I got a timely email this morning from Stephanie about sun protective clothing (it’s Sun Safety Week!) and it’s something that I’ve been thinking about too. She got a nasty sunburn over the weekend because she misjudged the sun’s intensity and I think we’ve all been there. It’s easy to miscalculate the sun’s power and unless you have your own personal UV monitor chances are you’re going to get burned. When I was home for my sister’s graduation, we went out on the boat and even though I slathered on the SPF 60, the sun still got through. So when is SPF not enough? When do you say, yes, I need some UPF? And what exactly is UPF? I’m glad you asked….

UPF, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation site, "stands for Ultraviolet Protection Factor and indicates how much of the sun’s UV radiation is absorbed. A fabric with a rating of 50 will allow only 1/50th of the sun’s UV rays to pass through. This means the fabric will reduce your skin’s UV radiation exposure significantly, because only 2 percent of the UV rays will get through" (for full article, click here). So basically, by wearing sun protective clothing, you are going a step beyond SPF (sun protection factor) because you are actually preventing the sun’s rays from penetrating your clothes. The Skin Cancer Foundation site gives the example of how just a white t-shirt thrown on to protect yourself only really has a UPF of 7, while a long-sleeved dark denim shirt would have an UPF of 1700 - complete sun protection. The tighter woven the fabric, the better protection.

So when is buying sun protective clothing the best bet for you? I think it really depends on your lifestyle. Are you in the sun enough to need an extra layer of protection? Coolibar, a sunprotective clothing line, was originally developed for divers of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Which makes sense! If you lead a lifestyle that requires you to be in the sun ALL DAY, especially in the water which reflects the sun’s rays, UPF clothing is a no brainer. If you are going to be going on a vacation this summer where you’ll be in the sun all day, this could be an awesome thing to pack in your suitcase. Even if your lifestyle isn’t "outdoors-y," having a versatile piece of UPF clothing in your closet for whenever you might need it is a great piece of artillery.

Check out the Coolibar site. They have all kinds of swimgear, hats and clothing - I am partial to the zip-up long-sleeve I have pictured above. I’m getting a bike for my birthday for riding to and from work and class and the grocery store and to save on gas (you get the idea) and I would love to just throw this on for my rides. I’ll probably get it in purple because that’s my fave color. And then when I go back to Florida at the end of July for lobster mini-season, I will have the perfect thing to throw on during a long day of diving!