Sun Protective Clothing

Hats - a must have

A large percentage of skin cancers appear on the vulnerable head and neck areas, such as the temple, ears, nose, cheeks, lips and bald spots. Baseball caps provide limited shade for your head.  Wearing a wide brimmed (three inches / 7.5 cm or more) hat or a legionnaire-style hat with a back flap will give you a lot of sun protection for these areas and lessen your chances of getting sunburn and skin cancer. Hats made of a thick, tightly woven material, such as canvas, will screen out the sun's rays best. Avoid straw hats with holes in them. Remember you still need to apply lots of sunscreen to your lower face, ears and neck. Hats are a portable and reasonably priced way to be sun safe. Many people enjoy wearing hats to show their personal style and the choices are enormous. So find a hat that suits you and that you love to wear.

Clothing & Sun Protection

Clothing offers another simple and cost-efficient way to protect yourself from the sun. Most fabrics are very good at blocking the sun's rays. Loose fitting, long sleeved shirts and pants made from closely woven material offer the most protection. To check for sun protection, hold the clothing up to the light. If you can see through it then the sun's rays can get through it and it will not be effective. Darkly coloured fabrics appear to block out the sun the most.  When required, remember to supplement your protection by seeking shade or by wearing a hat and applying sunscreen on those areas not covered by clothing.

The “Hole Effect" *

By understanding the “hole effect” one can better grasp which clothing choice can offer better UV protection.  All fabric that is woven has holes between the individual threads. The tighter the weave and denser the fibre, the better protection this clothing can offer.  Should your clothing become worn out, tight fitting or wet, these altered states will increase the size of the holes and the amount of UV exposure.

* Phrase attributable to Menzies S, Lukins P, Greenoak G, et al.

Commercially Marketed Clothing

For marketed sun protective clothing, the following categories are used to describe the protection value of American or Australia/New Zealand tested fabrics.  The UPF ratings coincide closely with the SPF values given to sunscreen products in Canada and elsewhere.  Of note though, since some companies may test only dry, unstretched fabric samples, be mindful of the “hole effect” if not indicated.