Everyone seems to have different rules about how much suncream to use. Some say half a teaspoon's worth, some say one finger length, and others say two.
Just what is the right answer?
Well, according to one TikTokker if we're being really specific, it varies from person to person.
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User @glowbyramon, who is a cosmetic formulator and aesthetician, explained on his page: “What if I told you that two-three fingers of sunscreen for your face was TOO much sunscreen?
“Lemme teach you a way to figure out a way to approximate how much sunscreen you REALLY need for your face.”
“Welcome to SPF FAQ, where I, a cosmetic formulator, debunk sunscreen myths and misconceptions.
“And today I’m gonna teach you how I figured out that all I really need for MY face is just one finger-length of sunscreen”.
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“Do note: we will be needing to multiply to figure this out, so know that math class is in SESSION."
And when he said maths was involved, he wasn't lying. You ready?
"The supplies you’ll be needing to figure out the surface area are going to be a tape measurer that can measure in cm, as well as a little chemistry scale to measure out your sunscreen.
“And we’re going to be using the formula for the area of an oval because we’re guesstimating the area of our face, which is ROUGHLY an oval," he explained.
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Here comes the tricky part.
He explains: "You can see that [the face] is radius 1 x radius 2 x π (pie).
“So taking our tape measure, I measure the length of my face as well as the width of my face.
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And I know that it’s 23cm vs 21cm, but I’m taking half of those values because we just need the radius.
"So that is: 11.5 x 10.5 x π.
"π is 3.14".
Those values then multiply together, and the TikTok skincare guru rounds then up a little bit, so he reaches 380cm².
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"For sunscreen testing they apply 2mg of product per cm² to get the SPF value on the packaging," he explains.
"So 380cm² x 2mg is 760mg² of product for my face."
He adds: "I want to convert that to grams because my scale only measures in grams, so divide that number by 1000, and the answer is 0.760g².
"And then just because I like to be a bit on the safer side, I’m going to round that up.
"So that’s gonna give me 0.8g of product, which I can easily measure on my scale."
Next, the TikTok expert explains that he uses this number and measures how much 0.8g of his favourite suncream is, putting it on his finger to see how much skin it covers, as a guide.
He states that 9 out of 10 times he's lucky if this suncream covers his whole finger.
This is why he says it's obvious that some people are applying too much for their faces.
Phew. Anyone need a lie down after that?
"My brain hurts," wrote one person in the comments.
While another penned: "You lost me at pie".
A little more grateful for the tip, a third wrote: "Now I finally know what we learnt math for".
Replying to one of the commenters who said that this was why they didn't wear suncream, the TikToker warned: "You really should."
He went on to suggest an alternative for those who CBA with all the calculations.
"Just do two fingers for your face ears and neck and you'll be in a good spot". Noted.
Of course, using a little more suncream that needed is not going to do you any harm, so if you aren't sure, always veer on the side of caution.
Here's some handy advice from the The British Association of Dermatologists if you're not sure.
They state: "When using lotions, as the bare minimum you should to apply at least six full teaspoons (approximately 36 grams) to cover the body of an average adult, which is more than half a teaspoon of sunscreen to each arm and the face/neck (including ears), and just over one teaspoon to each leg, front of body and back of body."
Stay safe under those rays, folks!
Featured Image Credit: ShutterstockTopics: Beauty