We all love clothes. We all love the sun! However, we never thought that both could emerge to create a new concept that helps us maintain our health while living a sun-safe life. Curious? Stay with us.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines Fashion as “a popular or the latest style of clothing, hair, decoration, or behaviour” (noun). However, nowadays, Fashion is much more! When I first wrote about the relationship between Medicine and Fashion, it seemed utopic. Now, it is a growing area where both seems almost inseparable.
One of these growing areas is Sun-Protective Clothing. Have you heard about it?! Do you know that clothes can have an Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF)? But what it is?
Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF) indicates how much UV radiation (both UVB and UVA) a fabric allows to reach your skin. For example, a UPF 50 fabric blocks 98% of the sun’s rays and allows 2% (1/50th) to penetrate, thus reducing your exposure risk significantly.* As you can see, your clothing does not just look great. It also remains one of the most effective forms of protection against sun damage and skin cancer.
But, what makes clothing sun-safe?
Well, it depends on some factors as colour, construction, content, fit & coverage. These factors can affect the UPF! Regardless of UPF, our activity can change their protective ability. If your clothing gets stretched or wet, it can expose your skin to more UV light.
Unfortunately for me, cotton is a fabric that I love and which has low protection from UV light as it is an irregular fabric. The best textile for summer which confers the most sun protection is polyamide. Naturally occurring polyamides are wool and silk, but it can be made artificially yielding materials such as nylons. These polyamides are UV reflectors & the best for summer! When thinking about sun protection through clothing, you must pay attention to the fact that the more skin your outfit covers, the better your protection. Adding to that, do not forget that loose-fitting apparel is preferable. Also, you know that here at d’Oliveira fashion, we love to write about colour. So, you must know that darker colours protect more than light colours. For example, blue has more UV protection than pink. Well, not bad at all. Let us enjoy the relaxing vibe of the blue while being protected from UV rays!
What should we know before buying Sun-Protective Clothing?
Most of us love fashionable clothes, and during the summer, I have always thought as well about protecting my skin from sunburn and premature skin ageing! Besides that, we must think about prevent other diseases as skin cancer, which develops with cumulative exposition. Fortunately for us, now we can enjoy the sun without compromising the health & style. To achieve that, we must look for clothing with UV STANDARD 801 label and/or with The Skin Cancer Foundation’s Seal of Recommendation. Personally, I trust more the UV STANDARD 801 certification. It tests sun protective textiles under realistic conditions of use, in contrast to other UV standards which only test textiles in the new and dry state.
There is much more to discuss regarding this subject & I will keep exploring it! I hope you open this blog post anytime you buy a new piece of clothing.
Do not to forget that #BeYOUtiful is all about to feel great in your skin!
❤ Luís de Oliveira
d’Oliveira fashion doctor
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Moda + Proteção Solar = Qual o segredo?
Todos nós amamos roupas. Todos nós amamos o sol! No entanto, nunca pensamos que ambos poderiam emergir para criar um novo conceito que nos ajudasse a manter nossa saúde enquanto vivíamos uma vida protegida do sol. Curioso? Fique conosco e clica no “TRANSLATE TO YOUR #BEYOUTIFUL LANGUAGE” para saberes de tudo. No entanto, ficam aqui alguns pontos principais:
– A roupa é a forma mais efetiva de proteção solar;
– A certificação mais completa, na minha opinião, é a UV STANDAR 801 e deves procurar por ela de forma a teres certeza que realmente não estás a comprar ‘gato por lebre’ – como costumamos dizer. Apesar disso, existem outras certificações, contudo menos completas, a meu ver;
– Roupas mais escuras têm maior proteção UV que as mais claras, assim como são preferíveis roupas mais largas e que cubram a maioria da superfície corporal;
– O material têxtil com maior proteção são as poliamidas: lã, ceda e náilon.
❤ Luis de Oliveira
*https://www.skincancer.org/skin-cancer-prevention/
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