How to use Sunscreen/Sunblock correctly?

[travis82]

Hi,

I'm a 30 year old guy and have been recently using sunscreen whenever I go out.

The reason is because I want to protect my face from the sun....I don't want to get aging skin and wrinkles.

We will all eventually get old one day....I understand that.

It's just that I want to look young while I still can. I'm only in my early thirties.

I don't want to look like I am in my fifties with old, sagging skin and wrinkles when I am actually only thirty years old.

So I have been using sunscreen with an SPF protection of 50.

The problem is ...whenever I apply sunscreen on my face....there will be some areas where the white/whitish cream did not completely fade out/dissolve/become invisible and blend in with the rest of my face.

The reason is I apply too much sunscreen on certain areas on my face....resulting in some white cream remaining on my face.

It can become distracting to others....as they see a white line on my face.


So how can I prevent this problem? Should I apply thinly evenly across my face? But I am scared that if I apply suncreen thinly on my face...it will not give me enough protection from the sun? Am I right or wrong?

The area where I apply too much sunscreen is the area between my side nose and my cheeks...because that's the area where wrinkles will appear.

Since I'm using a SPF 50 protection sunscreen, am I safe to apply thinly evenly across my face...and it will still protect me from the sun?

I don't want to keep having excess white cream residue of the sunscreen on my face...because it affects my looks and makes me look very weird.

Some of my friends jokes that I have semen sprayed across my face....and I have to tell them that it's actually sunblock...not semen.

But I am scared that if I apply thinly/ too little suncreen on my face...it will not protect me from the sun.

How much is too much? How little is too little?


Thank you.

Your advices and answers will be greatly appreciated.

 

[KaraBulut]

Well, you have the right idea. You just need a few changes to your routine.

The SPF standard has been quite inconsistent, so in the US the FDA just changed the way that sunscreening and sunblocking preparations are labeled. So, what you want for daily use is an SPF higher than 15 that is labeled as "broad spectrum". In general terms, an SPF of 15 means that you could be in the sun 15 hours before you were exposed to the same amount of radiation as if you spent 1 hour in the sun without sunscreen.

So, unless you work outside or unless you are spending the day at the beach, an SPF of 60 is probably not much more effective than if you went down to the SPF 15-20 range. For every day use if you're in the sun less than an hour a day, a lower SPF is fine and it will get rid of a lot of that grayish-white effect.

The other thing that you're doing wrong is applying sunscreen to your face. What you want to apply is a facial moisturizer that contains a sunscreen. You will apply the moisturizer to your entire face and then blot lightly to remove any excess, if needed. By using a moisturizer applied all over your face, you will get rid of the odd lines and white patches and you will ensure that you don't get uneven exposure marks if you do spend anytime in the sun. And using a moisturizer intended for the face will also lower the chance of rashes, allergies or breakouts that commercial sunscreens could cause.

Any cosmetics store or counter will have an aesthetician who can help you find the right facial moisturizer product for your skin type. You can use the regular sunscreen cream on the rest of your body.

 

[racer2438]

Here's an idea,


how about you apply the sunblock while looking in a mirror so you can see how it looks when ur done. You only need to apply couple times a day if you're out and about.

nothing wrong in protecting ur skin but ur making this harder than it is.

 

[travis82]

Well, you have the right idea. You just need a few changes to your routine.

The SPF standard has been quite inconsistent, so in the US the FDA just changed the way that sunscreening and sunblocking preparations are labeled. So, what you want for daily use is an SPF higher than 15 that is labeled as "broad spectrum". In general terms, an SPF of 15 means that you could be in the sun 15 hours before you were exposed to the same amount of radiation as if you spent 1 hour in the sun without sunscreen.

So, unless you work outside or unless you are spending the day at the beach, an SPF of 60 is probably not much more effective than if you went down to the SPF 15-20 range. For every day use if you're in the sun less than an hour a day, a lower SPF is fine and it will get rid of a lot of that grayish-white effect.

The other thing that you're doing wrong is applying sunscreen to your face. What you want to apply is a facial moisturizer that contains a sunscreen. You will apply the moisturizer to your entire face and then blot lightly to remove any excess, if needed. By using a moisturizer applied all over your face, you will get rid of the odd lines and white patches and you will ensure that you don't get uneven exposure marks if you do spend anytime in the sun. And using a moisturizer intended for the face will also lower the chance of rashes, allergies or breakouts that commercial sunscreens could cause.

Any cosmetics store or counter will have an aesthetician who can help you find the right facial moisturizer product for your skin type. You can use the regular sunscreen cream on the rest of your body.

KaraBulut, thanks for your advice.

So I should use a facial moisturizer with sunscreen for my face?

The normal sunscreen without facial moisturizer for the rest of my body?

But most facial moisturizer/sunscreen contains up to maximum 15 SPF? Are there facial moisturizer/sunscreen with more than
SPF 15?


Here's what I got from a health/fitness magazine ;

"SPF, which stands for Sun Protection Factor, is an indicator of how long it takes for UVB rays to turn your skin red as compared to when you're not using sunblock. A sunblock of SPF 15 means that your skin will take 15 times longer to turn red as compared to if you don't have sunscreen on, and SPF 30 means it will take 30 times longer. And remember that a bigger number doesn't mean markedly more protection- SPF15 sunblock keeps 93 percent of UVB rays out, SPF 30 keeps out 97 per cent, and SPF 50 keeps out 98 percent. It is recommended that you use a sunblock of SPF 30, and keep reapplying often."




Actually, I don't spend the whole day under the sun.

But when I go out, getting from one place to another...it is inevitable that I will be exposed temporarily to the sun's rays.

 

[travis82]

Here's an idea,


how about you apply the sunblock while looking in a mirror so you can see how it looks when ur done. You only need to apply couple times a day if you're out and about.

nothing wrong in protecting ur skin but ur making this harder than it is.

Thanks, racer2438. I did look into the mirror when applying sunscreen. It's just that certain areas, I apply too much...leaving a white patch on my face.

If I apply thinly evenly over my face, will it be more than enough protection for my face against the sun ??

 

[OPHELIA_HARDIN]

If you're NOT in the US, see if you can find 'Nivea "Light Feeling" daily face sun fluid'. Absolutely the greatest! SPF 50 and light, non-oily and invisible. I got mine in India and just love the stuff.

If you are in the US, you're out of luck because they don't sell it here... :-(

 

[guyfromNY]

I find that it helps if I put it on about a half hour before I go out. It gives the sunscreen a little bit of time to absorb into my face so that it doesn't look so white and greasy. And good for you for using it, sunscreen is very important. It breaks my heart when I see these idiots spending time in tanning beds (partially inspired by jersey shore no doubt) and not thinking about the ramifications of it..

 

[KaraBulut]

KaraBulut, thanks for your advice.

So I should use a facial moisturizer with sunscreen for my face?

The normal sunscreen without facial moisturizer for the rest of my body?

^Exactly.

Using a moisturizer on your face helps keep your skin healthy. When you use a facial moisturizer that contains a sunscreen, you're also protecting your skin from sun damage.

There are moisturizers out there that have up to SPF 60. However, there's such a minor difference between 96%, 97%, 98%, etc that unless you work construction or live on the equator, the minor differences between SPF 15, SPF 30 and SPF 60 won't make that much difference in the level of protection. So, as long as you're getting a minimum of SPF 15, you can make a decision on which moisturizer based upon which one you like and which one blends best with your skin. And keep in mind that the lower the SPF, the less likely you will see the shiny, gray-blue color that your friends were commenting upon.