{"id":1394,"date":"2012-04-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-04-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aboutskinderm.com\/how-to-get-better-protection-from-sunscreen\/"},"modified":"2024-04-27T02:10:10","modified_gmt":"2024-04-27T02:10:10","slug":"how-to-get-better-protection-from-sunscreen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aboutskinderm.com\/how-to-get-better-protection-from-sunscreen\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Get Better Protection From Sunscreen"},"content":{"rendered":"

https:\/\/www.consumerreports.org\/sun-protection\/get-better-protection-from-sunscreen\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Layering on the right amount is key if you want to safeguard your skin<\/h2>\n

If you diligently apply\u2014and reapply\u2014your sunscreen to all exposed skin when you\u2019re outside, you probably think your skin is safe. But dermatologists warn that few people actually use enough sunscreen to get anything even close to the SPF stamped on the bottle.<\/p>\n

\u201cSunscreen testing in the lab does not always correlate with how well it performs in the real world, mainly because consumers are applying about half as much sunscreen as they should,\u201d says Joshua Zeichner, MD, director of cosmetic and clinical research at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.<\/p>\n

So what actually happens if you skimp on your sunscreen? CR\u2019s sunscreen tests have shown that using half the sunscreen cuts the SPF protection by about half. A recent study from King\u2019s College London came to a similar conclusion but also examined the effect less protection would have on skin. The study was published in the journal Acta Dermato-Venerelogica.<\/p>\n

More on Sun Protection<\/h3>\n

The standard test manufacturers use to determine a sunscreen\u2019s SPF calls for applying sunscreen at a thickness of 2 mg per square centimeter of skin. That translates into using a shot-glassful for your whole body. Then the area is exposed to UV light from a sun simulator.<\/p>\n

In the King\u2019s College study, researchers looked at how well asunscreen labeled SPF 50+ protected skin when it was applied at different levels of thickness. At the typical amount people use\u2014the equivalent of 0.75 mg per square centimeter of skin\u2014the SPF protection level dropped by about 60 percent, according to the lead author, Antony R. Young, Ph.D., a professor at St. John\u2019s Institute of Dermatology, King\u2019s College London. That means that the SPF 50+ worked like an SPF 20.<\/p>\n

And skin biopsies taken by the researchers show you pay a price for not slathering on an adequate amount of sunscreen. When Young and his team examined the samples for the kind of DNA damage that could lead to skin cancer, he says they found \u201cthe thicker the sunscreen application, the better protected they [the study subjects] were from DNA damage.\u201d However, even the thinnest layer of sunscreen was better at shielding skin than no sunscreen at all. \u201cThat was encouraging, because it suggests that even a little sunscreen made a difference,\u201d says Young.<\/p>\n

Tips for Better Coverage<\/h3>\n

One takeaway from this new research is that sunscreen with a higher SPF might help make up for less-than-perfect application. \u201cI look at high SPF sunscreen as like an insurance policy to help guarantee the best level of protection,\u201d says Zeichner. \u201cThe higher SPF you start out with, the higher level you\u2019ll end up with, no matter how much you put on.\u201d<\/p>\n

That said, the best protection still comes from proper application. \u201cYou need a blob the size of a marble to cover your face and ears, then another blob the size of a golf ball for the rest of your body,\u201d says Joel Cohen, M.D., a Denver-based dermatologist on the teaching faculty at the University of Colorado and the University of California at Irvine. That adds up to about an ounce of sunscreen to cover your whole body.<\/p>\n

Given that you also need to reapply every 2 hours or after swimming or heavy sweating, a 6- or 7-ounce tube of sunscreen should be empty at the end of couple of days (not the end of a week-long vacation). And be especially careful with spray sunscreens, because it\u2019s harder to determine how much you\u2019re using than it is with a lotion.<\/p>\n

But being sun smart is about much more than properly applying sunscreen.<\/p>\n

Wearing sun-protective clothing means you can skip the sunscreen on those covered body parts. Hats with broad brims will help protect the face, neck, and ears. But because they can\u2019t provide 100 percent coverage, they should be used with sunscreen. \u201cA hat won\u2019t cast a full shadow over the face, plus there is still significant UV radiation from the reflection of the sun off of cement, sand, or water,\u201d says Cohen. And whenever possible, seek out shade, especially between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., when the sun\u2019s rays are at their strongest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Layering on the right amount is key if you want to safeguard your skin<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[78],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-in-print-and-online"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Get Better Protection From Sunscreen - AboutSkin Dermatology and DermSurgery, PC. - Denver Dermatologist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aboutskinderm.com\/how-to-get-better-protection-from-sunscreen\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Get Better Protection From Sunscreen - AboutSkin Dermatology and DermSurgery, PC. - 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