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SPOTMYUV™ needs light to work. When it's exposed to sunlight (UVA rays, UVB rays, & visible light), SPOT™ changes from clear to purple. When exposed only to visible light (UVA & UVB rays are blocked by sunscreen, for example), SPOT™ changes from purple to clear. 

Since sunscreen blocks UV rays, but lets visible light pass through, SPOT™ is clear when your sunscreen is protecting you. As your sunscreen wears off and is no longer protecting you (allowing UV rays through to your skin), SPOT™ changes to purple. We know this can be confusing, so maybe a picture would help:

With our patented skin-mimicking technology, SPOT™ loses sunscreen at the same rate as your skin does. Once you have an SPF of 10 or less on your skin, that's when SPOT™ turns purple to give you a preemptive warning that you need to apply more sunscreen.

Without sunscreen, SPOTs™ can change from clear to purple in approximately 30 seconds in direct sunlight! With sunscreen, the reverse change from purple to clear can take up to 1.5 minutes in direct sunlight.

With sunscreen applied to SPOT™, there are many factors that affect the speed of the colour change:

• UV index 
• Time spent in the sun vs. shade
• Your sunscreen's SPF
• How much sunscreen you applied
• How long you let your sunscreen dry on your skin and SPOT™
• Activities you're doing (swimming, sweating, sunbathing, etc.)

All sunscreens recommend to reapply after swimming or toweling, so expect to see a colour change when you get out of the water.

SPOTMYUV™ is hypoallergenic, pediatrician certified, and dermatologist approved!

Our patented skin-mimicking technology was developed based on Fitzpatrick Skin Types 1 and 2 (the fairest). Clinical trials have proven that, no matter your skin type, you can use SPOTMYUV™ to stay protected in the sun all day long, as long as you're applying enough sunscreen to keep your SPOT™ clear.

You will probably learn that you need a lot more sunscreen than you ever thought!

There're many possible reasons that your SPOT™ has changed colour quickly. These include how you use your sunscreen, where you are, what you're doing, and what type of sunscreen you use.

One misconception about sunscreen is that you only need to apply it every couple hours. In reality, sunscreen comes off faster than what most sunscreen bottles claim. This is due to the way sunscreen companies test "water resistance" without accounting for physical activity. When you go into the water and swim, use a towel to dry off, or go for a sweaty run, all sunscreens come off much faster than indicated. This is exactly why we invented SPOT™! Once you have an SPF of 10 or less remaining on your skin, SPOTMYUV™ turns purple to give you a preemptive warning to reapply.

You need a lot more sunscreen than you think! Most people use only about a third of the sunscreen that they actually need. When you don't use enough, your SPF50 is really like an SPF5. SPOT™ shows you exactly how much you need to be protected and get the most out of your sunscreen.

For more information, see the answer for the FAQ, "When should I expect SPOTMYUV™ to change colour?".

Your SPOT™ should start purple, showing you the color you'd see when you're not protected. If you've followed the directions and your SPOT™ is still clear, check the following:

1. - Make sure that you've removed the applicator tab.
2. - Make sure you've applied sunscreen to your SPOT™. Allow the sunscreen to soak into the SPOT™ for about 30 seconds before rubbing in completely.
3. - Make sure that your SPOT™ and sunscreen are exposed to direct sunlight.
4. - Avoid touching SPOT™ after sunscreen has been applied. Continuous rubbing will remove sunscreen.
5. - Check the expiration date of your sunscreen. Expired sunscreen is not as effective!

Reminder: SPOTMYUV™ requires sunlight to change color. While SPOTs™ will eventually change color indoors or in the shade, the change will take MUCH longer without direct sunlight.

Note: If your SPOT™ is still clear after all this, apply more sunscreen. You might learn that you haven't been using enough! In fact, most people don't. On average, the majority of people use only 25% the amount of sunscreen they need to get the advertised SPF on the bottle. 

There're a few reasons your SPOT™ may never turn purple, one of which being that you're doing a great job putting on your sunscreen and are protected!

Other reasons could be a low intensity of UV in your region at that time or other environmental conditions.

Please contact our customer support email (info@suncayr.ca) for any questions or problems you've experienced.

While SPOTMYUV™ works with most sunscreens, we recommend you use a mineral or lotion that is SPF30+, Broadband (blocks UVA & UVB), and water resistant for at least 80 minutes.

SPOTMYUV™ does NOT work with alcohol based sunscreens such as gel-based sunscreens or aerosol sunscreens. If you have any questions about a specific sunscreen, please email info@suncayr.ca and we will get back to you!

No! SPOTs™ are designed to last through multiple sunscreen applications. The colour change is reversible, and SPOT™ will be accurate for an entire day of activity.

We recommend that each person uses ONE SPOT™ PER DAY. If a SPOT™ changes to purple, and you apply sunscreen over top of it, it will change back to clear and let you know that you're safe again. At the end of the day, remove your SPOT™ and throw it out!

