A cosmetic chemist at the beach

I’ve had the opportunity to spend the last couple weeks in Florida by the ocean. This means I’ve had many opportunities to go to the beach. And while I’m at the beach I often think about sunscreens. Mostly because there are still some fundamental problems with the product which I think some cosmetic formulator night be able to do something about.

The problems with sunscreen

So, here are some of the sunscreen problems that seem possible to fix.

1. Difficult application. Creams never feel right because they are incredible greasy. Also, you can’t get it on all the spots on your back. Spray sunscreens are a step in the right direction but they suffer from the next problem I’ll discuss.

2. Uneven application. While I like the spray sunscreens, they are difficult to tell when you’ve put on enough. Since they are invisible when applied, it’s really easy to miss a spot upon application. Since you have to rub them in, this isn’t as much a problem with creams.

3. When to reapply. The third big problem is that there is no easy way to tell when you need to reapply the sunscreen. I know the directions say like every 2 hours but sometimes that doesn’t seem like enough and most often I forget.

I’m sure these are not new problems and there may be attempts at solutions. However, no one has come up with that killer solution that will take over the sunscreen market.

I will ponder this problem a bit more during my next trip to the beach. If you have any interesting solutions to these sunscreen problems, leave a suggestion below.

 

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