These days, skincare and cosmetics companies are packing SPF into a variety of their products.

We're talking lotions, sticks, powders, sprays.

It's extensive.

And while these products have been tested in the lab to make sure they actually deliver the SPF on the packaging,

they don't always tell you how much you need to apply.

They tell you to "apply liberally," but what does that actually mean?

Does it matter if I use a stick or a lotion or a spray?

So today, I'm going to perform a not-totally-scientific test of some broad spectrum sunscreens using this UV camera.

[Sunscreen appears dark in a UV camera because it absorbs UV rays.]

While this camera isn't a perfect measure of UV protection, it'll be able to show whether I get an even application or not.

Most of the products that I'll be using are what are commonly called chemical sunscreens.

That means they contain ingredients like avobenzone and octinoxate that absorb UV rays to stop them from damaging the DNA in your skin.

That DNA damage is what causes sunburn, skin cancer, and eventually wrinkles.

First, I'll be trying a sunscreen stick, which I'm kind of excited about because it seems really convenient and kind of fun to apply.

Oh, that's very effective.

That's wild. Look at that.

You can blend it.

Solid.

Love it.

I don't know if I'd want to use this on my whole face. It's kind of greasy.

Might clog my pores a little bit, but I mean it's surely blocking the UV rays.

Now I'm going to try some powder makeup that claims to have an SPF of 30.

I'm a little skeptical of this because dermatologists say you can't really rely on the SPF in makeup.

I'm not really seeing much of anything.

Well, maybe a slight, slight darkening, slight blockage, but I guess I was right to be skeptical. It's not very effective.

See what happens if I keep piling it on.

Yeah, I mean, compared to the stick, it's a little... not great.

Not great compared to the stick.

Next, I'm going to try a relatively new product on the market.

It's an SPF 50 facial setting spray that claims it can protect you from the sun without messing up your makeup.

Oh there.

That showed up a little bit.

You can definitely see it's not a wide breadth of coverage.

It's a little spotty.

Yeah, I'd be wary of using this too.

I guess maybe it would be good if you already used lotion underneath your makeup, and then you can use it as this extra boost perhaps,

but yeah, I would not rely on a setting spray either for SPF protection alone.

A lot of it kind of blew in the wind too.

Just was, you know, it's not like all of this product went on my face, so maybe it was a little wasteful as well.

Next, I'm going to try good old-fashioned lotion sunscreen.

I want to do some lotion on this half of my face, and then we'll see what happens.

Oh, man. That's the stuff.

Yeah, that looks about as effective as the gold standard stick.

Yeah, it looks like I missed, I guess I missed around my eyeball.

And kind of underneath my nose a little bit,

but yeah, that looks, I mean that makes me feel a lot better if I was going out in the sun for sure.

It's definitely blocking a lot of the rays.

Oh, and I totally missed my ear.

I always forget my ears.

Don't forget your ears.

I would definitely feel very comfortable going out in the sun with this, as opposed to just some outer spray.

This really looks like it's blocking and absorbing those UV rays for sure.

I forgot I have this lip balm with SPF 30.

You also have to protect your lips.

Your lips get sunburned too.

Oh, yeah. See?

It's great. Love to see it.

Looks like lipstick in this camera.

Nice.

Now I'm going to try to "apply liberally" to get one half of my face completely covered, and we can compare the two.

That's just wild.

It's very comforting to know that the sunscreen really works.

It's not just, you know.

You trust the science.

This is just a new world.

Try to rub it in a little bit.

You can see the way you apply sunscreen really matters.

Like for me, I always miss my ears and the area around my eyes,

but it also seems that the lotion out of all of them is definitely the way to go for a base, although the stick was also very impressive.

And I also liked the spray and maybe a powder as a touch up if you have a good base layer, but I wouldn't really rely on them alone.

I feel much more comfortable with my trusty lotion or stick like on this side.

But it really just goes to showhow much your application technique matters.

Remember, it's important to wear a sunscreen all year around to protect yourself from skin cancer and premature aging.

UV rays can still damage your skin in the winter.

Seeing the results from this UV cam has definitely inspired me to keep up with my daily sunscreen habit.