Image via Kelly Sue on Flickr

Last week we talked about how the Cosmetic Safety Database just issued a huge report claiming that in an investigation of 952 name-brand sunscreens, four out of five offer inadequate sun protection. This gross error, they allege, is directly linked to the fact that the FDA seems to have a rather lackadaisical attitude when it comes to product labeling, especially when it comes to beauty products, which I needn't remind you are the most intimate of household goods because we put them directly on our skin. And while we're used to products claiming to topically 86 our hormonal acne (hey, that's where a healthy dose of Product Fiend skepticism comes in handy!), we were rather surprised and dismayed to realize that sunscreen manufacturers can claim their SPF is "waterproof!" and "prevents skin cancer!" willy nilly, when this may not always be the case. And fact is, the government has let us down. (Shocking, I know.)

So here's the latest: According to the Times:

Image via Badger Co.

The beauty industry is in a tizzy right now due to a report issued by the Cosmetic Safety Database who claims that in an investigation of 952 name brand sunscreens, four out of five offer inadequate sun protection.

Um, whoops.

Their idea is that since the FDA refuses to regulate cosmetic ingredients, they feel like they needed to take it upon themselves to warn consumers of the risks, which in addition to not getting what's advertised on labels, possible health concerns due to potentially hazardous ingredients seeping into your, yes your, bloodstream.

Some industry experts naysay their claims: a New York Times quote on the subject stated: "What they are doing is developing their own system for evaluating things," said Dr. Warwick L. Morison, professor of dermatology at Johns Hopkins and chairman of the Skin Cancer Foundation's photobiology committee, which tests sunscreens for safety and effectiveness. "Using this scale to say a sunscreen offers good protection or bad protection is junk science." However, many more, including yours truly, feel that it's high time a largely unregulated market is called into question.

The sunscreens that made the grade, after the jump...

Image via Aveeno

I know so many women (myself included, at one time in my life), that see a trip to a beach destination as not only an opportunity to relax, go swimming, spend some time on the beach playing with family and friends, and all that other good stuff, but also as some kind of vanity project--as in, okay, here's my chance to get a summer tan in one go!

Not so fast, missy.

Image via Laura Mercier

Thank christ the weather is getting warmer, and I don't know about you, but my pasty ass has definitely been spending a little more time outside lately. This brings us to a particularly Product Fiend-esque dilemma: How much sunscreen is enough?