Don’t slather mindlessly. Find the sunscreen that works best for your situation, and consider it just one part of your UV ray defenses.

At least wear a hat: Relying solely on sunscreens for protection may leave you vulnerable.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Maybe it’s time to think outside the tube. Environmental Working Group (EWG) released its annual sunscreen safety report this month, finding once again that many of the most popular brands fail to protect people’s skin. And that some may be introducing harmful chemicals into our bodies and our environment. Meanwhile, a spokesperson with the American Academy of Dermatologists questions the expectation that any sunscreen offers a perfect defense. "There’s no perfect formulation, they all have their pluses and minuses," says Darrel Rigel, MD, of the AAD. On the other hand, for all their flaws, they’re still very important. "Your skin’s like a meter in a taxicab, it only goes forward. The more sun you get, the faster the meter goes," Dr. Rigel adds. “Sunscreen slows that meter down. If you get too far along, the meter gets high enough and you can develop skin cancer." The good news: While picking a sunscreen and using it properly isn’t as mindless as it seems, there are other steps you can take to cover the holes that sunscreen leaves in your defenses.

THE DETAILS: The EWG sunscreen report based its results on the products’ effectiveness at filtering out UVA and UVB rays, as well as the known safety of the chemicals used. The group doesn’t conduct its own studies, it reviews the ones already available. According to the review, out of 1,572 sunscreens and sun-blocking products currently on the market, three out of five either fail to protect the skin from sun damage, contain harmful chemicals linked to health problems, or both.

Here are some of the other key findings: