Healthy Skin From Head To Toe: Part 2

Spring is finally here! And it took long enough... The warmer weather means shedding those clunky winter layers and letting your skin breathe! In this Healthy Skin series, I'll be talking about what you'll need in the coming months to protect your skin from head to toe. (This means a lot of sunscreen!)

I already touched base on what kinds of ingredients and claims to look out for in your SPF to make sure that you won't break out from your product.

My clients often ask me, "How much sunscreen do you need for the face?" The answer is pretty simple.

You need a 1/4-inch strip of SPF lotion down the length of each of your first and middle fingers.  For most people, this equals about the size of a Hershey's Kiss.  This entire amount should be applied from your forehead down to your collarbone, around your entire neck (including the back), and the tops of your ears.

Yes, you need that much. You must remember that SPF is dose-dependent.  The SPF number is based on testing the amount dermatologists have determined we need to get full protection.  If you use too little, you won't get the protection you think you're getting.

Ok, so how often should you reapply after the first time you apply in the morning? The answer can actually be found in the SPF number.  This will surprise you.  SPF numbers have no connection to the amount of protection. That's right!  It's only connected to how much time you have protection until you have to reapply.

So.  Let's say you go out in the sun with no protection at all, and you burn in 10 minutes. This means if you apply a login with an SPF of 15, you can now go out in the sun without burning for 10 minutes x 15 = 150 minutes of protection. The same formula goes for SPF30 (10 minutes times 30 = 300 minutes of protection.)

In my professional opinion (and according to the FDA for that matter), it should stop there. With sweat, skin cells falling off all day and wear and tear, there's really no way you can count on being protected for much longer than 300 minutes. Even if you use a SPF45, 450 minutes is just too long to wait to reapply your sunscreen if you're outdoors all day.  Indoors is a different story, but even then, I don't agree with numbers over 45.

There is a difference in level of protection between the SPF numbers other than the reapplication time, but it's so little it's almost meaningless. The difference in actual protection between SPF15 and SPF30 is 2%.  Two percent! This is why the FDA was trying to ban the higher numbers in sunscreen back in the mid 2010s; they were trying to mitigate and prevent a false sense of security.  Unfortunately, there are so many products out there with extremely high SPF numbers all efforts were trashed in this endeavor.

The best way to protect yourself from the ravages and dangers of sun damage is to reapply an SPF15 or 30 (whichever feels more comfortable to you) every two hours. Keep a tube of sunscreen in your purse so that you can reapply it to your neck and the tops of your ears (especially if your hair is short or in an up-do). The top or back of the ears are among the most common places skin cancer is found, so make sure you don't skip those areas.  Just don't let your sunscreen sit in a hot car, or the formula is liable to break down and serve you no good.

If you're wearing makeup and you don't want to apply a lotion on top, this is the best time to use a makeup that has SPF built in. I'm flatly against powder or liquid foundation being your only means of protection, because the ingredients that filter out UVB rays need to penetrate the skin and makeup is designed to just sit on top. You still need an SPF lotion as your morning moisturizer.  Besides, do you apply makeup to your neck, chest, and ears?  Mineral makeup is perfect for reapplying an SPF to just the face when out all day or at lunch when you're at work and you want to go out.  You will still need an SPF lotion to reapply to your neck, chest, and ears while you're outside for a while.

By the way, the best way to prevent crow's feet?  A nice pair of large, Jackie O-style UV protection sunglasses. There's nothing like 'em! Wear these sunglasses 365 days a year and you won't need an eye cream for years, I promise you. Just make sure it says "UV Protection" on the label; don't assume sunglasses will protect your eye area just because they're dark.

Now that I've covered SPF sunscreen for the face, I'll be talking about SPF sunscreen for the body in my next post! Stay tuned for the last part of the Healthy Skin From Head To Toe series!

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