Clever New Wristband Tells You When To Apply Suncream

You know what it’s like when you jet off on holiday – the well-meant words of your overly anxious mother about applying suncream and not getting drunk are pretty much forgotten as soon as you get on that plane.

And whereas getting ridiculously drunk is fun, getting ridiculously sunburnt isn’t. So a gentle nudge to remind you to apply sunscreen might not be such a bad idea.

A team of nerdy types at Strathclyde University in Scotland are currently developing a wristband that will help avoid sunburn by making the wearer aware of UV level exposure.

It looks like one of the bands given out at concerts, so won’t ruin your street cred and contains an acid-release agent that can pick up UV light.

When the pH levels of the indicator reach a certain limit, the clever bands will switch colour from yellow to pink. And they’re also adapted to take into account skin type – so someone with fairer skin will have a band that changes colour quicker.

Fiona Strang, Commercialisation Manager with Strathclyde Univsersity’s Research and Knowledge Exchange Services told the Daily Mail: “The sunburn monitor will make a significant contribution to public health as an affordable, fashionable device which enables people to enjoy the benefits of the sun while at the same time keeping them alert to the risks of over- exposure.”

This is definitely an invention we’re OK with. However, we might draw the line at a wristband that tells us when we’re ‘too drunk’.

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