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Some sunshine in your life

Want to buy yourself some sun protection?

ON GUARD The traditional way PHOTO: V.V. KRISHNAN

Sunny days are here again but who really wants them now? While no one would like to go out with the temperature hovering around 40 degrees in the shade, it also means a boom time for the mushrooming cosmetic industry out to "make hay while the sun shines".

Over a dozen firms have come out with a variety of items promising to protect your delicate skin from the `harmful' rays of the sun. Suddenly we discover that the sun's rays have harmful UVA/UBA rays and life without a sunscreen lotion could be actually dangerous! Could even cause skin cancer! But what have the companies to offer? A bewildering array of expensive creams, lotions and moisturisers, all bravely pitting their products against the mighty sun! Vichy Laboratories brought out its `Capital Soleil', claimed to have flawless sun protection technology. The product has patented Mexoryul XL which is the first balanced UVA/UVB sun protection filter providing the highest level of protection to the skin. Lotus Herbals has come out with its sun block spray assuring intensive sun block protection from UVA/UVB. Being herbal, it contains extracts of Sage, Chamomile and Thyme. The EverYuth derma care range has a sun protection cream. Another herbal major, Ayur Herbals, has also rolled out its sunscreen protection range. Claiming to be "bigger than the Sun itself", the range has water proof sunscreen lotion, water resistance sunscreen sweat proof with SPF 20 and After sun burn gel for advanced, broad-spectrum UVA/UVB protection. Yet another herbal product to hit the market is Aryanveda's sun care products. Though herbal, products have been developed scientifically using state-of-the art manufacturing processes. The range has sun protective cream SPF 30, sun screen cream SPF 20, all promising to not only protect the skin but also bring a `glow' to it.

Garnier, warning that "even a few minutes of daily sun exposure can cause damage to your skin", has a Sun Control daily moisturiser, touted as "your absolute defence against the sun". Saying ordinary sun blocks are not capable of taking the full blast of the sun, it claims that its moisturiser with SPF 20 UVA +++ has a unique oil free formulation which protects the skin from the sun's UVA and UVB rays. Beauty Basics, a specialist in the science of cosmetology, pleads you to "embrace the summers and say hello to sunshine", of course with the help of its Sunscreen lotion. And the firm owned by the high priestess of the beauty business, Vandana Luthra, asks you to "ban the sun with VLCC's sunscreen range of products". It has moisturising sunscreen cream SPF 25, Sunscreen Gel SPF 15, Double protection sunscreen Cream SPF 40. So we guess it is time to welcome sunshine into our life. Incidentally, does any one remember the poor old umbrella ever?

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