Mann About Town Features Burnd's Dr. Mitchnick on Building SPF Habits Young and What Every Parent Needs to Know

Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States. One in five Americans will be diagnosed by the time they turn 70. And yet daily SPF use among adults and children alike remains far from routine.

Mann About Town, the New York lifestyle publication from Mann Publications, tapped Burnd co-founder Dr. Mark Mitchnick to help families understand why building sunscreen habits young isn't just good parenting, it's one of the most meaningful things you can do for a child's long-term health.

Dr. Mitchnick brings a perspective that is rare in the sunscreen space: he is both the scientist who invented the technology and the parent who built the brand around it. As the inventor of transparent zinc oxide (Z-Cote®) - the nanoparticle breakthrough that transformed mineral sunscreens from thick, chalky, and unwearable into the clear, elegant formulas now adopted globally - he spent three decades supplying formulation science to major brands before asking a more personal question: why wasn't anything on the market actually good enough for his own kids?

The answer he kept arriving at, both in his pediatrics practice and at home, was that most sunscreens fail not because of flawed science but because of flawed experience. Parents and children avoid products that sting their eyes, leave a white cast, or feel greasy - and a sunscreen that sits unused in the beach bag protects no one. That insight is the founding principle of Burnd.

"Kids pick up their habits from us. One of the best things we can do for our kids is to model the right habits that they can naturally imitate."

The feature also takes on the growing wave of online misinformation claiming sunscreens are "toxic" or even cancer-causing - a narrative that has real consequences for public health as families head into summer. 

If you've been looking for a way to make sunscreen a non-negotiable part of your family's daily routine, this feature is the place to start. Read the full article on Mann About Town for Dr. Mitchnick's complete perspective on what parents need to know this Skin Cancer Awareness Month and beyond.

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