The Skin Nerd Busts Your Suncream Myths

Jennifer Rock, a.k.a. the Skin Nerd spoke to Missy.ie and helped us bust the SPF and suncream myths you need to stop believing right now!

“My makeup will be enough to protect my face”

We simply do not apply enough makeup to reach the factor listed on the bottle. You’d never apply half a teaspoon of foundation to your face, neck and ears! It’s a lot more than you’re maybe imagining in your head.

Because of this, we’d recommend using an SPF even prior to makeup that contains SPF.

“I can’t tan if I’m wearing suncream”

You can, but we don’t recommend going out there and trying to get a tan in general. A tan is actually the first warning sign from your skin that it is being overexposed to UV. The physical darker colour of a tan is what occurs when your skin sends melanocytes (pigment cells) to its surface to help to block UV from the deeper layers of the skin to prevent them from becoming damaged.

Even with factor 50 reapplied every 2 hours, you may still develop a tan… However, we’d be pro enjoying the sun in moderation and then using fake tan!

“SPF 15 is as good as SPF 50”

The sun protection factor (or SPF) is the level of protection against UVB that is provided by a product, granted that you use enough of it and correctly.

An SPF 50 will protect you from 98% of UVB rays, SPF 30 will protect you from 97% and SPF 15 will protect you from only 93%, according to the Irish Skin Foundation.

“One application will last me the whole day”

Unfortunately, no. It’s recommended that you reapply every 2 hours when you’re in direct sunlight.

“Suncream can’t expire”

Yes, and if it does, it won’t be as effective so make sure to throw them out on the expiry date it says on the packaging. Treat it with respect – it is your largest organ that it is protecting.