Applying sunscreen while outdoors is a long-accepted way to help keep our skin safe from sunburn and cancer. Yet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says less than a third of women, and even fewer men, report using it when going outside for more than an hour.
“You should put it on more frequently and, really, do it daily” but applying sunscreen can be sticky and unpleasant, says Kristen McClellan, co-founder and CEO of SnappyScreen. “There had to be a better way. People spray tan and that’s how they paint cars. Why not sunscreen?”
The search for an answer to that question is what led to the development of SnappyScreen’s sunscreen-spraying booths, which are currently being used at 10 hotels and resorts in the United States, Caribbean and Mexico. Guests step into the wood-lined machine (which looks like a spray-tan booth sitting upright), choose an SPF level, and get sprayed with sunscreen that protects wearers from UVA and UVB rays, the principal cause of sunburn and skin reddening. A rotating pedestal ensures you get a full-body application in just 10 seconds.
McClellan says hotels with SnappyScreen report that since offering the amenity to guests, they on average spend an additional $26 per day on hospitality services. That could make sense considering you’re more likely to spend more time at the swim-up pool bar, hitting the links, or in the spa if you aren’t sunburnt.
The proprietary formula sunscreen was developed in-house to be hypoallergenic and free from oxybenzone, parabens, and alcohol. Additionally, McClellan says, the sunscreen doesn’t have a sticky or filmy feel and is safe to be sprayed over clothing, whether that’s bathing suits or a sundress. “Golfers love it,” she says.
SnappyScreen owns and operates the spraying booths; the startup’s business model is based on the sunscreen, of which it sells cartridges to its customers, similar to those for inkjet printers. In fact, the sunscreen has become so popular, that McClellan says they will soon begin to sell a bottled version initially at their customers’ spas as part of
