For providing products in the best quality, you need strong partners. We are very happy, that we partnered up with SUNS CARE to offer you the possibly best sunscreen for redheads. See what benefits this sunscreen has up for you:
🌿 Optimized for use as it absorbs quickly without whitening effect
🌿 An unique and great design optimized for use
🌿 An cruelty-free and vegan product
🌿 Hawaii-Conform (Coral Reef Friendly) usage
🌿 Flacon made from Green PE
🌿 Packaging made of FSC certified material
🌿 No microplastics
🌿 Made in Germany
THE BACKGROUND STORY OF THIS COOPERATION
Ever since the MC1R project was launched in 2014, there has always been a desire to provide the large number of red-haired readers with more cool products. This was achieved pretty quickly with the invention of the legendary “Sunscreen Club” in 2015, and the solution was clear: we needed our own sun- screen!
But how do we do it? What steps do we need to take? I had absolutely no idea. The years went by and I still had no idea. Fortunately, in 2021, in the middle of the pandemic—a time when you hardly met any new people—I met Carlson and Johannes from “SUNS CARE” (thank you Tobi!). The two boys are launching one of the newest and most exciting premium sunscreen brands from Hamburg. Completely sustainable and wonderfully effective!
After several meetings in the following months of 2021, we simply couldn’t help but collaborate to produce an MC1R edition of the sunscreen. It was predestined, and to add to the spirit of perfectionism, it should also be mentioned that Johannes, who helped to develop the brand with great influence together with the founder Carlson, is red-haired and has diligently tested the lotion as customer “0” during its development! This is precisely why we can rely on the product: redhead approved to meet redhead requirements! A sunscreen with a protection factor of 50 and essentially a recommendation from the community.
I love to introduce you more into our partnership, by explaining the products with Carlson (CEO at SUNS) who created over the last years.
Hello Johannes/Johannes. As a product, suncscreen is predominantly handled by “large” companies: how complicated is it to position yourself in this market segment?
Interestingly, we actually have a real advantage over our big competitors. Quite simply, we have the chance to do things right from the start. Retroactively designing a company or its products to be sustainable is very expensive and is often simply impossible for a stock-market-driven company. This is where our sustainable concept and innovative ingredients stand out.
Johannes, what was your connection to the topic of sunscreen before? As a redhead, I’m sure it’s very important, right?
I have memories of mother abso- lutely bathing me in sunscreen before I was allowed out. On holiday, my siblings and I had to line up in a row right after breakfast, and were smeared with factor 50 from top to bottom—it was really celebrated. And if you’ve faffed about too much when putting it on, you’ve literally been “burnt” by the need for good sun protection.
What do you see as the work involved in developing a sunscreen?
Trial, error and repeat. The key element is the development of the lotion itself. Developing a stable lotion that is harmless to people and nature, that provides reliable and efficient protection AND that ultimately doesn’t leave a sticky or white film on the skin often seemed impossible. After countless attempts at stirring mixtures together, diligently applying the end results, continually researching ingre- dients and an iron will, we finally managed to achieve this balancing act in the end. Once this was finally achieved, the lotion was really put through its paces.
What challenges are involved in the selection of ingredients? Sustainability in particular is really important at the moment.
The trend towards sustainable ingredients is only now starting to really gain momentum. There are now some fantastic ingredients that we really love. However, it’s often the case that the sustainable alternative requires compromises to be made in terms
of user-friendliness—in this case, it’s about trying everything out until you find a diamond. Another challenge lies in the fact that the delivery times are extremely long due to the small production runs—that’s something that’s currently making things difficult for us.
What are you particularly proud of at SUNS?
The finished product. So much work and passion went into the development, and so many obstacles have been moved out of the way without having to make any compromises. And at the end of the day, we are super proud of the overwhelming positive feedback we have received so far.
Are you currently seeing a change in the sun- screen industry?
Yes! And we’re basically spearheading the change and leading by example! Some of the industry’s main veterans have now also started to notice the ever-increasing feedback. Let’s see how quickly a change can be imple- mented. We’re assuming that real change in the industry will take another one or two years.
How do you indent to shake up the industry this year
We remain true to our chosen path, and produce sustainable premium products that are sure to impress! As a highlight, we
are launching a day cream that really packs a punch. Many users do not know that the SPF specified on a product only indicates the UVB protection—the UVA protection only needs to be only 1/3 as high according to the cosmetics regulation. This means that an SPF of 15 only guarantees a minimum UVA protection of 5. This is, however, important if you want to protect yourself from light-induced skin age- ing, for example. SUNS DAY has a UVB SPF
of 20 and a UVA SPF of 21.
Carlson, what would you personally like to achieve with SUNS in the future? At what point will you feel that your work has been a success?
The idea was to clean up sunscreen: good ingredients, sustainable packaging, a great user experience, and making sunscreen a product that people like to use and that’s maybe even cool. My personal success would be to actually be able to have a lasting impact on the entire sector, and to implement this holistic concept as the standard. At the end of the day, our look is unparalleled.
What is your best sunscreen-application tip for our red-haired community?
Ideally, apply directly to cleansed skin in the morning. Depending on your activity and how you get to your destination, apply more cream before exposure to intense sunlight. The motto “more is more” applies to lighter skin types.
Johannes, can you tell me again about your worst sunburn?
I’d say that I’m actually always pretty careful and don’t get burned badly—but I have horrible memories of having bad sunburn in northern Colombia after a day on the beach and had to spend the night in a hammock with chills and other unpleasant side effects. And all of this with Carlson in the hammock next to me having the time of his life.
Carlson, how did you come up with the idea of making your own sunscreen?
The idea for SUNS CARE came to me while I was writing my bachelor’s thesis on sustainable products. Anyone who has ever been to university knows that you spend more time in the sun in the summer semester than you will be able to do later in life. At the time,
a sunscreen from one of our current competitors was my product of choice for the necessary sun protection. However, the application experience was awful for me. The cream did not absorb properly and it quickly got onto my clothes and became a really sticky affair. The fragrance, which initially evokes childhood memories, quickly became annoying. The mix of shower gel, shampoo, hair spray, deodorant, perfume and sunscreen fragrance was more irritating than pleasant after an hour or so.
Most products smell like you’ve been rubbing yourself with perfume sticks for a week and your face is chalky-white, or you’re otherwise paying an astronomical price. All in all, the topic of my bachelor’s thesis combined with my dissatisfaction with the sun protection products available on the market led me to ask myself: why isn’t there a sustainable and
cool start-up that breaks away from all this nonsense and offers a refreshing alternative?
A few years later, SUNS is launching with a great lotion!