An SPF Wardrobe for Summer Fun?
What exactly is SPF clothing, and is it worth the money?
SPF clothing is made from fabric treated with colorless compounds, fluorescent brighteners, or special resins that absorb ultraviolet rays and protect you from the sun. The new materials do seem to shield you from harmful rays better than the usual summer clothing: One study at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta found that T-shirts offer about as much protection as a sunscreen with an SPF 6. That's less than half the recommended SPF (15 is the minimal protection) for outdoor activity on sunny days.
The new fabrics give you the equivalent of a broad-spectrum SPF of more than 30. In animal studies, the Morehouse researchers found that hairless lab mice protected with SPF-fabrics developed no cancers or precancers after prolonged sun exposure. Unprotected mice, and those covered by ordinary lightweight fabrics, developed premalignant lesions or squamous cell carcinomas, a type of skin cancer.
SPF clothing was developed for people with photosensitive skin or skin cancer, but the popularity of protective fabrics appears to be growing. And according to the Skin Cancer Foundation, Australian researchers have developed a new compound that can give cotton knit fabrics a protection equivalent of SPF 100. I'm familiar with a line of protective clothing called Solumbra, which is a bit pricey but worth the extra money if your skin is very sensitive to the sun -- or if you spend a lot of time outdoors.
If you're not ready to buy a new wardrobe, you can still get pretty good protection with ordinary clothes. Here are some tips from the Skin Cancer Foundation:
Avoid polyester crepe, bleached cotton, and viscose -- all are transparent to UV rays.
Look for unbleached cotton fabrics( they contain lignins, which are pigments that absorb the rays). High-luster polyesters and thin, satiny silk are good choices, too, because they reflect radiation.
Wear clothes made with tightly woven fabrics -- to check the weave, hold the fabric up to a window or lamp to see how much light gets through. The less, the better.
Change out of wet clothes as soon as possible -- all fabrics lose their sun-protective properties when wet.
Wear loose-fitting clothes as often as possible; they're more protective than clinging stretch fabrics.
And no matter what you put on, make a real effort to stay in the shade. Especially from about 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. during the months of April through September. Enjoy your summer!
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