Day creams in the test: Expensive creams disappoint, test winner available for 1.95 euros

The Stiftung Warentest tested eleven day creams.

In particular, the expensive creams disappointed expectations, and inexpensive products received better grades.

Munich - Spring is just around the corner, temperatures are climbing, the last snow is melting.

Many people drive outside the door in bright sunshine, be it to do sports or to enjoy the change from home office.

In mild temperatures, the power of the sun is underestimated, which can quickly lead to sunburn.

To prevent the unpleasant and carcinogenic consequences of intensive UV radiation, a day cream with UV protection is the right choice.

Stiftung Warentest examined eleven products for which customers pay up to 57 euros in the store.

The surprising result: You can get the test winner for a fraction of the price.

Day creams with UV protection protect against skin aging

Day creams are supposed to care for the skin and at the same time protect it against rapid aging.

The creams in the test have sun protection factors (SPF) of 15 to 30 and are therefore ideally suited for protection against UVA and UVB rays.

Or at least they should.

As the test shows, five of the eleven creams fail to keep the harmful rays out.

If UV rays are responsible for sunburn and premature skin aging, the result of the test is bitter, especially for luxury products.

The creams from the Estée Lauder and Shiseido brands performed poorly.

The moisturizing day cream from dm balea achieved the top grade in UV protection.

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Test results: small price, big impact

But it is not only in terms of UV protection that the luxury products cannot keep up with the cheaper competitors.

The Stiftung Warentest also examined the moisture enrichment, application, microbiological quality, user-friendliness of the packaging, declaration and advertising messages.

Five products in the test received the worst result with a rating of 5.0.

Product name	Stiftung Warentest Note	Average retail price
dm Balea - Moisturizing Day Cream	1.8	1.95 euros
Nivea - Refreshing day care	1.9	4.00 euros
The Body Shop - Aloe Soothing Moisture Lotion	2.1	18.00 euros
Yves Rocher - Hydra Végétal Protective Moisturizing Cream	2.5	15.90 euros
Eucerin - Aquaporin Active	2.8	22.50 euros
Louis Widmer - Hydro-Active daily emulsion	3.5	26.90 euros
Cerave - Moisturizing Face Cream	5.0	12.50 euros
Estée Lauder - DayWear Anti-Oxidant 72H Hydration Sorbet Cream	5.0	50.00 euros
Rossmann Isana - Glow & Shine Daycream & Primer	5.0	6.00 euros
Shiseido - Essential Energy Day Emulsion	5.0	57.00 euros
Vichy - Aqualia Thermal moisturizing care with UV protection	5.0	19.70 euros

The result is surprising: the best creams are available for little money, and expensive competing products take the lower places in the ranking.

In addition, eight of the eleven creams tested contain octocrylene or homosalate, an organic compound that is used as a chemical UV filter.

The EU's Scientific Committee for Consumer Safety (SCCS) is currently examining whether the ingredients have a hormone-like effect.

At the request of Stiftung Warentest, however, the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) sees no acute risk from creams containing homosalate or octocrylene.

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