After months of being cooped up at home, I decided I needed a change of scenery…responsibly. It was the perfect time to take a semi-staycation. I rented an Airbnb, packed up my car, and headed for a home near a secluded beach. I relaxed, swam in the pool, BBQ ’d outside, and took walks along the beach where I found many, many shark teeth. It kind of made me wonder “Is this area safe to swim?”. I found out this beach contains a fossil layer 35 feet deep. The layer contains prehistoric fossilized shark teeth just waiting to be picked up by tourists… and boy oh boy I found plenty.
My leisurely activities during this “semi-staycation” involved a lot of sun. Too much sun. When I returned home, I was shocked when I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I was burnt to a crisp. See, in Florida, it is necessary to wear sunscreen all day, every day. Even then, you need to keep re-applying because the heat, humidity and your perspiration wash it away.
I decided to measure my tan using a StellarNet colorimeter (visible spectrometer, reflectance probe, and illumination source). Spectrometers are used for CIELAB quantified color measurements in many different research, medical, and quality control applications. If I had the forethought, I would have tested my skin color beforehand but instead, I used the next best thing…my makeup foundation as my base color.
The beauty and cosmetic industry is presently valued at 500 billion dollars and growing rapidly. Chemists use cosmetic manufacturing and industrial mixing equipment to create ingredients and emulsions. The ingredients and emulsions are finally turned into cosmetics of the desired consistency, texture, and color. A spectrometer allows them to test the color consistency for QC/QA purposes, detect UV transmission for products containing SPF, analyze and ID the chemical makeup of their blends and cosmetic formulas. In my case, it allowed me to do a color match test comparing my accidental tan to this particular foundation blend. I applied a layer onto my skin to test.
Here is what I found:
I suppose I should have tested my sunscreen before that trip! Time for some aloe!
