How Sun Protective Clothing Keeps You Safe?

How Sun Protective Clothing Keeps You Safe?

Are you aware that over 270,000 cases of skin cancer are diagnosed in Australia each year? Are you aware of the fact that most of these cases can be prevented? Due to Australia’s location near the equator, people are exposed to some of the highest levels of solar UV radiation.

Even though it is easy to avoid skin cancer due to sun exposure, many people just do not take some simple precautions hence developing skin cancer. Many people are also not aware of the simple facts regarding clothing, sunscreen, and SPF. In this article, we will take a look at some of these facts.

Common Sunscreen is Ineffective against UVA Rays

Common sunscreens available in the market today do not offer enough protection from ultraviolet rays. Most of the sunscreens on the market are designed to protect the skin from UVB rays. These sunscreens do a good job at that, but researchers have recently found that UVA rays have caused the most damage to the skin.

UVA rays penetrate much more deeply as compared to the UVB rays and are responsible for causing skin cancers. Therefore, even though the sunscreens are effective at protecting from sun burns, these offer no protection from skin cancer due to UVA rays.

Regular Clothing Does Not Protect from UV Radiation

Many people are not aware that most of the regular clothing offers no protection against the ultraviolet radiation exposure. In simple words, if you are not wearing special sun protective clothing, you are most likely exposing your body to the ultraviolet radiation of the sun thus causing skin cancer.

Therefore, if you want to offer protection to your body against the UV radiation, it is important to wear sun protective clothing that can protect you from the harmful UV radiation. There are a few companies in Australia that make sun protective clothing.

Forms of Ultraviolet Radiation

As you may be aware, the sun emits different types of radiations that are known as ultraviolet radiation, infrared radiation, and visible spectrum radiation. When it comes to ultraviolet radiation, three main forms are recognised. These forms are UVA, UVB, and UVC. The ozone layer absorbs most of the UVC rays emitted by the sun.

Also, the ozone layer absorbs some of the UVB radiation. However, most of the UVB rays are not absorbed by the ozone layer and come straight down to the earth causing sunburns. This is where the sunscreens come in. Common sunscreens offer protection against UVB rays. These sunscreens do not allow the UVB rays penetrate the skin and thus, prevent sunburns.

Sunscreen Effectiveness Measure

All of the sunscreens available today come with a specific SPF number. This number stands for sun protection factor. In simple terms, it can be described as a factor that tells you about the protection it offers from the UVB rays. So, if a sunscreen comes with an SPF of 15, it means that you will be exposed to UVB rays for a period of one minute for each 15 minutes you spend out in the sun.

As far as the minimum SPF number is concerned, it is recommended to use a sunscreen with minimum SPF of 15. Also, it is important to use a sunscreen that offers protection against both UVA rays, as well as UVB rays. Long-term exposure to UV rays can result in skin cancer as well as premature ageing.

How to Be Safe from Sunburns as well as Skin Cancer

There are a number of things that you can observe to protect yourself from sunburns, as well as skin cancer. Here are a few tips to help you keep safe:

1. Apply Sunscreen

It is important to apply sunscreen whenever you are going out in the sun. Also, it is recommended to apply sunscreen at least until 30 minutes before you go out into the sun for optimum protection. Sunscreen should be applied on the whole body. Apply it on your face, neck, ears, arms, legs, and feet.

It is also recommended to reapply sunscreen every 90 minutes to 120 minutes. Also, lipstick makes your lips prone to sunburn. Therefore, it is recommended to apply lip balm or lipstick that has a skin protection factor.

2. Eye Protection

You should also protect your eyes from the UV rays by wearing sunglasses with inbuilt UV protection. It is important to keep in mind that there are many decently priced sunglasses available with the UV protection.

Always choose sunglasses with a UV 400 label. This label means that the sunglasses offer 100% protection against UV rays. Sunglasses not only look fashionable but also offer protection against the UV rays.

3. Use Sun Protective Clothing

One of the best ways to protect you from the harmful effect of UV radiation is to wear sun protective clothing. Its biggest benefit is its ability to protect the body from at least 95% of the harmful UV rays.

There are also some sun protective clothing manufacturers that spray some chemicals onto the clothing and claim that it offers UV protection. However, these clothes lose their protective ability after a few washing.

On the other hand, specially made clothing do not lose their protective ability after many washing. These clothes also carry specific SPF or UPF.

4. Keep Sun Exposure Minimum When UV Index is High

UV index ranges from low to extreme. The body may not need any sun protection when the UV index is low (in the range of 1 to 2). However, protection is needed when the UV index is other than low. Therefore, it is recommended to keep your exposure to the sun at a minimum when the UV index is other than low.

5. It is Important to Protect Skin in Winter

Many people are not aware of the fact that UV rays can also damage the skin in winters. Therefore, it is recommended to follow all the above tips to keep you safe from the harmful effect of UV radiation even during the winter months.