreen can cost as little as $40 a year or as much as $1,400 a year, according to a study published online Feb. 18 in JAMA Dermatology.Maya Mundada, from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and colleagues assessed how the cost of sunscreen use varies by sunscreen price and other sun-protective behaviors. The economic evaluation study calculated sunscreen application costs based on recommended application amounts, use of other sun protection strategies, and 2025 sunscreen prices from an online retailer.The researchers found that for sunscreens with similar ingredients and sun protection factor ratings, the unit price of sunscreen varied by up to 17.5-fold across three sunscreens. Per-application cost varied from $0.04 to $3.79, depending on combinations of typical clothing worn. One year of sunscreen use had an estimated cost between $39.28 and $1,429.42, a 36-fold difference, depending on unit price and other sun-protective strategies used. At the beach, a single week of sunscreen, assuming two applications a day, costs approximately $6.57 to $135.82, depending on whether wearing shorts or a bikini and sunscreen unit price."Encouraging the use of lower-priced sunscreens and other sun protective behavior like wearing hats, long sleeves, and long pants could lead to better protection," coauthor Maria L. Wei, M.D., Ph.D., also from UCSF, said in a statement. "Less expensive sunscreen, with the same active ingredients and same sun protection factor, is as photoprotective as the more expensive, in terms of protection from UV radiation."Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required).Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Annual Sunscreen Protection Can Cost as Little as $40 per Year

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