When we think of sun protection clothing, we think of long sleeves, long pants and hats that protect our skin from the damaging rays of the sun. Just as long as the clothes cover large areas of the skin, we think of them as providing for sun protection. Well, you can always be wrong for once in your life.

Study Says

So many studies have attested to the little-known fact that ultraviolet rays still penetrate the lightweight clothes that we wear. So, no matter how well you cover up during the summer with flowing pants and sleeved shirts, you will always be exposed to the powerful and harmful rays of the sun. This can easily be remedied by wearing the right kinds of sun protection clothing.

We should all know by now about the effects of unprotected exposure to the sun, thanks largely to the many studies on the matter and to our own personal experiences.

Choosing the Best Fabrics

So, now that you have been acquainted with the UV protection clothing, you must also know that not all are created equal to the task. You still have to choose the best fabrics for the job.

Let's discuss the weave first with the general rule being that the more loosely-woven the fabric, the lesser amount of sun-protection it provides to the wearer. To determine the close weave of the cloth, you must hold it up to the light - if much light passes through the fabric, then so will more sunlight.

You must add to your cache of knowledge that the sun's ultraviolet rays can lead to skin cancer, at the worst, as well as wrinkles, leathery skin, and ugly blotches on the skin, at the least. You definitely will not want to be a sun worshiper if these are the sacrifices for being so.

Then there is the color of the fabric. As you will have observed, the darker the cloth fabric, the lesser amount of light can pass through it. Blue denim offers more protection than, say, lightweight white cotton.

However, weave and color are not all there is to appropriate sun protection clothing. You must also look into the type of fabric itself. For example, unbleached cotton offers lower UV protection while shiny satin provides for higher sun protection because of its reflective qualities.

The assumption here is that the clothes have been processed to offer ultraviolet ray protection. After all, even the thickest layers of clothes may not offer the best sun-protection in comparison with SPF clothes.

Activity Factor

Also, keep in mind that there are some types of SPF clothing that can lose a significant amount of their sun protection depending on the activity being performed. For example, a T-shirt with excellent ultraviolet protection factor can hold up on its own when dry but will lose 50 percent of its efficacy when wet.

In short, you have to look at the type of sun protection clothes being used in relation to the activity. Ask the salesperson if there are other measures to be adopted to retain the level of sun-protection desired in the clothes, say, applying more sunscreen when the clothes get wet in the sea.

The best sun protection clothing will only become so if and when you know how to choose and use the best, in the first place.