Consumers are Singing the Praises of Sun Care

Way back in 1998,  the Internet was scorching, so to speak, as people emailed each other the text of a “commencement speech” attributed by many to novelist/curmudgeon Kurt Vonnegut. Who seemed to be endorsing…sun care products?

It certainly read like something he might have written, but it was an essay authored by a Chicago Tribune columnist, Mary Schmich. It became commonly known by the title “Wear Sunscreen,” because it offered up the sage words, if I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it.  Australian movie (The Great Gatsby) and theater director Baz Luhrmann even turned her essay into a spoken-word record.

Why bring this up?  Because back in those days, when concerns about the ozone layer were top-of-mind for many, driving awareness of sunscreen was a good thing. It still is.

Most people may not have realized that May 27th was National Sunscreen Day, a reminder of the sunny days ahead and the need for protection.  But a huge number of consumers have definitely caught on to the need to guard against sun damage: the sun care market — which includes makeups and lotions that offer some form of SPF protection — accounted for $1.4 billion in U.S. sales from June 2015 to May 2016. And more of those shoppers were reaching for stronger protection, according to research by the NPD Group. 

SPF 15 skincare and makeup products saw sales declines during that span, while sales of SPF 40-50 skincare products rose by over $36MM, and makeup sales in that protection range more than doubled. It’s a trend on display in facial moisturizers and foundations, too. Notably, self-tanner products saw a 7% increase in sales, reversing a decline, possibly as people sought a way to get that summer glow without resorting to UV rays.

Why sun care is paramount

What’s driving this growth? People are increasingly aware of the statistics about the dangers of UV overexposure:

• Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the U.S., and one in five Americans will develop a skin cancer during their lifetime.
• Nearly 9,500 Americans are diagnosed with skin cancer every day.
• It’s estimated that 161,790 new cases of melanoma (74,680 noninvasive and 87,110 invasive) will be diagnosed in the US in 2017.
• Invasive melanoma is projected as the fifth most common cancer for men and sixth most common for women this year.
• Melanoma rates in the U.S. doubled from 1982 to 2011.
• Caucasians and men over 50 have a higher melanoma risk than the general population
• Melanoma rates in women under 44 have increased 6.1% annually, possible due to the increased popularity of indoor tanning.
• It’s the second most common form of cancer among women 15-29 and is increasing faster among women in that age group than among men.

Need dictates opportunity, and the growth in sun care products is creating openings for innovation and growth for product developers and marketers.

We’ll touch on those in upcoming blog posts, as we examine the challenges and best practices formulators should keep in mind as they consider developing new sun care products.

In the meantime? Make sure you’re not stepping outside without the right protection!