If the dermatologists of TikTok and Instagram have taught us something, it’s that sunscreen is without doubt one of the best and handiest methods to reduce UV harm. That features wrinkles and darkish spots, sure, however shielding your pores and skin from the solar’s rays can be a should for stopping basal and squamous cell carcinoma (the commonest types of pores and skin most cancers) and melanoma (the deadliest). Merely put, everybody’s day by day skincare routine ought to embrace SPF. To get probably the most safety, although, you should put on sufficient—particularly on probably the most uncovered components of your physique, like your face.
So how a lot sunscreen must you use on this further weak space, precisely? “Quantifying the precise quantity may be actually robust as a result of all people measures issues in another way,” Susan Massick, MD, a board-certified dermatologist at The Ohio State College Wexner Medical Middle, tells SELF. In different phrases, most of us aren’t digging into our wallets to measure a “nickel-size” dollop of sunscreen each morning (the quantity the Pores and skin Most cancers Basis recommends to your face alone).
The issue with winging it: “Quite a lot of people don’t notice they’re not utilizing sufficient,” Dr. Massick says. That’s why we’ve put collectively this visible information: That can assist you work out the right quantity of SPF to cowl your whole face (and neck).
So, how a lot sunscreen must you use in your face?
Dr. Massick has a few useful pointers: The primary (and best to measure, in our opinion) is 2 finger lengths’ value of sunscreen. Mainly, meaning spreading a thick line alongside your whole index and center finger. You may as well goal for a quarter-size blob. (See photos beneath.)
“I’ve additionally seen lots of people recommend a nickel-size dollop, however I don’t assume that’s sufficient,” Dr. Massick says. “We wish to be certain that persons are overlaying often-missed spots, too, just like the ears, alongside the hairline, and behind and in entrance of the neck.”
Perhaps you’re questioning if these guidelines apply to make-up with SPF too: The brief reply is that you simply’ll seemingly nonetheless want a separate, devoted sunscreen, since you in all probability aren’t carrying two fingers’ value of basis (since that may really feel heavy), in keeping with Dr. Massick. You additionally might not apply it evenly throughout your face, particularly when you choose extra protection in sure spots versus others. Plus, some makeup-sunscreen hybrids don’t provide “broad-spectrum” safety (towards each UVA and UVB rays)—a should to remain secure.
“SPF in make-up is an additional benefit, however it shouldn’t be used as the first or solely layer of protection,” Dr. Massick says—which is why she recommends a base of standard sunscreen, then a quarter-size dollop of the SPF make-up on prime. But when that feels too goopy, it’s okay to make use of much less, she provides—so long as you’ve got that base coat of sunscreen beneath.
Do your lips want sunscreen too?
“The actual fact of the matter is that the lips are in all probability much more inclined to solar harm,” Dr. Massick says. In contrast to the remainder of your face, your lips don’t have as a lot melanin (pigment)—which means “they don’t have that protecting colour to protect you from solar publicity,” she explains.