After a day of use, SPOT's™ adhesive isn't as strong. To ensure it won't fall off, we recommend that you use one SPOT™ for a single day of activity. Make sure you take your SPOT™ off before you go to bed and stick on a new one after your morning shower!

SPOTs™ are water resistant, sweat resistant, and towel resistant. When you're outside at the beach, don't worry about it falling off; SPOTs™ are designed to last through your wear and tear. We rate each SPOT™ for one day of use.

Sometimes the applicator peels off the liner without removing the SPOT™. It's okay! Just peel off the SPOT™ by itself and apply to your body normally!

Place SPOT™ on an area of your body that's exposed to the sun. We recommend the upper arm, as long as it doesn't get covered by your clothing.

Avoid excessive hair, oily or sweaty skin, skin with lotion, and edges of clothing. Remember, apply sunscreen after sticking on your SPOT™, not before!

Tans, like burns, are actually a sign of sun damage. If your SPOT™ stays clear all day, meaning you applied enough sunscreen and as often as you should've, you shouldn't end up with a tan line. In fact, we haven't had any reports of a tan line to date!

Apply your sunscreen after sticking on your SPOT™, not before.

SPOTs™ are designed with a medical-grade adhesive to ensure you're protected from the sun all day! Be sure you've placed your SPOT™ on clean, dry skin. If not covered by clothing, your upper arm (below your shoulder) is the best place to stick your SPOT™. 

Follow these additional tips to keep your SPOT™ in place all day.

• When sticking your SPOT™ on your body, avoid excessive hair, oily or sweaty skin, skin with lotion, and edges of clothing.
• After a swim or washing your hands, be careful drying off and don't rub the towel too hard over your SPOT™.
• Avoid touching your SPOT™, aside from when applying sunscreen.

We offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee. If you are unhappy with your order, please contact info@suncayr.ca with RETURN in the subject line within 30 days, and we will work with you to find a solution.

SPOTMYUV™ is currently available in Australia and the United States. For our Australian customers, please visit: www.spotmyuv.com.au 

To be notified when SPOTs™ are available where you live, please subscribe to our mailing list!

For Australia, we use standard Australia Post. Please allow 5-10 business days for delivery.

For the US, we ship with USPS. Please allow 5-10 business days for delivery.

Safety has been our main focus from the start. We've undergone rigorous testing to verify that SPOTs™ are safe to use. 

Think of SPOT™ as a 3-layer system:

1. Top layer: our patented skin-mimicking material that we have shown through clinical trials to accurately interact with sunscreen like human skin
   
2. Ink layer: both the colour-changing dye and any inks we print for designs, printed on top of the adhesive base
   
3. Base: adhesive substrate (polyester or LDPE plastics) which sticks to the skin with a medical-grade adhesive
   

All ingredients, apart from the colour-changing dye, have been previously used in products such as cosmetics or for consumer applications. Thus, those ingredients are approved and safe for use.

For the colour-changing dye, we completed six standard tests to show the safety of that material, as it was a new material for use in consumer applications.

All tests passed successfully at the highest potential safety threshold.

The colour-changing dye is completely safe, even though it will never actually touch the user's skin. It is sandwiched between the base layer, and the top layer. For the base layer, the adhesive substrate is certified as a medical-grade adhesive. 

The medical-grade adhesive substrate is hypoallergenic and non-sensitizing.

For more information about our safety and testing information, please email us at info@suncayr.ca

We have completed clinical trials proving that SPOTMYUV™ changes colour at the correct time (when your SPF 50 sunscreen is only giving you SPF 10), and that the top layer (skin-mimicking material) loses sunscreen at the same rate as skin.

We use the same techniques that the world’s leading academics use for measuring sunscreen on skin, which are detailed at a high-level in our reports. In short, we use alcohol swabs to measure the sunscreen on skin, and quantify using UV/Vis spectroscopy.

We compare

1. The amount of sunscreen taken off of the alcohol swab
   
2. The amount of sunscreen on a SPOT (right beside the swabbed area of skin)
   
3. The colour of the SPOT in sunlight
   

We check to see that (1) and (2) have an equivalent amount of sunscreen. We also then check if that amount of sunscreen is above or below 0.8mg/cm^2, and compare that to the colour of the SPOT in sunlight (3). The test is a pass if (1)=(2), and if the colour of (3) reports the correct colour for the surface coverage (purple if <0.8mg/cm^2, otherwise clear)

When we do this over time, we can track how sunscreen comes off both skin and SPOT.

We show that when SPOT turns purple, it means that there is an effective SPF of 10 on SPOT, and thus on skin, so the user should reapply sunscreen soon.

For wholesale or custom SPOT opportunities, please email info@suncayr.ca.