5 Reasons To Invest In Sun Protective Clothing In Australia
The sun is a natural element, and you should enjoy it, but for the average Australian, it’s a whole different story. Staying out in the sun without protection can be risky, especially in Australia, where skin cancer is a serious worry.
Simply applying sunscreen or staying in the car is not enough sun protection in Australia. Wearing proper sun-protective clothing could be the answer to this, though, or at least that’s what some people think.
So, why are these fashionable-looking pieces of clothing becoming so popular in Australia?
Functional Design
When you are concerned about sun protection in Australia, sun-protective clothing can provide some relief. All clothes indeed offer some level of sun protection. However, not all clothes are made alike.
These unique protective clothes are designed to protect you from the sun. For example, sun-protective shirts usually include long sleeves, collars, and thumbholes. This design helps protect even the back of your hands.
Similarly, the protective hats have a broad brim that might come with a legionnaire flap cap to protect your ears and neck.
UPF Protection
Ultraviolet Protection Factor or UPF denotes how much UV radiation a fabric allows to reach your skin. For example, a UPF rating of 50 denotes that the clothes permit only 1/50th of the sun’s radiation to enter the skin. That means sun-protective clothes with SPF 50 can block almost 98% of the sun’s rays from entering your skin. Under the Australian sun, this is mandatory.
Clothes made specifically for sun protection will come with UPF labels. This tells you much they can reduce the exposure of your skin to the sun.
UV Protecting Clothing Fabrics
Other than the UPF 50+ rating, the fabrics of the UV protection clothing are also made from moisture-wicking and breathable materials. Wool, nylon, and cotton are some of the most popular choices for the fabric of sun-protective clothing.
The fabrics tend to have elastic threads woven together to bind the material together. Synthetic fibres, like nylon, lycra, acrylic, and polyester, thus, offer better protection as the threads of the fabrics restrict spaces between the holes.
These materials offer better sun protection in Australia than semi-synthetic fibres, like rayon and bleached cotton. The weight of the fabrics also plays a significant role. For example, heavy cotton-made clothing will offer more protection than lightweight silk.
Less Expensive Than Treatment
Garments, labelled with a UPF rating, offer many extra benefits. Quite naturally, they tend to be more expensive than your regular clothes. However, these clothes are more than stylish attires or a fashion trend. They can effectively protect you from harmful UV rays.
Is sun-protective clothing seems a bit expensive to you, remember this? They are cheaper than cancer treatments. The annual cost of melanoma treatment in Australia amounts to AU$201 million.
Doesn’t Need to be Re-Applied
Sunscreens are an excellent solution for protecting your skin from getting cancer, but they need to be reapplied after a few hours. Unfortunately, people often apply much less than the recommended amount and forget to repeat the process every two hours. This causes the problem.
The benefit of sun protective clothing is that you do not need to “re-apply” them. They can even last up to 30 to 40 washes. So when you wash them regularly, these clothes can last you for a year.
Living in Australia requires taking specific measurements. Applying sunscreen, wearing a hat, and staying away from the sun are some tactics to prevent skin cancer. However, sun-protective clothing can make life a bit easier. You will still need to apply sunscreen, though, but wearing these clothes on top of it, would ensure much better sun protection.
