We couldn't find a sunscreen worth wearing back home — so we're making one.
We're Aashish & Rishitha. 78 Labs started as a shared annoyance: back home, the sunscreens worth wearing were priced like luxury imports, and the ones made for Indian skin left us grey or greasy.
Neither of us came from beauty. We came from wanting one honest product — broad-spectrum, lab-tested, priced like it's meant to be worn every single day, and made for the skin and the sun we actually have.
So we're building it in public. Every formulation round, every lab report, every decision about the tube and the cap — we post it. No influencer launch, no borrowed science. Just two founders, a lab, and a list of people we'd like to get this right for.
Two things we won't compromise on.
You're already beautiful. We mean that.
Skincare isn't about becoming beautiful. It's about taking care of your skin — the same way you take care of your health. Everyone is individual, and everyone is already beautiful. We're not selling you a better face. We're helping you look after the one you have.
Skincare should be simple.
Not a shelf of ten bottles and a routine you feel guilty for skipping. A few honest things that work — that anyone can afford and feel good about using. Simple, quick, done. That's why we'll stay a small range of essentials, each one earned — never a catalog.
Questions, answered
The things people ask us most about the product, the testing, and the waitlist.
+What makes this different from other sunscreens?
No white cast and no greasy feel, broad-spectrum protection, tuned for Indian skin and Indian sun — built to actually be worn every day, not avoided.
+Who is it for?
Every skin tone. Made for the skin and sun we actually have here, and meant for daily wear — not just beach days.
+What's the SPF?
We've formulated it for SPF 50+, PA++++, broad-spectrum (UVA + UVB) — and we're testing it now to confirm. We publish and market only the numbers our lab results back.
+Is it really tested?
We're running the same lab tests the big, established brands run — SPF, UVA-PF/PA, photostability — and we publish results as they come in. Testing is in progress; we'll market the SPF/PA numbers only once the certificate confirms them. That's the point of building in public: you see the proof, not just the claim.
+What UV filters does it use?
A broad-spectrum set of well-established, long-studied filters — chosen for one job: full UVA + UVB protection that still disappears on the skin. We deliberately didn't chase trendy "new-generation" filter labels; some change the texture, some push the price up, and we cared more about a finish you'll actually wear every day. The complete ingredient list goes on the label, and we won't call our filters "clean" or "reef-safe," because those are marketing words we can't stand behind. That's the point of building in public.
+Is there a sunscreen you're taking inspiration from?
Honestly, yes. If you've used Supergoop's Unseen Sunscreen, you already know the feeling we're chasing — a sunscreen that goes on like nothing, disappears completely, and you actually reach for every single day. It's a brilliant product, and it set the bar for what a modern invisible sunscreen can feel like. What it isn't is easy to get, or fairly priced, back home in India. That's the gap we're building for: that same invisible, everyday finish — formulated and tested for Indian skin and Indian sun, and priced like something you wear daily, not something you ration. We're not claiming we've matched it yet. We're testing to earn our own numbers, in public. But that's the standard we're holding ourselves to.
+Are you just another white-label brand?
No. And we get why you ask — a lot of "brands" are just a stock formula off a manufacturer's shelf with a new sticker, the same product sold under ten names. We refused to do that. Ours was developed to our own brief and pushed through round after round of samples — we rejected the first batch for a shine that was too shiny and a scent that shouldn't have been there, said so out loud, and sent it back until it hit the standard we set. Every one of those rounds is in the journal, gaps and all. Do we work with a manufacturing partner? Of course — nobody builds a factory to launch one sunscreen. But the brief, the standard, and every call along the way are ours, and we're lab-testing all of it before a single number goes on the box. That's not white-label. That's the opposite.
+Why build in public?
Because trust is the product. If you can watch how it's made — the gaps and all — you don't have to take our word for it.
+How do you decide the price?
Backwards from most brands. We don't look at what competitors charge or what we think you'd be willing to pay and then work down to a cost. We start from what the thing actually costs us to make well — the filters, the base, the tube, the testing — and add a fair, honest markup on top. That's it. It's why a sunscreen this good can be priced like something you wear every day instead of something you ration.
+How much will it cost?
₹499 for your first bottle as part of the founding batch, with free shipping. We'll publish the regular price when we open at launch.
+When does it launch, and how does the waitlist work?
We're aiming for Q4 2026 — a target, not a hard promise; we'd rather get it right than rush it. Our first run is just 2,000 bottles. Join the waitlist before launch and you're in the founding batch: first claim on that run, your first bottle at ₹499, and free shipping. It costs nothing to join.
+Will you have a big product range?
No. We're staying a small range of essentials — each new product has to earn its place. We'd rather make a few things well than fill a shelf.
The founding batch — the first 2,000. On the waitlist, you get first claim on our first production run: founder price ₹499, free shipping, and you'll see the final lab results before anyone else.
Free to join — we'll publish the regular price when we open.