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You’ve probably heard (or read) countless times that wearing sunscreen should be a part of your daily beauty routine. And on top of that, you should reapply it every two hours to protect your skin from the harmful UVA and UVB rays and prevent premature aging, hyperpigmentation, acne (and the list just goes on).
But what if you’re wearing a full face of foundation? How are you supposed to reapply sunscreen over makeup without destroying it?
You don’t want a greasy lotion to ruin your contour, blush, and fake freckles, but you still want to stay protected from the sun. Admittedly, this task isn’t easy, but it’s not impossible. We figured out three easy ways to efficiently reapply your SPF over makeup, ensuring proper sun protection and keeping your makeup spot-on.
How to Reapply Sunscreen Over Makeup
Before we get into the reapplication methods, let’s cover the basics first. To ensure a high level of sun protection, you need to have a base of sunscreen lotion underneath your foundation. You can go for either a mineral or chemical sunscreen and try to match its formula to the formula of your liquid foundation.
So, if your sunscreen is water-based, your foundation should also be water-based. On the other hand, if it’s oil-based, go for a foundation formulated with oil – otherwise, your foundation will pill up, and you might end up walking around the city with your face looking patchy and cakey.
In addition, make sure to apply enough sunscreen underneath the makeup – 0.05 oz of sunscreen is enough to cover your whole face (approximately 2 milligrams per square centimeter of skin). Or, to make things a bit simpler, you can use the two-finger method to measure the amount of product – simply squeeze the sunscreen in two lines along your middle and index finger.
And finally, use sunblocks with a Sun Protection Factor or SPF of 30 or above. Higher SPFs offer slightly longer and better protection against UVB damage and sunburn.
So, create a solid sunscreen base and let it absorb; then apply your makeup. Once you’re out and about and it’s time to reapply your sunscreen, you can use one of these 3 easy methods:
1. Use Sunscreen Powders
The easiest way to reapply sunscreen over makeup is to dust powder sunscreens over it. These usually come with a brush, making them practical and easy to use. Tap some powder onto the back of your hand or in any plastic container, dip the brush into it, and then pat it on your skin. Try not to rub and drag the brush across your face too aggressively as it may disrupt the makeup underneath.
In addition to providing additional sun protection, powder sunscreens will make your skin less greasy and shiny. However, this method might not be ideal for you if you’re, say, on the beach or doing any activities that make you sweat more. Applying a dry powder to wet skin certainly won’t yield an attractive look.
So, if you’re indoors or in a moderate climate and are looking for something to mattify your face, powder sunscreen is a perfect choice. But, if you are outside in the middle of a heat wave, try the following sunscreen reapplication method.
2. Touch Up With a Beauty Blender
If you want a more natural, summery makeup look and fresh, dewy skin, this application method is the one for you. However, for it to work, you should use a sunscreen that is more liquid or runny in texture, like sunscreen fluids and serums, as these are easier to apply. Plus, you’ll need a dry beauty blender to avoid diluting the sunscreen formula and ruining the makeup underneath.
This method is a bit more complicated than the previous one, but it’s doable. First, put some sunscreen on the back of your hand and dip a beauty blender into it. Then dab gently all over your face, and don’t skip your under-eyes, eyelids, and ears. Since the beauty blender is dry, it will inevitably absorb some of the product. Therefore, repeat the whole process once again to ensure adequate sun protection.
If you still wish to amp up your sun protection, get a bit more coverage, and get rid of extra oiliness, you can go over it with a powder sunscreen.
3. Use Sunscreen Sprays
The best on-the-go sunscreen reapplication, wearing makeup or not, is with sunscreens in the form of sprays. However, not every type of spray-on sunscreen is perfect for application over makeup.
Sunscreen sprays with mineral or inorganic filters, such as zinc and titanium dioxide, tend to leave a whitish cast on the skin, making your face look ashy. So, if you opt for this sunscreen reapplication method, we’d recommend using sunscreen sprays with chemical or organic filters.
Another trick with this type of sunscreen is to be careful not to inhale it or get it into your eyes. For this reason, don’t breathe and keep your eyes closed when spraying your face. In addition, keep the nozzle of the bottle close to your skin and avoid using it in windy areas; otherwise, most of your sunscreen will end up in the air.
Perhaps, the safest option would be to spray a good amount of sunscreen onto your palms first and then dab it onto your face.
Regardless of all these little hurdles with sprays, if you’re careful and use them correctly, they are by far the fastest option for sunscreen reapplication. Plus, spray sunscreens are the most effortless to apply on top of heavier makeup with setting powder.
Takeaway
Wearing sunscreen every day is crucial if you want to keep your skin healthy and prevent photoaging. But it shouldn’t stop you from wearing makeup and having fun experimenting with different looks. As you can see, there are several options out there, and you can reapply sunscreen over makeup without compromising your look.
So, if you want a more matte finish, go for powder sunscreen; for a more dewy complexion, try the beauty blender method; and if you need a quick fix, spray-on is the way to go.
Written by Sanja Wende
Sanja is the author/creator of allprettybits.com, a blog dedicated to all things pretty. The curiosity to know what’s inside her new moisturizer set her on a mission to demystify skin-gredients. In her free time, she loves playing with her cat, watching documentaries, and making lip-smacking desserts.
