Protecting Your Skin in the Sun
- July 31, 2011
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- Internal Medicine Blog
No matter how diligent I try to be about applying sunscreen I always seem to end up with a burnt patch. I miss a spot, wash it off (the back of my hands and forearms are common causalities), or get caught up in the activities of the day and forget to reapply. Though new labeling guidelines starting next year will help us form a better understanding of what our sunscreen is and isn’t doing for us, sometimes the best option to protect our skin is to keep it covered up. But not all clothing is created equal.
The degree of protection clothing offers you is designated by a UPF rating, or Ultraviolet Protection Factor, a measurement of the amount of UV radiation the fabric prevents from reaching your skin. A UPF of 30-49 is considered very good protection, 50 and above is considered excellent by the Skin Cancer Foundation. Tightly-woven dark-colored fabric offers the most protection from the sun. Light colors, tight fitting items where the fibers are stretched, and wet clothes offer less protection. A white T shirt has an average UPF of 7, this goes down to only 3 when it is wet. If you can see through a fabric when you can hold it up to the light, then UV rays can get though to your skin. A good choice for a beach cover up would be a long-sleeved, dark denim shirt which has an average UPF of 1,700. You can also buy clothing specially treated with a chemical sun block to provide more protection, look for UPF labeling on these garments.
If dark denim is not the beach look you are going for this year, a wide-brimmed hat can offer protection roughly equivalent to an SPF of 5 for your face, ears, and neck and looks very chic paired with dark over-sized sunglasses. Look for a brim 3 inches or wider.
Clothing and accessories should be used to augment, not replace, the protection provided by sunscreen. You should still regularly use a sunscreen with SPF of 15 or higher and try to remember to reapply often.
For more information on new sunscreen labeling guidelines that will take affect summer 2012 visit www.fda.gov/sunscreen.
