A recent study examining TikTok videos about sunscreen has highlighted concerns among dermatologists regarding the spread of misinformation on the platform. While the majority of content promotes sunscreen use, a smaller subset of videos expressing skepticism or outright criticism of sunscreen receive disproportionately high engagement, raising alarm among health experts.

Researchers from the University of Alberta’s Health Law Institute analyzed nearly 1,000 TikTok videos posted in 2024, using popular sunscreen-related hashtags. Approximately 87 percent of the videos encouraged the use of sunscreen, with around 27 percent emphasizing proper application. Only 16 videos exclusively criticized sunscreen, and 42 presented mixed views. Despite this, videos critical of sunscreen attracted significantly more likes, shares, and comments than the promotional content, indicating that anti-sunscreen messages resonate strongly with some users.

The study identified recurring themes in the critical videos, including assertions that sunscreen contains toxic or carcinogenic chemicals, claims that sun exposure is harmless, and suggestions that sunscreen inhibits the benefits of tanning. These messages often employed elements of novelty, shock value, and conspiratorial rhetoric, which the researchers suggest contribute to their viral spread.

Health experts interviewed reacted cautiously to the findings. Adam Friedman, professor and chair of dermatology at George Washington University, emphasized the dangers of forgoing sunscreen, noting that it significantly increases the risk of skin cancer by exposing the skin to harmful ultraviolet rays. Friedman also dismissed alternative practices promoted on social media, such as using tanning without protection or applying unconventional substances like beef tallow, as lacking scientific basis and potentially harmful.

“The risks of skin cancer far outweigh any supposed benefits of avoiding sunscreen,” Friedman said. He also referenced recent regulatory developments in sun care, pointing to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval in June of bemotrizinol, a chemical long used abroad for its enhanced ultraviolet protection, as evidence of advancing sunscreen technology.

Despite the prevalence of misinformation in some posts, TikTok maintains that its community guidelines prohibit health-related falsehoods, and it collaborates with independent fact-checkers to identify and remove misleading content. Briony Swire-Thompson, an assistant professor at Northeastern University who studies misinformation, noted that the predominance of sunscreen-positive videos is encouraging. However, she underscored that the higher engagement rates for critical posts align with previous research showing that users tend to interact more with controversial or misleading health information. She also cautioned against assuming that all users who engage with such content necessarily believe it, as the study did not analyze comment content.

The findings underscore the ongoing challenges faced by health professionals in communicating accurate sun safety information, particularly as new products enter the market. Friedman stressed the importance of effectively reaching audiences vulnerable to misinformation to reduce rising skin cancer rates and to support the adoption of scientifically validated sun protection methods.