Summer’s here in the US! The weather is warming up, barbecues are heating up and Americans are drinking up! A lot of us have a habit of taking our most important, even most somber, national holidays and turning them into something entirely different. We’re not judging, but we are urging you to be careful out there.

For example, while enjoying an adult beverage or three over the weekend, one of our colleagues engaged in some horseplay with a friend that ended when his chum dumped a margarita on his head. No harm, no foul? No way.

The lime juice reacted with sunlight on his skin causing Phytophotodermatitis, a condition that some call “margarita photodermatitis”—burning, itching and severe redness that required a trip to the dermatologist’s office and a steroid cream prescription. Nearly a week after the incident, our email marketing coordinator still has skin discoloration near his hairline, but the doctor promises she can fix it, if necessary, with a hydroquinone solution. Certainly not the best way to get your summer off to a good start, but maybe it will create a whole new subcategory for skin care aimed at college kids or guys with Peter Pan complexes? Oh, wait, that would be all men!

Wherever you’re relaxing this month, this issue of Happi is loaded with good reads for your summer getaway. Start with The Top 50, our annual look at the biggest US makers of household and personal products. While P&G has been ranked No. 1 since we began The Top 50 since 1978, we have a new company in second place. Turn to p. 70 to learn more.

Also this month, we report on the latest launches and issues surround preservatives (p. 60). For a look at the trends shaping and shading the facial cosmetics category, turn to p. 54.
While my colleague waits for his skin to return to normal, if any cosmetic chemists can offer an OTC solution, we’re all ears…we’ll even buy you a drink!

Tom Branna
Editorial Director
tbranna@rodmanmedia.com