Tag: dry

Categories
Health and Wellness

FaceCare cuts down on dry scare with healthy analytics

The Premise. Healthy skin is essential for looking young. Skin needs to be hydrated in order to stay taut and reduce the appearance of wrinkles. It’s difficult to know when to moisturize and sometimes really dry skin is the only indication. When your skin is dry, what are the best ways to remedy it?

The Product. FaceCare is a device that scans your skin for moisture. The white wand is about the size of a Wii controller and is rubbed against the skin for analysis. It then communicates with your smartphone to deliver the analytics. The app shows you how moist your skin is on a scale of 1 to 5 water droplets and tells you when you need to moisturize.

The Pitch. The campaign video delivers what one would expect, lots of shots of a woman with already perfect skin using the product while smiling. For the remainder of the campaign, the creators include diagrams of the layers of skin along with close-up comparisons of dry versus moist skin. FaceCare is looking to raise $10,000 on Indiegogo. 

The Perks. Backers looking to analyze their faces can get the FaceCare system for $20, which goes for a regular price of $29. Estimated delivery is currently set for February 2015.

The Potential. With any skin miracle product, it’s important to ask if it really works. FaceCare doesn’t promise complete skin rejuvenation, just valuable information as to how your skin is doing. The questions here are: How accurate is the data it provides? and Does it really tell us anything that we couldn’t figure out on our own? It’s pretty easy to tell how dry your skin is just by touching it. In addition, do we really have the time to analyze our pores on our smartphones when we’re getting ready in the morning? On the other hand, for facial enthusiasts or spa professionals, FaceCare may be an easy tool to gather helpful information.

Categories
Health and Wellness Tools

The Body Dryer brings the warm to your wet form

The Premise. Pools are a great way to cool off in the warm weather, but getting out of them can often have you sopping and shivering. Towels can be cumbersome to tote and keep dry and clean, and aren’t very sanitary if they have to be shared, especially among kids.

The Product. Extending the concept of air dryers from public restrooms to the rest of the body, The Body Dryer gets you dry and toasty with a device that looks a lot like a bath scale. Its killer feature is In fact, it can even weigh you, helping you to feel better about all that swimming exercise you got in the pool. The device can dry you off in 30 seconds, which is good, because you’ll no doubt be the object of attention standing on it as it gently blows a swirling column of air at you.

The Pitch. The video for the $50,000 campaign intersperses footage of the inventor talking about his product with that of a bikini-clad woman taking a dip in and then hanging around a towel-bereft swimming pool. The makers of the body dryer explain the features of the product and how they’re looking to make this a residential tool that can cut down on towel consumption in the home.

The Perks. There are  two tiers from which backers may choose. For $150 a backer gets their very own Body Dryer, which is $100 off of the anticipated retail price. Expected delivery is September 2014.

The Potential. The Body Dryer is clearly hoping to capitalize on much of the success of air dryers like the Dyson Airblade, but at a much more affordable price. It may be a more eco-friendly towel alternative that could have primary appeal to commercial owners of gyms with a pool and hotels might take an interest. Even with its quick drying time, though, these settings would probably want a few around to eliminate any drying queue. It may also be more sanitary, doing away with the bacteria that collects on towels. But what about the bacteria, mold and fungus that eventually collects on the area where you stand? It also has to be plugged in, which may be a concern around watery areas in which it must be used without limiting access to it.

Categories
Aquatics

Off’n’Up makes getting out of your wetsuit as smooth as your wetsuit

The Premise. If you’ve ever tried to get yourself out of a wetsuit after a day at the beach, chances are you know that it’s not quite as easy as it looks. It’s an awkward task to take on, especially when you get down to the legs of the suit. For those who spend a lot of time in the water, this can be a nuisance standing between you and the next part of your fun day outdoors.

The Product. Laura Taylor of Galway, Ireland has created what she’s calling the world’s first patented wetsuit removal tool, and while it’s not the most attractive-looking thing in the world, it appears to work quite well. Essentially a foot long metal “gripper” with a plastic handle and head, the Off’n’Up works by running the shoehorn-like product against your leg, during which the plastic piece grabs the wetsuit material and pulls it down to your feet. The project’s campaign page states that there’s no other product like it on the market, and it is indeed hard to find anything similar out there. It not only lets you remove the wetsuit efficiently, but while standing. And as a bonus, it can also double as a hanger for the wetsuit.

The Pitch. The campaign video starts off by having a young man flail around on the ground demonstrating just how difficult it is to get out of a wetsuit after being in the water. This is followed by the company’s founder speaking about the history of the product. The description accurately walks the viewer through how to use the product, but the tone fails to really capture much excitement associated not only with the fun activities one can engage in while in a wetsuit, but the opportunity to get on with things after one is out of one.

The Perks. Early adopters of the Off’n’Up can do so for an entry price of $50 (the prototypes will be shipping in July). Considering that the Off’n’Up may find daily use with some people, the price itself is manageable, if a bit high. For those who only wear a wetsuit on occasion, however, it’s difficult to justify making such a purchase. Other perks (guided adventures with the founder, for example) are offered at much higher prices, with a five-day Ireland adventure for 2 clocking in at just under $900.

The Potential. There’s really nothing out on the market that serves the same purpose as the Off’n’Up, but it’s a bit pricey for such a limited-use product. Even among those who wear wetsuits often enough to find a strong need for it would likely find it an awkward implement to bring along. A collapsible version, though, would be a more compelling option for separating a wetsuit — and some funds — from a prospective buyer.