Cosmetics with SPF — Is It Enough Protection?

Forget to apply sunscreen this morning? Cosmetics companies are trying to make the task easier by adding UV protection to makeup and other skin-care products.

But do cosmetics with SPF really offer protection, or are they giving users a false sense of safety?

Dermatologists say these products can help, but not to forgo actual sunscreen.

“The more sun protection, the better,” says Dr. Suzanne Friedler, board-certified dermatologist of the American Academy of Dermatology at Advanced Dermatology PC in Manhattan, who advocates using the products with sunscreen.

If you’re going to pick a cosmetic with UV protection, Dr. Carolyn Jacob, board-certified dermatologist and medical director at Chicago Cosmetic Surgery and Dermatology, prefers those with SPF 30, “although SPF 15 is better than nothing,” she says.

If your day consists of commuting to your office job and being inside all day, you could get by with wearing moisturizer and makeup with SPF protection, Jacob says.

For more time outside, Dr. Alix J. Charles, board-certified dermatologist at the DuPage Medical Group, recommends combining UV-protection cosmetics with an SPF 30 or higher sunscreen that blocks both UVA and UVB rays.

“A foundation that has an SPF factor alone is probably not going to give you the kind of SPF protection that you were hoping for. … To get an adequate amount of SPF protection from, say, a foundation or a makeup product, you have to have it cover completely, evenly over your entire face, and it would almost look like a makeup mask,” Charles says.

When using moisturizers with SPF protection, let them soak into the skin for about 10 minutes before starting your makeup routine, he says.

Moisturizers and makeup with UV protection come in both mineral-based and chemical-based formulas. Friedler and Jacob prefer the mineral-based formulas, which use titanium oxide and/or zinc oxide, although Charles says it’s a matter of preference for users. In the past, mineral-based sunscreens had a whitish appearance on the skin (think lifeguard nose), although Friedler and Jacob say the formulations have improved.