Sunny and warm weather is here, and you want to spend time outside to enjoy it. To get the maximum protection from your sunscreen, you need to use it properly.
I asked Consumer Reports deputy home editor Trisha Calvo to remind us how to do it right.
“You want to make sure you’re using enough of it,”she said. “It’s basically a teaspoon per body part. So, a teaspoon for your face and your neck, a teaspoon for each arm, etc.”
You want to apply it about 15 to 30 minutes before you go out into the sun to give it a chance to start working before the UV rays hit you. Remember to reapply every two hours.
“No matter what SPF you’re using, no matter what product you’re using, it needs to be reapplied every two hours – or immediately after you’ve sweated heavily or you’ve gone swimming,” Calvo said.
With a spray sunscreen, hold the nozzle about an inch from your skin and spray until your skin glistens, then rub it in. Or s pray into your hand and then apply. That’s how you should put it on your face.
“You don’t want to inhale the sunscreen components coming out of the spray,” Calvo cautioned.
For that reason, Consumer Reports advises against using sunscreen sprays on kids.
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