In my quest for simple ways to help shield my skin from the sun’s harmful rays (and stay on top of my anti-aging game), I couldn’t help but be intrigued by all the recent buzz surrounding skin cancer detection apps and UV stickers that promise to make staying protected easier. If you’re hesitant to add yet another component to your summer routine, I hear you. Too many skin care steps can be overwhelming and, like I said, I can get very lazy. But the two particular options that caught my eye — SPOTMYUV’s UV Detection Stickers and the Miiskin app — didn’t seem like a burden or a chore, so I decided to give them a whirl.
Curious about how my beauty experimentation panned out? Read on for my honest first impression of both.
A Practical Way To Know When It’s Time To Reapply
When I saw these stickers that detect UV rays trending on Reddit, they piqued my interest right away since I tend to lose track of when I’m in need of a reapplication. These nifty things let you know when your sunscreen is working and give you a heads up when you need to slather some on again.
They couldn’t have been easier to use: First, I put one of the dime-sized stickers on my skin and it showed up purple. Then, I applied my sunscreen — any formula works, but my current obsession is this Vacation Classic Lotion — and after about a minute, the sticker turned clear. (If it doesn’t, that’s an indicator that you didn’t use a sufficient amount of SPF.)
Per the instructions, I expected the sticker to turn purple again when it was touch-up time. Certain activities like swimming and sunbathing cause the sticker to turn purple faster, but the brand still recommends reapplying sunscreen immediately after you swim for optimal protection.
Impressively, it stayed in place all day (despite the super hot, humid weather). I just went about my day running errands, glancing down at my arm every so often to see if it had changed back to purple. About two hours later...it did. Right in line with what many pros recommend.
Overall, the sticker was a great way to keep track of my sunscreen use. And for a price that factors out to less than one dollar each? I’ll definitely slip these into my beach bag.
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