Beauty Q&A: Is the SPF in My Makeup Enough to Protect My Skin?

There are countless makeup products on the market that contain SPF. Between SPF-infused foundations, tinted moisturizers, lip balms, finishing powders and even eyeshadows, it can feel like something new is launching every day. Don’t get us wrong, it’s a good thing — you can’t really go overboard with sunscreen, but the question is whether the SPF found in your makeup products is really enough to protect your skin from the sun. We reached out to New York City-based board-certified dermatologist Dr. Hadley King to find out.

“An important thing to consider when using moisturizers, primers and makeup with SPF is how much you need to apply in order to achieve the advertised SPF,” Dr. King explains. “You should use approximately 2mg of product per square centimeter of skin. In practice, this means applying the equivalent of a shot glass of sunscreen to the exposed area of the face and body — a nickel-sized dollop to the face alone.”