If you're someone who always remembers to bring a bottle of SPF to the beach, I applaud you. My family and I, however, are not those people. In fact, we've forgotten sunscreen so many times, we've accumulated an entire shelf-worth of product we've had to buy the day-of. If you can relate, let me introduce you to one brand that will help you stay protected without the trip to the drugstore: SnappyScreen.
It works exactly like a spray tan booth, in that you stand in an open chamber while you are coated with layers of product, but instead of using bronzing liquid — it's sunscreen. This booth rotates you all on its own for 10 seconds, until your completely covered in the SnappyScreen protection of your choice. All you have to do is pay with either a SnappyScreen re-loadable pass or credit card (although the brand tells us some hotels offer the service free for guests), pick between SPF 15, 30, or 40, step in for a few seconds, and then get ready to hit the beach.
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But is it legit? According to dermatologist Dendy Engelman, MD, yes — for the most part. As long as you ensure your SPF is high enough to actually protect your skin — Dr. Engelman suggests wearing SPF 50 or higher if you're going to be active outside; the American Academy of Dermatology guidelines recommends a minimum of SPF 30 — and that it's not your first application, you should be okay. "This would be a good option for reapplication throughout the day," she says.
Worried 10 seconds won't be enough time to adequately coat your entire body with the stuff? Dermatologist Joshua Zeichner, MD, says a good rule of thumb is that if your skin is physically glistening from the formula, then you're good to go. ("Just make sure you're rubbing the sunscreen into skin before walking away," he says.)
SnappyScreen can be found at select hotels across the country, including the Hyatt and Marriot properties, among others. Here's hoping my family keeps these locations in mind the next time they book us a vacation.
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