Sunscreen use at Danish beaches in 2025 and long-term changes in sun protection related to public advice

National health authorities advise against excessive sun exposure and recently advised the public to increase sun protection factor (SPF) to ⩾30 to reduce sunburns and lower the risk of developing skin cancer.

To examine the prevalence of sunscreen use and level of SPF used at Danish beaches on sunny days in 2025, and the development in sunscreen use over time related to recommendations by the European Union and the Danish Health Authorities. Methods: We investigated the prevalence of sunscreen use at beaches in the Copenhagen area during summer 2025 and related the data to sex, age, SPF, time of sunscreen purchase and frequency of sunscreen application. We compared our data to similar investigations performed during the last 35 years.

The study population was 389 persons, of which 10% were children. Participating men and women had an identical mean age of 34 years. About 70% of men and 90% of women used sunscreen. Mean body SPF was 30 for women and 28 for men. Mean face SPF was 46 for women and 38 for men. Sunscreen use and SPF were independent of age. Newly acquired sunscreens had a higher SPF than sunscreens bought before 2025. We found an exponential rise in SPF related to recommendations by the EU and Danish Health Authorities.

In the last 35 years, the level of SPF used at the beach has increased exponentially from a median of SPF 4 to SPF 30, with a clear relation to public health recommendations.