Very exciting! A Sun Sensor product is finally being designed and manufactured to be released in, I would bet, June since it’s called the June.
I’ve been encouraging people around Silicone Valley to produce a sun sensor product for the past two years, so I’m really happy to see someone with power (money) do it (I have no power - LOL).
The company, Netatmo, is out of Paris, France, and the founder is the same guy that was a co-founder of Withings.
The sun is something we all see plenty of, but we don’t really strive to become “sun savvy” as they phrase it on the Netatmo site. The product promises to warn you when you’ve had too much sun and suggest putting lotion on if you cross that line.
I, myself, won’t use chemical based sun lotion because I think there are enough toxins already without absorbing more unnatural chemicals into my body. In addition, the huge benefit of enjoying the full vitamin D metabolism pathway (absorbed through the skin into the body) is certainly affected by surface lotions. I strive to tune in the right time of day to enjoy the sun safely for my skin and simply wear shielding (a hoody) during the other times.
It is designed exclusively for women as articles have pointed out. Other versions will surely be designed by either this company or other companies soon.
One item of concern is how the software aspect of the product is designed to encourage girls to put on sun lotion rather than shield themselves in other ways - either avoid being in the sun or wear a hoody, etc. We can also design our days and our activities to avoid the sun during the more damaging times. People are too trusting of the very limited science done by the FDA to suggest that designed chemicals are safe… there are no full lifetime or generational (effect on fetus development, children, and their children) human studies. Final stage of experimentation is always ongoing upon the mainstream population and results are very difficult to discern given the grand scale of that experiment. Here’s a good video of Bill Maher and Dave Letterman discussing the topic of designed prescription drugs: