Sunscreens applied, the volunteer labors on. ûThe white stripe is Banana Boat Sport, which ûrefused to be rubbed in.

Not so many years ago (or so we'd like to believe) getting a tan was a good thing, whether it was a carefully orchestrated rite of summer (phalanxes of beach chairs tracking the sun's movement) or more the simple result of being outdoors as much as possible, clothed as little as possible. But... does the sun feel hotter these days, a bit less smooth, a bit more grating—or is it just us?

It's not just us. In recent years, thanks to a gradual diminishing of ozone in the atmosphere, sunlight has indeed become more damaging. Add to that our better understanding of the links between exposure to the sun and…