SPF-how many use it correctly?

[Jazzbea]

Considering that the amount of SPF one must use throughout a day is almost half a container, a large spoon sized application and reapply every 2 hours on an ordinary day? Using SPF in the morning (only) does little to nothing. Especially if you are using SPF incorporated in foundation or a tinted moisturizer. How many use the product correctly?

I'm sure that for people with problem skin, applying so much product every two hours all year round (even during the depths of a UK winter when they are not even outside very much) will clog their skin and exacerbate breakouts.

@AlwaysNever, not really. I don't like aerosols very much. One year I did get a rather dry throat (similar to the feeling of breathing in smoke) after using a spray. Lasted a while until I made the connection. Now I avoid but do occasionally use sprays/aerosols but feel like I have to move into another room after spraying. As I said upthread, I use long lasting sunscreen instead. (Ultrasun)

@Housewife2010 absolutely and some people have allergies to the ingredients too.

I’ve only ever applied sunscreen once daily even when on holiday. I don’t sit around a pool/get wet. I’m very pale, burn easily. It definitely works on protecting the skin from burning. Isn’t there something where you can stay in the sun 50 times longer (with SPF 50) than the amount of time it would take you to burn (for me about 20 mins).

It’s harder to judge the longer term effects between not topping up and topping up on ageing. The ‘window side driver’ photos are usually with no protection at all.

You dont' need half a bottle if you are only outside total 30 minutes and not in strong sun then.

I think it depends what you are concerned about - skin burning/skin cancer or skin ageing.

UVA rays are the ageing ones and they are present all year round at the same levels and can penetrate through clouds and windows. UVB are the burning rays and when you look at UV levels that is what they are showing.

I am outside quite a bit - I run and walk the dog so would reapply in the middle of the day if I was going outside again. I wear a cap to run in too.

I don’t wear foundation so easy for me just to stick more on mid morning. This doesn’t break me out.

What I have noticed interestingly is the skin on my right hand has a few more sun spots than my left. And I guess when I drive that is the hand nearest the window. I’m rubbish at putting sun cream on my hands so should really start that.

I have melasma and use tretinoin so spf is really important to me but I don't reapply that often.

I use a chemical spf in the morning and then during the warmer months I use a tinted zinc spf as a basis for makeup instead of foundation. Then I carry a small spf and if I'm outside in direct sun I wear a hat or reapply just where I get my melasma on my forehead and cheeks.

I also apply spf on neck, chest and back of hands as apply tretinoin there too.

@TheLongGloriesOfTheWinterMoon

The problem with dermatologists is that they only observe the costs of sunshine and are often unaware of the magnitude and mechanisms of the benefits. It's not just about vitamin d, for example; there are other important benefits. And most studies that find no effect of suncream on vit d levels are looking at normal usage - lightly, infrequently applied and SPF 15. That's not what I'm concerned about.

This article may be of interest:

Insufficient Sun Exposure Has Become a Real Public Health Problem

Lars Alfredsson et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020.

This article aims to alert the medical community and public health authorities to accumulating evidence on health benefits from sun exposure, which suggests that insufficient sun exposure is a significant public health problem. Studies in the past decade indicate that insufficient sun exposure may be responsible for 340,000 deaths in the United States and 480,000 deaths in Europe per year, and an increased incidence of breast cancer, colorectal cancer, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, autism, asthma, type 1 diabetes and myopia. Vitamin D has long been considered the principal mediator of beneficial effects of sun exposure. However, oral vitamin D supplementation has not been convincingly shown to prevent the above conditions; thus, serum 25(OH)D as an indicator of vitamin D status may be a proxy for and not a mediator of beneficial effects of sun exposure. New candidate mechanisms include the release of nitric oxide from the skin and direct effects of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) on peripheral blood cells. Collectively, this evidence indicates it would be wise for people living outside the tropics to ensure they expose their skin sufficiently to the sun. To minimize the harms of excessive sun exposure, great care must be taken to avoid sunburn, and sun exposure during high ambient UVR seasons should be obtained incrementally at not more than 5-30 min a day (depending on skin type and UV index), in season-appropriate clothing and with eyes closed or protected by sunglasses that filter UVR

UVA rays are the ageing ones and they are present all year round at the same levels and can penetrate through clouds and windows. UVB are the burning rays and when you look at UV levels that is what they are showing

@Delatron the UVA filters in sunscreen are pretty unstable and when they break down can cause more damage than no sunscreen. So to get the protection you really do need to reapply according to instructions - with some brands every 2 hours. It's one of the reasons I use long lasting sunscreen. I don't worry if the UV is 2 or less though. I'm in my 50s and my skin isn't unduly aged. There's more to life than worrying too much about wrinkles.

