Have you ever slathered yourself in sunscreen, headed to the beach with your straw hat and a good book and then hours later found yourself painfully sunburned despite your best efforts at sun protection? Small mistakes in your protection routine are most likely to blame. Here are five common mistakes you may be making – and the simple ways to remedy them!
1) Using last year’s sunscreen: Over time, the active ingredients in sunscreen become less effective. There’s no real scientific way to tell if a product is past its prime, so I use a year from purchase date as a safe rule of thumb. All those aging bottles of SPF in the back of your medicine cabinet can officially be thrown out!
2) Storing sunscreen in your car: Don’t feel bad, this is a very common mistake! The problem with storing SPF in your car is that during the summer your car gets hot – really hot – and ironically, sunscreen doesn’t like the heat. High temperatures will breakdown the important UV blocking ingredients and make the product much less effective. I prefer to carry sunscreen in my purse, but if you insist on keeping some in your car, opt for a powdered sunscreen instead of a cream.
3) Waiting to get to the beach before applying sunscreen: I know you’ve heard this before, but it’s really true…it takes most sunscreens at least 20 minutes to start working. Apply SPF before you get in the car and then again as soon as you get to the beach or pool. If you wait until you’ve unloaded the car, set-up towels, umbrellas and chairs, you’ve probably had a solid half hour in the sun without protection.
4) Using an everyday SPF in the water: Not all sunscreens are created equal – and not all sunscreens are made for the water! If you’re going to the beach or pool you need serious water-resistant protection – what I like to call “The Big Guns.” Everyday, lightweight products are not going to stand a chance against water and sweat and intense heat. Look for sunscreens that say they are water resistant for 80 minutes.
5) Only applying sunscreen once: When the bottles say to reapply every 80 minutes, they really aren’t kidding. If you’re in the water, no product can last more than 80 minutes – and even 8o minutes is pushing it. Some of the latest and greatest products let you reapply while your skin is still wet so it’s super simple to stay safe without interrupting your fun!
