You know how important it is to protect your skin from the sun, but do you actually know how to use sunscreen properly to get the best possible protection?
It might sound like something you can’t really get wrong. Just blob some suncream on your hand, or spray it straight on your body, and then rub it in, right?
Well, yes, but also no.
There’s a few things you need to keep in mind to make sure you’re actually using your sunscreen properly and keeping your skin protected from the sun.
Make sure you use enough
Remember when you were little and your mum would put so much sun cream on you that it took ages to rub in?
Turns out she was on to something.
Most of us now use way less sunscreen than we should.
To actually get the SPF that’s on your bottle of cream, you need to use almost a teaspoon of it for your face, ears, and neck.
You then need about another 6 teaspoons to do your body.
Use a high SPF
Remember when you were little and your mum would cover YOU in sun cream, and then use an oil with SPF4 on herself?
She really wasn’t onto something with that one.
To stay safe in the sun make sure you use a sunscreen with a high SPF.
Ideally you want to be using a product with SPF 50, which will block 98% of the sun’s harmful UVB rays.
Put your sun cream on 30 minutes before going out
To get the full benefit from your sun cream you need to give it time to be fully absorbed before heading out into the sun.
Ideally you want to give it 30 minutes, but even 15 minutes will give you better protection than if you put it on right before going out.
Reapply your sun cream if you’re in the sun all day
If you’re spending the day out in the sun, then you need to reapply your sunscreen every few hours.
And if you’re at the beach or the pool then make sure you put more cream on after you swim, because the combination of water and then towel drying can rub off most of what you’ve already applied.
Make sure you rub in spray-on sunscreen
This is something that catches out so many people every summer.
If you buy a spray-on sun cream, make sure you cover every inch of your body with it and rub it in properly.
Be aware of your skincare
Something you might not think about is how your regular skincare products might interact with your sun cream.
If you use products that contain retinol, exfoliating acids like glycolic acid, or citrus essential oils then you’ll need to be extra careful and make sure you put on plenty of sun cream before exposing your skin to the sun.
Experts’ advice is to use these kinds of products at night as part of your skincare routine, and not in the morning.
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