The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 268 No 7203 p861-867
22 June 2002

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BMJ (bmj.com)

Dosage guide for applying suncream

A simple guide to help people apply the correct amount of sunscreen is published in a letter to the BMJ this week (2002;324: 1526).

The authors suggest that consumers should mentally divide the surface area of their body into 11 areas. Two strips of sunscreen measured out along both the index and middle fingers and applied to each area would provide a dose that approximates to that used during the laboratory determination of the SPF, they say.

However, the authors comment that users are unlikely to want to cover themselves or their families with such copious amounts of sunscreen. They therefore suggest applying one finger strip of sunscreen, but say that the resultant protection would only be about half that stated on the product.

Users should then be encouraged to reapply one finger's worth within half an hour of the initial application in order to achieve optimum protection, they conclude.