UV protective clothing has been around for a long time. Nearly all of the clothing used by early man was able to protect effectively against the rays of the sun. Any tightly woven fabrics and animal hides were effective in protecting the skin against the sun. More recently the styles of clothing have had a significant bearing on the ability to offer protection. Long sleeves will do a better job than short sleeves. Long pants are better than shorts. Styles that allow more of your skin to be covered will be more beneficial than styles that are more revealing.
The biggest draw back to using clothing that was manufactured with tightly woven fabrics is that they can sometimes be heavier than ordinary fabrics and this type of clothing used to be a little warmer. The same holds true for animal hides which can be quite a lot heavier and warmer. It was learned that certain dyes and especially darker colors and indigo will give better protection from the sun’s damage. Some of our more recent synthetic fabrics have excellent sun protection qualities that result from the way they are manufactured.
In the last few years the clothing industry has found ways to “build in” ingredients that have the same sun blocking qualities as sun screens and lotions. These ingredients can be woven right into the fabrics themselves. Now it is possible to use a variety of fabrics to gain UV protection and they can be found in stylish clothing that can be very desirable. They can be lighter in weight than the most of the natural fabrics and they can be more durable. These sun protection qualities do not wash out after a few times in the wash.
The best protection is provided by:
Fabrics made specifically for that purpose.
Dark colored denim
Wool clothing
Satin finished silk
100{3ec13c407393c77d0b76ac354e5e8751bb426f2c8d05d24f69f7e9f5bf644d15} polyester clothing
Unbleached cotton
Many of the outdoor suppliers now have complete lines of UV protective clothing. You can find anything from hats and shirts to swimwear that is made to block out the UV rays of the sun. Most of them are rated very highly on the UPF scale. (Ultraviolet Protection Factor) These ratings are usually quoted right on the information tags on the garment where you find the size and washing instructions. Look for ratings that are over 40 UPF which is considered excellent and try to find fabrics that become more effective when they are wet.