Regardless of whether it is summer or winter, or how many hours you spend outdoors, protecting yourself from the harmful UV rays of the sun should always be your top skincare priority. We all know the importance of slathering on a thick layer of sunscreen before stepping out of the house. But what about when you are indoors? Well, even if you are still cooped up inside working from home, using sunscreen is paramount. This is because glass windows can also leave you exposed to sun damage from UV rays, which can cause numerous skin problems like hyperpigmentation, fine lines, wrinkles, and in worst cases, skin cancer.
Quite often, the rules of skincare can be seemingly blurred, especially when it comes to how much you should apply or how frequently. That is why we have created a list of a few tips that will help you get the most out of your SPF:
While you don’t need to wear sunscreen when you are completely indoors without any sunlight coming in, a lot of us tend to ignore the fact that the little amounts of sun exposure we get every day can add up to quite a lot. It could be from when you do a quick run to the grocery store or go out to collect a parcel. This is why daily sunscreen application is recommended – yes, even when you are indoors – so that you don’t have anything to worry about.
Any exposed part of your body needs to be covered in sunscreen. Apply it all over your face, ears, neck, hands, and even your feet. If you are planning to hit the beach and slip into a swimsuit, you need to apply it to your entire body. Ideally, you should use around 1.5 ounces or a shot glass’s worth of sunscreen for your whole body and another teaspoon for your face, but most people use only one-fourth of the recommended amount.
Sunscreen should be reapplied every two hours. If you are swimming or sweating a lot, it should be applied even more frequently. Also, coat yourself in your preferred SPF before you get dressed because it will take a good 20 minutes to get absorbed into the skin before it can provide complete protection.
There is a wide variety of sunscreens available today, all with different SPF values. While higher SPF does provide more protection, know that it is always better to wear something than nothing at all. This means even if you wear sunscreen with SPF 20+ or 30, it will provide your skin with some amount of protection.
