Sun-protective gear is especially helpful for kids , who are tough to slather in sunscreen; active people, who might wash away SPF getting in and out of water or while sweating; people with a history of skin cancer ; and anyone who works outside regularly, Dr.
Woolery-Lloyd notes. Tightly woven fabric is excellent at blocking UV light, Dr. Brauer says, especially warm weather-friendly synthetic fibers, which have fewer microspaces between threads. Looser cottons, on the other hand, are much less protective.
Certain fabrics also defend against UV light instead of letting it pass through to your skin, Dr. Brauer explains. Unbleached cotton is great at absorbing harmful rays, while shiny materials like polyester and silk can even reflect them. Darker colors absorb more of these rays than lighter ones. She recommends clothing that protects your shoulders, back, and arms; extra coverage for your neck and chest, two places people often forget to use sunscreen, is a bonus. Plus, the moisture-wicking fabric will keep you cool—a perk for hot summer days.
Yep, rash guards actually look good these days. This J. Crew option with a matching bikini bottom offers UPF 50 sun protection and also prevents chafing and scrapes. Wear it on its own or over your swimsuit—its quick-drying fabric will keep you comfy either way. Looking for a swimsuit with a little more protection? Throw on one of these cute cover-ups after the beach! Would you send your kids to play in the sun without wearing a shirt?
Surely not! This is only partly true. Do you know why? We are managing to filter only the UV type B radiation, which causes tanning and sunburns! But the silent killer is the UV-A rays.
Even on cloudy days, there is light. If there is light there is UV-A. How do they check UV sun protection level for clothes? Scientists can check how much UV is reaching the other side. The only question now Will my clothing be chemical free and how awesome do I look? Coloured fabrics have higher UV protection. Bleached fabrics have the worst UV protection, since any natural dyes in the fibre are destroyed. Unbleached fabrics are better. The best UV protection comes from high concentrations of dye in your fabric.
In different studies dark colours always performed well, but sometimes lighter colours worked well too e. In general , given their fabric type and colours, shirts have lower UPF. Higher UPFs were found for dresses, t-shirts, polo t-shirts and polyester-blend sportswear particularly if they came in dark colours.
Now on top of the fabric you choose, there are other things that can change the UPF level when it comes to clothes:. Your clothes can wear sunscreen, and just like with sunscreen this can be organic or inorganic. Polyester has built in sun protection, but during production, different additives can also be combined with the fibre, including zinc oxide , titanium dioxide and nanodiamond.
You can also treat clothing after you take it home, with products like Rit Sun Guard. This contains Tinosorb FD, and one laundry cycle with Sun Guard gives clothing UPF 30 protection for 20 future washes it works best with natural fibres.
If you stretch a piece of fabric, the holes get bigger and UV passes through more easily , giving lower UPF. With wet clothing, you can get lower OR higher protection, and it seems to be pretty much impossible to predict which way it goes. You can also cut down how much skin you need to reapply sunscreen to, and not worry so much about getting enough sunscreen on hard-to-reach places.
I particularly like the UPF 50 protective clothing from the Airism range, which is designed to feel light and cool on the skin. To achieve this high protection, Uniqlo has added special filters to the UV Cut fabrics which block and reflect UV at the fibre level. The hoodie I have has thumbholes, a common feature in UV protective clothing that gives some UV protection to the backs of your hands — unfortunately it also means that the palm of your hand is quite slippery, and this is the actual hoodie that made me crack my phone screen.
The pocket size is also a bit small for a standard sized phone to stay comfortably in. But there are much more fashionable designs now!
Mecca Cosmetica released a very wearable rash vest design last summer. Solbari are an Australian brand that entirely focus on sun protection.
Solbari clothing has a lot of nifty sun-protective features like thumb holes for extra protection on the backs of your hands, and collars with extra fusing to enhance neck protection. Their clothing comes in a few different fabrics that are created to be cooling, breathable, moisture wicking, or anti-odour. I really like their Luxe Sun Wrap , which is a nice long cardigan-type top.
They also have the Coolasun fabric, which gives a cool feel on the skin even with dark colours that would normally feel hot in the sun — even their long sleeved turtleneck feels cool!
I particularly like their protective arm sleeves — you can wear these with any t-shirt to get extra protection on your arms. The first references listed are still the most useful, comprehensive ones, and I always try to include some open access information. Davis S et al.
Int J Dermatol , 36 , DOI: Aguilera J et al.
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