Seth Nelson, cofounder of Sol Labs, was 27 when early-stage melanoma was detected after a biopsy of a mole on his right calf. Lucky for him, doctors were able to eradicate the cancer by removing a large radius of skin during Mohs surgery.

A teenager in the late 1990s, he blames his overuse of tanning beds, which gradually left what was once a coveted dark-bronze hue, as the culprit.

As with any health scare, the experience changed Nelson’s perception about life and what truly mattered and prompted a search for answers. For one, that one blistering sunburn during childhood or adolescence nearly doubles one’s risk for developing melanoma later in life, per the Melanoma Research Alliance.

As an elder Millennial, Nelson said he felt disappointment toward the sun care industry and a lack of education on the importance of daily sunscreen use, a practice that is drilled home by dermatologists now more than ever.

In an article he penned called, “Seizing Your Destiny: A Life Defined by Moments & Seconds,” he recounts accompanying his wife to the dermatologist for moral support the day he was checked.

“I often wonder, ‘What if I hadn’t met my wife?’ or, ‘What if I hadn’t gone with her that day?” he said.

It was this serendipity that inspired the husband-and-wife team to create Sol Labs – a venture Nelson views as his duty given his stroke of life-saving luck.

Into the Lab

The Nelsons built Sol Labs around the notion that people love skin care over sun care and willed to make sun care products that were effective and desirous to use. Overcoming the brave experience fueled his ambition to crack open the laptop and conduct searches on SPF. He got formulating with the help of a cosmetic chemist who helped him understand about the science of formulation, from the homogenization process to melting points.

“Our goal really was to create clean natural formulas that were safe to use,” said Nelson. “However, as many ‘home-cooked’ skin care product stories end, they simply were not able to stand up to the quality and efficacy standards that we set out to create.”

The couple created Sol Labs on the basis of offering high-quality sun care. The brand gets its name from “sol,” the Latin word for “sun,” and Seoul, South Korea’s Capital City where the Nelsons appreciate for originating some of the world’s finest skin care.

Product Line

Sol Labs makes Natural Mineral SPF 30 Daily Face & Body Sun Defense, which Nelson likens to a beloved moisturizer with added mineral sun protection; Natural Mineral SPF 50 Sheer Mist Spray, which is engineered with the brand’s ecoMist Mineral Technology non-aerosol packaging; and SPF 15 Hydrating Lavender Mint Lip Balm housed in an oversized 11-gram tube.

This month, Sol Labs will introduce its SPF 30 Mineral, Anti-Aging Bronzing Face Serum available in three shades of bronze illuminous glow, with a host of high-end ingredients such as astaxanthin, niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, squalane and rice bran extract.

The brand also has two new SKUs slated for this spring created with new technologies within the industry.

Ingredient Research with ChatGPT

As fate would continue to have it, Nelson’s wife, Jenny, had been coming off a vice-president role for a CPG packaging company based out of Seoul and Irvine, CA with knowledge in working with suppliers and manufacturers in that region. It was there that they were in touch with skin care manufacturers to get the process rolling on obtaining initial samples of wish-list product items.

“The biggest hurdle of the wish list was that all of our formulas must be mineral in protection, but perform nothing like mineral, and we couldn’t use nanoparticles to achieve that. We had to be the best of the best,” he said.

Thirty-nine was the lucky number of iterations in the creation of Sol Lab’s SPF 30 Mineral Sunscreen to achieve the performance they were satisfied with. An “obsession” with using AI and ChatGPT led Nelson to copy and paste his formula for his Sol’s Foundation of Youth Formula into the chatbot and inquire about one natural superhero ingredient that no other competitors in the sun care category are using that has immense skin benefits. The answer? Astaxanthin: the so-called king of carotenoids.

After more research on the antioxidant, which occurs in certain algae and causes the pink-red color in salmon, he was on to something.

“My mind was blown when I discovered the skin benefits, mainly its ability to reside within the cell membrane, on the molecular level and regenerate damaged DNA cells,” said Nelson. “I thought, “My goodness, not only does our products protect from the sun, they also help rejuvenate the skin at the same time!”

Apart from using it in its Foundation of Youth, he integrated the “antioxidant magic” into all of the brand’s other formulas – the SPF values of which range from 15 on the lip balm to 50 on its sheer mist spray.

‘Anti-Sunscreen’ Sunscreen

Recently, Sol Labs says it trademarked the term, “The Anti-Sunscreen Sunscreen.”

“To acknowledge that people generally do not like sunscreen – but to iterate that we are the “anti” version of our industry – Sol Labs was born from the radical belief that sunscreen should be an experience you actually look forward to; a moment as luxurious as it is essential,” said Nelson.

Sol Labs products are free from the feel of stickiness, grease and chalk to negate why people view sun protection a neglected chore, Nelson said.

“Our promise is simple yet transformative: better ingredients, better protection and zero compromises,” he explained. “We’ve meticulously engineered formulas that don’t just shield you from harmful rays; they elevate your skin’s potential. Each application is a precise blend of cutting-edge science and sensorial delight – offering a product that glides on like silk, absorbs instantly and leaves your skin feeling breathable, radiant and protected. People deserve more, and we’ve made it our mission to deliver.”

Sol Labs is available at sollabs.co, Amazon, retailers and Allure with hopes for additional retail partnerships this year.