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A Sun-Safe Wardrobe: How Clothing Protects Your Skin · Talking FACS

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  Welcome to Talking FACS, what you need to know about family,
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  food, finance, and fitness.
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  This nationally recognized, award-winning podcast is hosted by the University
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  of Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program.
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  Our educators share research knowledge with individuals, families,
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  and communities to improve quality of life.
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  Hello, and welcome to Talking FACS, what you need to know about family,
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  food, finance, and fitness. I am your host, Mindy McCulley, Extension Specialist
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  for Instructional Support with Family and Consumer Sciences Extension at the
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  University of Kentucky.
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  We are housed in the Martin Gatton College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment.
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  We know that the sun provides energy and light that are necessary for our survival.
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  However, the sun also emits ultraviolet light waves that can damage our skin.
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  Sunscreen, when properly applied, can protect our skin from these harmful rays
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  for a certain amount of time based on its SPF or sun protection factor.
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  But in addition to sunscreen, our clothing can also provide significant protection.
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  Today, we have Jeanne Badgett, our Senior Extension Associate for Clothing,
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  Textiles, and Household Equipment,
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  to explain how clothing works to protect us from the sun's rays.
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  Welcome, Jeanne. Hi, Mindy. Thanks for having me.
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  I am excited to hear about how we can use our clothing to mitigate the sun's effects on our skin.
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  Let's first talk about the difference between the protection we get from sunscreen
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  versus the protection we get from clothes.
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  Sure. So a main difference is the type of rating that is used for each.
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  So for sunscreens and lotions, we use the SPF rating system that you mentioned
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  before. That's the sun protection factor.
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  That number assigned relates to the amount of a time a person's skin may be
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  protected with the proper application before it starts to burn.
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  So for example, a sunscreen with an SPF of 30 should provide 30 times more skin
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  protection than without it.
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  So if a person's skin may start to become sunburned, let's say after five minutes
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  in the sun, then a properly applied SPF 30 sunscreen would protect their skin
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  for about two and a half hours.
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  However, if you notice, I kept saying when properly applied,
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  which means rubbing a significant amount on our skin and then reapplying it
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  whenever necessary, you know, after we sweat or go swimming.
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  Our sunscreen is going to protect us as long as we have applied it properly.
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  But I would imagine that clothing is going to provide protection as long as we have it on.
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  Yeah, yeah. So clothing that protects our skin from the sun is given a UPF rating.
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  This stands for ultraviolet protection factor.
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  And these UPF ratings are usually included on the garment label or tag.
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  And clothing is given a UPF rating instead of an SPF rating because UPF-rated
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  clothing can shield our skin from two kinds of ultraviolet rays.
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  There are UVA rays, which cause our skin to age, and UVB rays,
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  which cause our skin to burn.
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  So most SPF-rated sunscreens just protect our skin from UVB rays,
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  that's the rays that burn, unless the sunscreen is labeled as broad spectrum,
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  in which case they'll filter the UVA rays also.
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  So the main difference is sunscreen really typically protects from UVB ratings, whereas clothing,
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  especially when it's given a UPF rating, it's protecting our skin from the UVA
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  rays that lead to aging and the UVB rays that lead to of burning.
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  Yes. And so that UPF rating is really important.
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  So are there different ratings of UPF just like there are of SPF?
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  Sure. Yeah, there are. And again,
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  just to clarify, so the UPF rating just relates to clothing and fabric.
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  The ratings are assigned through laboratory tests.
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  And typically, they are 50 or higher.
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  30 or 15. And the minimum rating you want to go for is 15 UPS.
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  And what that means is it will let through one 15th of the rays through. So that's more.
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  So the higher the UPF rating, the better for your clothing. Okay.
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  Does all clothing have a UPF rating or are some clothes better than others at
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  protecting our skin from UV rays?
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  Oh yeah. Actually, that's a really good question. So So, only clothing that
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  is specifically designed and tested to have a UPF rating will say so.
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  But in general, certain types of clothing can provide more protection from the sun's rays.
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  For example, darker clothing and vivid colored clothing offer more protection
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  than light or white clothing because darker clothing will absorb the UV rays,
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  preventing them from passing through to us.
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  And that's a bit counterintuitive because you think, oh, wear lighter clothes
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  to reflect the sun, but that's not the case.
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  So also the fabric construction plays a role.
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  And what I mean by that is clothing that is densely woven or tightly woven,
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  tightly knit fabrics that limit the amount of light that can pass through are better.
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  So you wouldn't want to wear something that's like sheer and gauzy.
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  And then also avoiding clothing that's really tight or stretches,
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  because if your clothing stretches, those gaps caused by stretching may allow
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  the UV rays to pass through.
