“You Just Can’t Afford Any More Sun Damage to Your Skin!”
Heard that line before?
It is a well known fact that over exposure to the sun can lead to problems, some of which can be fatal. At the same time being exposed to the sun can do wonders for your mood and it is also essential to maintain your health.
Rays from the sun can be very intense and when the sun is at its highest, these rays can cause a great deal of damage to the skin
One of the rays that is emitted from the sun is known as UVC and this is not a real threat to the skin as protective boundary that protects the Earth, the O-Zone layer, does a good job in absorbing such rays.
Another form of ray from the sun is known as UVB. This generally affects the outer layer of the skin and can cause the skin to burn, so you can see why protecting your skin is very important.
The main ray that is emitted from the sun in UVA and this is the most powerful in that it is able to penetrate pass the upper layer of the skin and therefore damage the lower of the skin. It is this ray that can cause the skin to become burnt and it is this that can lead to the development of skin cancer.
When our children show signs of getting red from the sun, we tend to throw on a t-shirt thinking that will protect them from a sunburn. But scientists have found that a cotton t-shirt at best affords only protection equivalent to SPF 7; and if that shirt should become wet the sun protection factor drops to about 4. Instead we should be throwing on a cool, lightweight, attractive sun protective shirt that provides an SPF of 30 or more.
So just what is Sun Protective Clothing? Researchers have developed new fabrics with embedded compounds that give the clothing an inherent protective quality against the sun. These high tech fabrics can give clothes a SPF of anywhere from a low of 30 up to a high of SPF 100. There is now even a universal guide for labeling sun protective fabric — the UPF value. On many clothes you will see a UPF value; this is the total Ultraviolet Protection Factor. This UPF value makes it easier for the consumer to compare the protective ability of one article of clothing to another. UPF, SPF it gets somewhat confusing. Just know that SPF is similar to the value you would see on a sun screen product, whereas UPF includes the fabric’s ability to block out both the Ultraviolet Type A and B rays.
Train your kids to wear sun protective clothing with built in SPF values. A rash guard like the surfers wear will allow your little beach bum to feel extra trendy and “cool” and will give added protection from the suns radiation of up to SPF 50. Also important are hats and ventilated SPF pants if you will be outside for long periods of time.