Video:Do You Need SPF Foundation?

Transcript:Do You Need SPF Foundation?

Hi, this is Dr. Debra Jaliman, a board-certified dermatologist in New York City and author of the book Skin Rules: Trade Secrets from a Top New York Dermatologist here for About.com to talk about whether you need SPF in your foundation.

Wear SPF Every Single Day

Here's the choice: either you put your SPF on first and then put your foundation on or you get a foundation with an SPF in it. Either way you need SPF every single day. Why is that? We know that sun damage is cumulative, so let's say you say to me: "I'm not outside". But everybody is outside at least 5-10 minutes a day. Either hailing a cab, or getting on the bus or walking to work. So we know that five minutes a day every single day of your life will add up to chronic sun damage.

And you will get changes in your skin: broken blood vessels, red spots, brown spots, white spots, wrinkles, damaged elastic tissue, damaged collagen, leathery appearance to your skin. Even a skin cancer. So it's really better to have SPF every single day.

And then who knows? One day you might decide to walk home from work and it will be a 30 minute walk, and it might have started out as a cloudy day. And even on a cloudy day there's still UV rays that get through those clouds. So you want to make certain that you have UV protection every single day.

What Level of SPF Should You be Using?

The recommendations from the American Academy of Dermatology is and SPF of 30. Now many foundations don't have an SPF of 30. So it may be beneficial to put on a very thin layer of and SPF of 30 and then put your foundation on. Or let's say you have a foundation that you love that has an SPF in it, then go ahead and use your SPF but just remember, if you decide to go play tennis or do something during the day, make certain to put another SPF on. Because that SPF in your foundation isn't good enough for sports, it's only a city SPF.

If you have any other questions, go to About.com.