Stick is good for hands. Easily portable and applied after hand washing.

Oh I expose my body to the sun to get the vitamin D benefits and other benefits (within reason) but cover my face due to ageing aspect.

My body and face won’t match in years to come but hey ho. I use tretinoin too so have to be careful.

Sorry @Delatron I should have put quote marks, quoting your post on the first sentence.

Yeah I probably do reapply every 2 hours though if outside to be honest..so I’d apply in the morning. Then reappy when I go for dog walk or run. Reapply in the afternoon..

I’ve managed to undo (with the help of lasers too) lots of sun damage that I had so this technique seems to be working. Though I do wear hats/caps outside a lot too.

Ah, @Delatron no Tret for me. (The accelerated cell turnover reminds me too much of the radiotherapy I had a few years ago!😂 That increases cell turnover too! But sadly is not particularly good for ageing!!!! Well, I suppose, it is supposed to help you stay around long enough to age - still here!🙂)

Ah that’s understandable @meanderingbrook and Tret really isn’t for everyone.

I just avoid the sun
I burn in less than 10 mins anyway and I take a vitamin D supplement high dose as I'm deficient due to the sun avoiding

I must admit unless I'm on holiday I will only put it on my face and neck in the morning

I use F30:Boots NO7

I sometimes spray the Garnier on e over make up as an alternative

@BMrs Can I ask the name off your tinted zinc spf is please? I'm looking for a new one to try. Currently using La-rouche.

SPF isn't just for sunny days to prevent sunburn. UVA = Aging UVB = Burning.

I wear ultraviolette 50 daily and use their spray over the course of the day if I'm outside.

@WildFlowerBees, if only it were that simple! As outlined in some of the previous posts on this thread, there are some concerns over sunscreen effectiveness and safety regarding overall health.

Ingredients break down (both chemical and mineral) with some brands in just 2 hours and can cause worse skin damage than not wearing any. Ingredients can also cross the skin barrier and effect hormone function. Many people are allergic to the ingredients. Added to this the benefits of the sun to health can be underestimated. Lack of sun can increase metabolic and cardiovascular problems.

Never before has the advice been to wear so much (and so strong a) product. Reading the original sunscreen summit reports from Australia the reason the advice there is to wear it everyday, regardless if UV or activity was to tackle behaviour rather than purely medical need. People simply forget to apply if it is not daily habit.

For this reason I think a balanced approach is beneficial. I wear it in summer when the UV is 3 or above and I am out in it. So pretty much everyday. I wear a long lasting sunscreen to tackle the issue of ingredients breaking down. However, I don't wear it in winter / when the UV is 2 or less.

Ageing is not just about wrinkles. Cardiovascular and metabolic health is important too.

OP asked How many use the product correctly?
also saying that the product instructions said to reapply every 2 hours so that would mean half a bottle per person per day.

I reckon OP was only asking about protection against burns not aging, and that OP meant fairly large bottles (at least 200 ml each). How many people need to put on half a bottle per day per person to prevent aging?

Yup to this! We have a tiny footprint on our boot lid that has lasted through jet washes, clay bar-ing, rain, sun, snow, tar remover etc. It's from the very hot summer of 2013 when a tiny toddler DD was popped onto the boot lid at the beach to reapply her sunscreen and her damp, salty, sun-creamy foot burned its way into the paint

What’s the name/brand of the spray please?

@lljkk

How many people need to put on half a bottle per day per person to prevent aging?

Ironically, if you put sunscreen on, say in the morning before you get dressed, within 2 hours some of the ingredients could have broken down sufficiently to actually increase sun damage and ageing compared to not wearing it at all.

So application and reapplication according to the instructions on the product is necessary. Unless you just wait to half an hour before going outside or wear longer lasting sunscreen or only go outside for any length when the UV is less than 3.