Experts: Sunscreen in makeup isn't enough to be effective

When the sun is out, sunscreen is in.

If it’s in your moisturizer and foundation, is it enough? Consumer Reports says it’s not.

It would be unlikely you'd use enough to truly protect your skin from the sun's harmful rays, the organization says.

“You should be using one whole teaspoon of sunscreen for your face and neck. That’s a lot,” said Trisha Calvo, Consumer Reports’ health editor. “It would be hard to use the same amount of foundation with SPF to get effective coverage without looking like you've applied a makeup mask — and you're not likely to reapply every two hours.”

According to a new study by the journal Plus One, participants who put on moisturizers with SPF were more likely to miss areas around the eyes, a common site for skin cancer.

It's also likely the SPF in your makeup is only 15. Most dermatologists recommend you use at least SPF 30.

So as yuck as it may sound, Consumer Reports recommends you put on sunscreen before your makeup.

Don't forget about your lips. Use lip balm with SPF 30 or above, and be careful with glossy products that don't contain SPF. They can increase your risk of burning.

Remember, sunscreen needs to be reapplied at least every two hours to be effective.

In case you're wondering, you don't benefit from layering SPF products. That means using a moisturizer with SPF 15 and foundation with SPF 15 doesn’t increase your protection to SPF 30.