How Often Should You Apply Sunscreen?

This post may contain affiliate links, please read our disclosure policy.

(Last Updated On: March 20, 2022)

Do you know the answer to this question: How Often Should You Apply Sunscreen? Suncare is very important to your health, read on to get these tips. 

How Often Should You Apply Sunscreen?

How Often Should You Apply Sunscreen?

Living in Florida, sunscreen is a must for my family and I.  In fact, no matter where you live, sunscreen is a must.  Did you know if the clouds are out you can still get sunburn?  Did you know you should wear sunscreen even if you aren’t laying out at the pool?  Did you know you can still get a tan if you are wearing sunscreen?  Do you know how often you should apply sunscreen? Did you know that by the time you feel your skin burning, the sun’s UV rays are damaging your cells’ DNA?

Even though you probably know the importance of sunscreen, I would bet that you still have some questions.  I know I do, well, did…until I did some extra research.

My husband has pre-cancers on his face and his ears, my grandma had to get a part of her nose removed do to skin cancer, so I have always thought I have been extra careful.  Turns out I had some things to learn.  And, in honor of Melanoma Awareness Month (May) I wanted to share some of the things I learned with you.  Together we educate others and hopefully reduce the staggering statistic that on average, 1 person dies from melanoma every hour.

Ready for some more scary statistics from The American Academy of Dermatology?

  • 1 in 5 Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetime.
  • Research shows women are 9 times more likely than men to notice melanoma on others.
  • Nearly 9,500 Americans are diagnosed with skin cancer each day.
  • The five-year survival rate for melanoma when detected and treated in its early stages is 98%.

That is a high survival rate, thank goodness, so what do we do to protect ourselves and still increase the survival rate?

Applying sunscreen info

We have to be Sun Smart.

Here are Sunscreen Smarts from from dermatologist Dr. Richard C. Kirkpatrick of Brevard, Florida and NO-AD Suncare that you will want to bookmark, pin, whatever it takes so that you don’t forget them:

  • Apply sunscreen 15 to 20 minutes before going out in the sun and reapply every two hours or after swimming or sweating.  *This is how often you should apply and reapply sunscreen.
  • Use a golf ball-sized amount (1 oz.) each time you apply or reapply sunscreen.
  • Sunscreen should be broad-spectrum, at least SPF 30 and water-resistant to help protect from UVA and UVB rays.
  • Spray-on sunscreens MUST be rubbed into the skin to be effective. I didn’t know that, did you?
  • You must understand both application frequency and amount needed, as it is essential to proper sun care. You cannot have one without the other.  If used properly, families should go through many ounces of sunscreen during a season in the sun.

Applying sunscreen details

So, what brand of sunscreen do you use to protect your family? 

Important Applying sunscreen details

 

Important Applying sunscreen information

It’s okay to have some fun in the sun, just don’t forget to apply sunscreen and remember how often you need to reapply it!

Importance of Applying sunscreen

 

Importance of using sunscreen

Follow Food Wine Sunshine on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram for helpful tips and more.

Health & Wellness

Comment section

3 thoughts on “How Often Should You Apply Sunscreen?

  1. This info is SO important. We live in southern California and the sun is bright and strong. We are all fair in my family but it is sometimes a struggle to convince my tweens/teens how important sunscreen is. My mother and sister have had skin cancer and I have a friend that just beat melanoma. Such a scary disease that needs to be taken waaay more seriously.

    Protecting our skin needs to start at birth! Of course, our kids have that sense of being immortal or indestructible…. Hard to get them to understand the reality of the situation.

    1. I couldn’t agree more! The sun is one of those things that we all just love, but we really need to protect our skin too.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Follow Me!