Sunblock clothing

Sunblock clothing is becoming increasingly popular the more people realize how toxic the sunscreen options are out there. Having been persuaded over the past 40 years or so that the sun's damaging UV rays are at the core of skin cancer, people are so much more aware of protecting themselves either by keeping out of the sun altogether, wearing plenty sunscreen, or wearing sunblock clothing. There are a number of companies today that are starting to turn their focus towards creating outdoor clothing and accessories that have an added protection against the sun's UV rays.

Is any clothing good enough protection?

Most clothing gives me a feeling that I am protected from the sun's rays but it is actually a fact that UV rays can penetrate clothing. Summer weight t-shirts and sun dresses can let in an astonishing amount of the sun's damaging UV rays. Different materials vary in their protective capabilities, but as a benchmark a basic item like a white T-shirt generally has an ultra violet protection factor (UPF) of only 5. As a minimum for best protection, a UPF of 30 is recommended.

Sunscreen isn't always enough to prevent burning. It is very often not used in sufficient quantity or not applied evenly or some areas of your body are completely forgotten, like the tops of your feet, your ears, or the back of your neck. It also needs to be reapplied after swimming or sweating and toweling off. In addition to this, many people have skin allergies or sensitivities to the chemical sunscreens, or the toxic ingredients within the sunscreens. In comparison, sunblock clothing is not made with any chemicals at all. The UPF is actually provided by the tight weave of the fabric. The resultant UV protection helps to prevent sunburns, premature aging of the skin and skin cancer, in a similar way that sunscreens do.

UPF clothing must pass a lot of tests in order to be certified as clothing that actually functions efficiently as sunblock clothing. The following habits will help to retain this effectiveness:

• Avoid stretching the material. The more this type of clothing is stretched, the looser the weave becomes and the less effective it will be in guarding against ultraviolet rays
• Choose darker colors as they are believed to offer more protection than white clothes
• Rinse your swim wear UPF clothes after swimming in chlorinated or salt water

Tests have shown that wearing regular cotton while wet results in the fabric losing half of its original UPF/SPF rating, whereas clothing with a UPF rating is able to retain the majority of this original rating while wet.

Introducing sun block clothing into your life can help to avoid any mishaps with UV rays during the summer. For both yourself and your children, especially if you are very active outdoors, by dressing every day in UPF clothing, you can eliminate the need to continually have to apply sunscreen. However, the combination of the two is the best possible solution for complete protection, especially if using non-toxic sunscreens.

New Alternative to UPF Certified Clothing

New technology has recently been introduced to actually wash sun protection into clothing, providing protection for more than 96% of the sun's ultraviolet rays from reaching your skin. As a laundry additive treatment, it does not compromise the color, feeling or comfort of the original fabric - not even the whiteness of garments. Perhaps this may even become the next generation of sun protection, by transforming everyday clothing into sunblock clothing?

Diversity of Clothing Offered

Sunblock clothing is designed today with such diverse product offerings to keep babies, children and adults alike comfortably covered but cool for just about any outdoor activity. Swimming and water sports are the natural and most popular applications but sunblock clothing can be worn as outdoor active gear for golf, tennis, biking, snow skiing, gardening and in some cases great pajamas for children who just don't seem to want to take them off!