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Staying Shaded

 A friend who works for an premium cosmetics brand told me that all sunscreens are bad and to only wear things that form a physical barrier - the stuff that leaves behind white residue on skin. Even better leave the skin alone and wear wide-brimmed hats or carry an umbrella. 

My mother never steps out in the sun without and umbrella. As a kid, I was required to walk in the shade of her umbrella because it was not large enough for two. It has to be among the top ten embarrassing memories of childhood staying in the umbrella's shadow if there was so much as a hint of sun. In India that is just about every day of the year. Maybe there will be a good for you sunscreen yet - inspired by the octopus this time around.

..a synthesized version of xanthommatin can significantly boost sunscreen protection levels when blended with zinc oxide, without having any negative impact on marine life such as corals or to humans

That sounds good as long it does not mean killing of all octopuses in the world to make some uber-premium sunscreen that influencers will peddle to one and all including eight year olds. 

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