UV Protective Clothing

Choosing the UV protective clothing can be a little confusing if you don’t know what to look for.

With the emphasis on Global Warming and the increased risk of incurring severe skin damage or cancer from even minimal sun exposure.

So choosing the best sun protection clothing is very important these days..... 

These days wearing Sun Protection Clothing is not just to prevent wrinkles, but for our health in general.

For many people who are tired of spending a lot of money on sunscreens or suffer from sunscreen allergies wearing UV (Ultra Violet, which is what makes the sun’s rays harmful) protective clothing sounds like a perfect alternative.

First, your skin type should be a consideration in deciding whether or not to purchase sun protection clothing.

While everyone can benefit from using sun protection, fair-skinned folk and children should always have protective measures in place as they are most prone to incurring sun damage.

Children also might have sensitive skin that can be irritated by sunscreen, making them great candidates for wearing sun protection clothing instead, though wearing both offers even greater protection.

No worries about being out of fashion these hat styles range from sporty to beautiful and are fun to wear.

UV Protective Clothing - UPF Ratings

The higher the UPF, the higher the rating, the higher the protection. For example, a garment with a 50 UPF rating will only allow 1/50th (about 2%) of radiation to pass through the fabric.

Neat fact:

The American Society for Testing and Materials has mandated that a UPF (Ultra Violet Protection Factor, the rating applied to sun protection clothing) rating of at least 15 is required for a garment to be considered as UV-protective. However, you should always look for clothes that offer a UPF rating of at least 50 or higher for best protection.

So why should you wear UV protective clothing regular clothing for protection?

Some dermatologists say they have seen pigment change in skin that was covered by regular clothing as opposed to special UV protective items.

UV protective clothing has a special weave and is treated with titanium dioxide to increase UPF rating - so it offers much more protection than regular clothing.

Also, with regular clothing items, many other factors can determine their effectiveness as well such as fiber, weave, color and weight, with heavier fabrics having greater protection value, but sometimes they’re just not comfort or too hot to wear during the summer.

Colors can also be important; darker colors on regular clothing naturally attract more sun than lighter colored ones, but the dyes used in clothing intended for UV protection are specially treated to disrupt UV light.

Because of this, UV protective clothing will need a little extra attention to maintain its UPF protection factor.

Repeated washings with regular detergents can diminish some of these chemicals and thus decrease their effectiveness.

But some laundry soaps such as RIT Sun Guard and optical brighteners are specially formulated with UV-disrupting compounds that preserve the garment’s UPF effectiveness.

You can usually find these products at large drug store.

One final concern some people might have would be whether or not they can afford to invest in UPF protective clothing, but if you spend any time at all in the sun, it might be better to ask yourself if you can afford not to.

It’s the best of three worlds, high technology combined with fashion and overall safety!

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