You’ve in all probability heard it on repeat: For correct solar safety, it’s good to reapply, reapply, reapply that SPF. Particularly, you need to purpose to the touch up your sunscreen each two hours once you’re chilling outdoors, and much more incessantly should you’re swimming or sweating, as SELF beforehand reported.
That sounds simple sufficient—particularly should you’re bumming it on the seaside, say, or dedicating your entire afternoon to lounging in a park. However for these of us who put on make-up, there’s an issue: How on earth are you presupposed to slather goopy sunscreen in your face with out ruining the muse, blush, and bronzer you so fastidiously utilized this morning?
“Ideally, try to be reapplying with a lotion, cream, or gel,” Azadeh Shirazi, MD, a dermatologist at La Jolla Dermatology in California, tells SELF. “They’re usually thicker and are typically more practical by providing you with extra even protection in comparison with sprays.”
After all, that’s not all the time sensible with a full face of make-up. And sadly, no, you’ll be able to’t simply go onerous below your basis: It’s possible you’ll assume you’re good to go together with one layer of an SPF 75 product to begin your routine, for instance, however dermatologists say that also isn’t sufficient to protect you from the solar’s dangerous UV rays (which might burn your pores and skin, trigger hyperpigmentation, and improve your threat for pores and skin most cancers).
“Sunscreen efficacy decreases over time,” Lily Talakoub, MD, a dermatologist at McLean Dermatology and Skincare in Virginia, tells SELF. “Because it rubs off or will get absorbed into the pores and skin, it received’t present as a lot safety as once you initially put it on.” That’s why reapplication is so necessary, even when it’s cloudy out otherwise you’re staying indoors. “So long as there’s daylight, you’re getting uncovered to UVA rays, which might even penetrate by your automotive or bed room window,” Dr. Talakoub says.
The excellent news is, sure, there actually is a mess-free approach to reapply with out having to redo your face. In truth, there are a number of strategies that not solely provide longer-lasting protection in opposition to solar injury, however could even improve your look. Simply understand that none of those choices ought to change a correct, nickel-sized base coat of broad-spectrum sunscreen (SPF 30 or increased), which belongs below your basis, Dr. Shirazi and Dr. Talakoub say.
For all you make-up devotees, listed below are 4 sensible and dermatologist-approved methods to remain secure—and nonetheless look good—through the scorching days forward.
Use an SPF mineral powder.
Simply as you’d hold your make-up in place with a setting powder, you are able to do the identical with an SPF model. It’s an particularly nice possibility if you detest the greasiness of lotions and like one thing that may take in oil, Dr. Talakoub says. Plus, it may possibly even assist your make-up keep put for longer.
“Powders are nice once you’ve obtained oily pores and skin or when it’s humid and sticky out and also you simply want one thing to soak up all that extra moisture in your face,” Dr. Shirazi provides. She and Dr. Talakoub each advocate Colorescience’s Brush-On Sunscreen SPF 50, which is available in 4 completely different shade shades to match your make-up. For a extra reasonably priced and translucent different, you may as well attempt SELF’s Wholesome Magnificence Award-winning Hawaiian Tropic Mineral Sunscreen Powder Brush SPF 30, which is noncomedogenic and supreme for acne-prone of us. Whichever system you select, you’ll want to brush it throughout your entire face—not simply the oily components—for extra even protection.
Retouch with a transparent sunscreen stick.
You won’t assume to maintain sunscreen in your purse or bag the best way you’d with a lip balm, say, or a pack of gum. However should you actually need to keep on prime of your SPF, Dr. Shirazi recommends conserving a transparent sunscreen stick available, like Supergoop!’s Glow Stick Sunscreen SPF 50 or Neutrogena’s Mineral Extremely Sheer Sunscreen Stick SPF 50. These ultra-portable formulation make for simple, handy retouching on the go: Simply glide the stick throughout your face and mix with clear fingers or a magnificence sponge, she says.