"Top Sunscreens, Ranked by Two Consumer Health Groups"

"While you're out buying the charcoal briquets for your Memorial Day barbecue this year, you'll probably want to pick up some sunscreen, too. But, of the dozens of varieties that appear on store shelves, which is the best one to buy?

Just in time to help you choose, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) has released its fifth annual guide to sunscreen products — including lip balms and sunscreen-containing cosmetics — rating them for both safety (based on whether they contain toxic chemicals) and effectiveness (based on data on how well they block UVA and UVB rays and withstand exposure to the sun).

Since the Food and Drug Administration doesn't regulate sunscreen, the EWG says, it's up to the consumer to suss out what's safe. Incidentally, the environmental group says, 60% of sunscreens on the American market wouldn't pass Europe's more stringent regulations."

Meredith Melnick reports for TIME's Healthland May 24, 2011.