National Sunscreen Day

Between May and August, the UV Index in most of the continental United States regularly reaches levels that can cause sunburn in under 15 minutes of unprotected exposure. National Sunscreen Day falls on May 27, positioned at the start of this peak window as a public health checkpoint.

The observance was established by the National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention, the same coalition that partnered with the EPA to launch "Don't Fry Day" in 2008. While both campaigns share a sun safety mission, National Sunscreen Day anchors the message to a fixed calendar date, making it a yearly prompt to verify that the single most effective tool against UV-induced skin damage is in your bag and not expired.

Humans have shielded themselves from the sun for thousands of years. Ancient Egyptians applied extracts of jasmine and rice bran to their skin, and zinc oxide paste has been used as a protective barrier across many cultures. But modern sunscreen, the engineered product designed specifically to absorb or reflect ultraviolet radiation, has existed for less than a century.

The turning point came in the 1930s and 1940s. Australian chemist H.A. Milton Blake formulated one of the first commercial sun-protective creams in the early 1930s. In 1935, Eugène Schueller, the founder of L'Oréal, produced Ambre Solaire, a tanning oil with UV-filtering properties.

A sunburn on a Swiss peak

In 1938, Swiss chemistry student Franz Greiter suffered a severe sunburn while climbing Mount Piz Buin in the Alps. That experience drove him to develop Gletscher Crème (Glacier Cream) in 1946, a product that would become the foundation of the Piz Buin brand. Greiter went further: in 1962, he introduced the Sun Protection Factor, the measurement system that gave consumers a standardized way to compare sunscreen strength.

Wartime innovation and the rise of Coppertone

During World War II, American pharmacist Benjamin Green developed a protective substance using red veterinary petroleum to shield soldiers from tropical sun in the South Pacific. After the war, Green refined the formula into a consumer product that became Coppertone suntan cream, one of the first mass-market sunscreens in the United States.

Regulation catches up

The FDA adopted the SPF system in 1978, classifying sunscreens as over-the-counter drugs. For decades, most sunscreens only protected against UVB rays, the wavelengths primarily responsible for sunburn. It was not until 2011 that the FDA finalized its broad-spectrum labeling rule, requiring products to demonstrate protection against both UVA and UVB radiation.

From Don't Fry Day to National Sunscreen Day

The National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention, a coalition formed in 1998 to unite health organizations around UV safety education, launched "Don't Fry Day" in 2008 in partnership with the EPA's SunWise Program. That floating observance falls on the Friday before Memorial Day. Around 2011, the Council also designated May 27 as National Sunscreen Day, anchoring the sun safety message to a fixed calendar date. The observance has since been adopted by dermatology practices, skincare brands, and public health campaigns as an annual prompt to check sunscreen supplies and application habits before summer begins.