Why You Should Be Using A Separate SPF

Spending time in the sun is one of the joys of life, at least it is for me, but it does come with its downsides. Where your skin is concerned, UVA and UVB rays have lasting damaging effects on the skin. With the knowledge and products available today, we can protect ourselves from preventable skin damage.

Today we're discussing why it is important to wear a dedicated SPF. 

Foundations With SPF

A lot of foundations have recently been reformulated to provide sun protection to suit the growing trend in the beauty community of taking extra measures to protect the skin from the sun. I've seen products with everything from 15 - 30 SPF. While is a great extra advantage of the product, the SPF content is simply not enough to provide adequate sun protection. 

You Should Be Putting More On

The truth is, when it comes to SPF, there is much more to the story. There are guidelines for using sunblock and getting the most sun protection possible out of your application. Essentially, we should be using much more SPF than we typically do. About a dime-size amount of product should be used to cover the face and neck. A good rule of thumb is when you dispense out your product, put on a little bit more and make sure to reapply every two hours if you’re going to be outside. 

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If you are indoors or in a car, the windows still bring in sun rays as they do not block out enough UVA or UVB rays to be effective, if even at all. Even worse, if you sit in front of a computer all day, the blue light that emanates radiation from the screen. Just in case you needed another reason to make sure you’re wearing enough sunscreen, if you’re using your phone or other devices in sunlight, the reflection of the sun off of the screen is probably even more damaging than direct light itself.

Now where the foundation is concerned, you won't be applying a dime-size amount on your face, which means you're not applying enough to actually be effective. Moreover, if you're using your foundation as your only source of UV ray protection, you cannot re-apply more SPF, otherwise, it will leave your makeup application looking caked, and thick. 

How to re-apply SPF over foundation.

The good news is, these days there are a ton of SPF choices on the market to complement your makeup look. As a brown skin girl, my favourites have to be clear sun protection. There is the primer SPF from Murad, Cover FX has a Clear Cover SPF, and Dermalogica has their Dynamic Skin Recovery liquid SPF, but there are so many other options. These go on like a primer, don't leave a white cast (a perk for those with darker skin-tones) and they wear well under foundation. 

Apply a healthy dose of SPF separately, wait 30 seconds for it to dry down, and layer your foundation on top. Your skin will thank you for it.