I have read so many reviews on other blogs and sites especially on sunscreens. And, I have found out one terrible mistake which people make – amount of sunscreen to be applied for proper protection. Many people apply a drop of the product or equivalent. That got me thinking about the amount of sunscreen which should be applied for optimal protection. And, then, I came across a comment in facebook by Renne Rouleau which said that two finger length amount of sunscreen should be applied to every part of the body.
So, I tried to find more about what is the ideal amount of sunscreen which should be applied. And, the information I came across was correct. If one applies amount of sunscreen which can be traced along the length of their middle finger, they get adequate protection of 45 minutes and if they apply the amount traced across both their index and middle finger, they get optimal protection of 2 hours and 15 minutes. And, this amount of sunscreen has to be applied to every part of the body. The body is divided into 11 parts – face and neck, upper back, lower back, chest, stomach and waist, both upper thighs and lower thighs including feet. So, you need to apply two finger length amount of sunscreen for every part of the body for optimal protection. And, sunscreen has to be applied every half hour according to the article I am referring to.
PS: The information provided in this post has been taken from this article. Kindly refer to it for more details. The link to this article was shared by Tanveer of Addicted to Blush so very thanks to her!!!
So, how much of this advice do I follow? Ok, no, I do not reapply any sunscreen after going into the sun. Not even during my vacation. And, I apply only a finger length amount to my face and neck. May be it is pretty less but frankly the products is so heavy and makes my skin so oily that there is no scope for reapplication unless I wash off my face and do the whole routine again which is again quite an impossible thing. But, how so ever much one might be diligent with sunscreen application and reapplication, it is always best to stay out of sun. I try to follow that rule most of the times 🙂PS: This article is relevant for chemical sunscreens.Â
Poohkie says
September 8, 2011 at 5:31 AMThanks for this fantastic post. I’ve always found it odd when people review sunscreens & mention that small amount is enough. I too have been using less, but only slightly less than required.
swati says
September 8, 2011 at 8:50 AMhey Poohkie…yeah even I found it odd and confusing!!!
Divine Blush says
February 4, 2012 at 3:57 PMHi dear.. Could you plz suggest a correct method to apply sunscreen.. i.e Cleanser, Toner, Day Cream & Sunscreen or the other way.. Ur views plz..
Swati Murti says
February 5, 2012 at 4:58 AMhey DB…it depends on the sunscreen you are using. Cleanser goes first, follow with toner and day cream. If you are using chemical sunscreen, try to keep it as close to the skin as possible. You can in fact replace your day cream with sunscreen as they are pretty moisturizing and tend to make the skin oily. But, if you are using a Zinc Oxide sunscreen, make sure you use a thin layer of moisturizing day cream and the top layer of your skin should be the sunscreen.