Sun care for sports enthusiasts

The K2 suncare range is also designed to appeal to younger men in an attempt to motivate them to protect against sun damage and lower their skin cancer risks. The range, released by K2 Sports - a manufacturer of outdoor sports equipment - includes the K2 endurance sunblock lotion in SPF 30 and SPF 50, and the K2 endurance lip balm SPF 30. The products have been designed to answer the needs of the outdoor sports enthusiast and to respond to the growing occurrence of skin cancer among outdoor athletes, say the company. The sunblock is sweat- and water-proof, with the non greasy formula allowing the skin to breathe while preventing the product from running and causing eye irritation, say K2 Sports, adding that moisturizers have been added to help combat the dry skin often associated with sun and wind exposure, and low humidity mountain air. Furthermore, the packaging has been designed to be easy to use in active situations, such as the cap-less lip balm container that the company describe as 'glove friendly'. In addition, K2 sports state that the range has been designed to appeal to young men in general as well as particularly active individuals. "Because men use significantly less sun protection than women, and men have much higher rates of skin cancer as they age, one of the underlying design motivations for the K2 endurance suncare line is to encourage younger men to become proactive in protecting their skin and lips in all exposure conditions"​ said the company. The range - to be rolled out from January 2008 - illustrates segmentation within this increasingly sophisticated market sector, exemplified by a handful of other niche ranges released this year. In July AC Suncare, in conjunction with the University of Oslo, called for volunteers to test its sun cream designed to protect against jellyfish stings, created with the diving and snorkeling community in mind. Continuing the trend for waterproof products, Kimberley Clark extended the Huggies Little Swimmers brand into sun care with high factor lotions designed for the particularly sensitive skin of infants. In addition to the lotions the company has released sun sensors to help detect and monitor children's exposure to Ultraviolet B rays. The sun sensors are water-resistant, and can be placed on a child's skin or swimwear in an effort to determine the optimum time to apply or re-apply sunscreen.