Remind yourself to reapply your sunscreen this summer with these UV stickers

This summer, don’t forget to reapply sunscreen. Wearing sunscreen is critical to protecting your skin from harmful UV rays. Experts agree that you should reapply your sunscreen every two hours, possibly sooner if you swim or sweat outside. Sometimes this can be hard to keep track of, but there are new UV stickers that claim to help you remember.

I tested several brands of UV stickers that help you know when your sunscreen has stopped protecting you. To get the most accurate results, I tested these UV stickers with different types of sunscreens (mineral, chemical, and combinations of both). The results were unexpected. Read on to find out what you need to know about reapplying sunscreen and what to expect when using UV stickers.

What are UV stickers?

UV stickers detect ultraviolet radiation from the sun. When sunscreen is applied to the sticker, it should become transparent, meaning you are protected from harmful rays. Stickers that turn purple warn you that you’ve lost that protection and need to reapply sunscreen. The idea is that these stickers will tell you when you need to reapply long before you’re warned the old fashioned way – a burning, red sunburn.

I tested UV stickers from SpotMyUV. They are readily available at Amazon and Target for about $15. It should be noted that I tested first UVIFY UV stickers, a budget alternative to SpotMyUV. These stickers didn’t work for me and wouldn’t go clear even after several layers of sunscreen. Fortunately, the SpotMyUV stickers colored for me.

Remind yourself to reapply your sunscreen.

SpotMyUV stickers do not necessarily test your sunscreen’s effectiveness or SPF level. This is left to high-tech, specialized laboratories. However, it can tell you when your sunscreen is no longer protecting you or not protecting you.

How do you use the UV stickers?

I followed the directions on the back of the bag. First, peel the stickers off the paper and stick them on your upper arm or other skin that is exposed to the sun. Then cover your exposed skin and the sticker with sunscreen, wait 30 seconds and gently rub in the sunscreen. After a minute in the sun (or more if there is cloud cover), the stickers should change from dark purple to clear. A clear sticker means you’re protected.

In my own experiment, I put a tester on my upper arm and then four stickers on the tops of my feet. I then waited 30 seconds to let the sunscreen soak in before rubbing it in. However, I’ve seen on TikTok that some wait as long as 15 minutes before slathering on sunscreen and going outside. Regardless, I believe we have similar results.

I rate my own UV stickers under the sun

I tested these SpotMyUV stickers on a hot day when the UV was nine and there was minimal cloud cover. During my 2-hour experiment, I sat in the sun on my balcony and walked my dog.

I tested four different brands of sunscreen with four detection stickers. Two sunscreens were chemical, one was mineral, and the last sunscreen was a combination of mineral and chemical.

Chemical sunscreen

I covered the top left UV sticker with Supergoop! Unseen sunscreen. It contains avobenzone, homosalate, octisalate and octocrylene and has an SPF of 40. This sunscreen is a little different from most chemical sunscreens because it’s clear and lightweight. I was interested to see if this formula would still work with these UV decals.

The bottom right sticker was covered with Everyday Humans Oh My Bod Sunscreen. Like Supergoop, this sunscreen contains avobenzone, homosalate, octisalate, and octocrylene. However, Everyday Humans has the traditional sunscreen look and feel. It also has SPF 50.

Mineral sunscreen

The bottom left UV sticker was covered with EleVen by Venus Williams Unrivaled Sun Serum. It contains zinc oxide and has SPF 40. I chose this product not only because it is the best mineral sunscreen, but also because I wanted to test a mineral formula with the stickers.

Combined sunscreen

I ended up using EltaMD UV Daily Sunscreen in the lower right sticker. This lightweight sunscreen contains both zinc oxide and octinoxate. This was a good sunscreen compared to the results of all-mineral sunscreens.

My unexpected results

I was shocked (and a little confused) by my results. First, I should note that after waiting 30 seconds and gently rubbing the sunscreen onto the stickers, a sticky film came off. I thought maybe it was the sunscreen but it happened on every sticker. I searched the SpotMyUV website for answers but found nothing; I’m not sure if this should happen. According to the website, each sticker has three layers. This may have been the first layer that came off when I rubbed in the sunscreen and that may have skewed my results. Regardless, here’s what I found.

My results in the first minute:

• Supergoop! Unseen (Chemical, SPF 40): Turned light purple
• The ultimate sun protection serum (Mineral, SPF 40): They went just one shade lighter
• EltaMD UV Daily (Combined, SPF 40): They became almost completely clean
• Everyday people oh my body (Chemical, SPF 50): It went almost completely transparent

My results in the first 5 minutes:

• Supergoop! Unseen (Chemical, SPF 40): Clarified with a purple streak
• The ultimate sun protection serum (Mineral, SPF 40): They went just one shade lighter
• EltaMD UV Daily (Combined, SPF 40): Turned transparent with a light purple streak
• Everyday people oh my body (Chemical, SPF 50): Turned completely transparent

The stickers stayed that way for about the first half hour. The mineral sunscreen sticker started to turn more purple, so I re-applied Everyday Humans Oh My Bod to three of the four testers.

My results after 30 minutes and a second application of chemical sunscreen:

• Supergoop! Unseen (Chemical, SPF 40): Goes on completely transparent
• The ultimate sun protection serum (Mineral, SPF 40): They became completely clean
• EltaMD UV Daily (Combined, SPF 40): It became perfectly clear
• Everyday people oh my body (Chemical, SPF 50): Stays completely clean

My results after an hour:

• Supergoop! Unseen (Chemical, SPF 40): Thread turned light purple
• The ultimate sun protection serum (Mineral, SPF 40): Stays completely clear
• EltaMD UV Daily (Combined, SPF 40): Turned light purple
• Everyday people oh my body (Chemical, SPF 50): Started turning light purple

Then I went out for a walk in the sun. I noticed that the lower left sticker with a layer of mineral sunscreen and a layer of chemical sunscreen stays clean. The lower right sticker, which only had one layer of chemical sunscreen, started to turn purple. The top left sticker with two layers of chemical sunscreen had a patch of dark purple, and the top right sticker with one layer of combination sunscreen and a layer of chemical was almost all purple.

My results after two hours:

• Supergoop! Unseen (Chemical, SPF 40): Thread turned dark purple
• The ultimate sun protection serum (Mineral, SPF 40): Turned light purple in spots
• EltaMD UV Daily (Combined, SPF 40): Turned completely dark purple
• Everyday people oh my body (Chemical, SPF 50): Turned purple in spots

Two hours is the recommended time to reapply the sunscreen. That concludes my experiment.

Do UV stickers really work?

The UV stickers I tested became transparent when covered with sunscreen and exposed to the sun. In that aspect, I would say that these stickers work. However, the results I got don’t accurately reflect how well each sunscreen protects me from the sun. First, I couldn’t get the mineral sunscreen sticker to come off completely clean. This could be user error — maybe I didn’t apply enough the first time. The brand claims it works with both mineral and chemical sunscreens, but I can’t find any studies to back that up. Also, Supergoop didn’t get as clear as the Everyday Humans sticker. I wonder if this has to do with the formula being so different from traditional sunscreens. Looking at their website, it looks like it’s designed to work with a typical white, thick sunscreen.

I wouldn’t rely on these UV stickers alone. Especially since I found they don’t work very well with mineral sunscreens. However, they can’t hurt if they help you remember to reapply. The best sunscreen you can have is any sunscreen you will actually wear and reapply.