Teaspoon guide to applying sunscreen
28 June 2002
A US doctor has developed a 'teaspoon rule' to help people apply the correct amount of sunscreen.
People should apply more than half a teaspoon (about 3 mL) of sunscreen to each arm, the face/neck, and just over one teaspoon (about 6 mL) to the chest/abdomen, back, and each leg, the doctor recommended.
This would amount to about 33 mL of sunscreen, the doctor said, close to the 35 mL needed to cover the average adult body with a coating thick enough to reach the full sun protection factor (SPF) rating (Archives of Dermatology 2002; 138: 838-39).
Most people applied only 20 to 60 per cent of the sunscreen needed, the doctor said. Using half the required thickness of an SPF 25 sunscreen gave protection equivalent to SPF 7, he said.
Last Reviewed: 27 June 2002
- 1. Medical Observer Weekly 28/6/02