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  And then another thing is clothing made with synthetic fibers,
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  such as polyester or nylon, are actually preferred.
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  They'll have a higher UPF rating because they're more likely to reflect the
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  UV rays. Whereas, untreated natural fibers, such as cotton, will let those UV
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  rays pass through more easily.
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  So, even if something that you have doesn't have that official UPF rating on
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  it, on the tag, per se, by choosing the clothing that's darker, more tightly woven,
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  that's loose-fitting, and made with synthetic fibers, will give you a higher UPF rating.
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  And that is kind of, it kind of makes sense because even before we were.
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  Recognizing that our clothing had UPF ratings, our swimsuits were often made
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  of those synthetic fabrics.
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  And you could recognize immediately the outline of your bathing suit on your skin.
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  And so you knew where the sun was being reflected.
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  Yes. Very good observation. Yes.
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  Okay. So that sounds pretty easy to follow. So as long as we're wearing clothing
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  with these characteristics, we should be okay, right?
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  Yeah, I mean, sure. Ideally, we'll want to limit our sun exposure, period.
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  But wearing clothing with high UPF ratings, in addition to wearing that properly
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  applied sunscreen, is a better choice for healthier skin.
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  But it's also good to know that wet clothing, once something gets wet,
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  it offers less protection.
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  So if you're planning to spend a day in the sun and will be getting your clothes
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  or bathing suit wet, it's a good idea to have a change of clothing or at least
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  try to stay in the shade until your clothes or suit are dry.
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  So that way they'll offer more protection from the sun's rays.
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  For clothing that does not have an official UPF rating, can you add something
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  to make it more protected?
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  Yeah, actually there are some laundry additives that you can use that will boost
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  the UPF rating of clothing.
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  And what it does is it coats the fibers and fills the gaps between the fibers,
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  preventing light rays from penetrating the fabric.
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  And the additive also helps to reflect some of the sun's rays too.
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  So is this something that you put into your wash or is it something you do in hand washing?
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  Yeah, you put it, you add it to the, with your laundry. Okay,
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  so that's good to know. So how long does that special coating last?
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  They usually, they'll say, I think they last anywhere between 5 to 20 washes.
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  That'll be noted on the product label.
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  And along those same lines, the ultraviolet protection clothing,
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  if you get a clothing that actually has that rating, it'll say on the tag.
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  But the issue is it becomes less effective over time due to the frequent wearing and washing.
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  So some of those clothes that you buy that have the UPF rating,
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  they're given the rating because they have this coating or it's treated.
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  Some are given the rating simply because they are made with darker fabric brick,
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  tightly knit, tightly woven.
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  They're synthetic. So that's how they're getting that UPF rating.
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  But also they were laboratory tested so they can make those claims to say,
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  hey, this is a 50 UPF shirt, that sort of thing. Okay.
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  So then that makes me think, are there special care instructions for clothing with a UPF rating?
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  Yes. So the first thing, you would want to definitely follow the care label
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  that's on that that UPF item for the best results.
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  And if the care label is illegible or cut off or you can't read it,
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  typically what you want to do is,
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  If you have a bathing suit or
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  a swim shirt, anything that you are really getting wet that's UPF rated,
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  to go ahead and at least rinse it with fresh water after you wear it and just
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  let that air dry because that'll prevent the chlorine or the salt water from damaging the fibers.
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  But when you're ready to wash that or a shirt that is UPF rated,
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  it will usually be usually recommended to wash it in cool water by hand or using
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  a delicate machine cycle with a mild detergent, and then drying it on low or
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  air drying it, but don't put it in direct sunlight.
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  And something that reminded me of is a lot of the UPF clothing,
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  because it is made with synthetic fibers like polyester,
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  some of those shirts, when you
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  sweat in them, they tend to hold on to the underarm odor and sweat odors.
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  So you can always put some detergent directly on the inside of your shirt,
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  the underarm area of the shirt before you wash it.
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  And that'll help with that if it's a synthetic fiber.
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  But the main thing is you want to maintain the integrity of the shirt,
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  any treatments and prevent the clothing fibers from thinning and becoming less protective.
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  So that's why you would just take gentle care of that item.
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  This has been fascinating. We've had a lot to talk about today. day.
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  Thanks so much for taking the time to share with me today.
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  I know that I've learned a lot and I hope that our listeners have as well.
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  And when it comes to going out, no matter what the season is,
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  we really do need to think about how we are protecting our skin,
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  whether it be with sunscreen or with the clothing that we're wearing and the
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  eyewear and hat wear as well.
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  Yes, yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.
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  I know that you have shared with me several documents that I will link in the
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  show notes so that our listeners will be able to access information at their fingertips.
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  Music.