Tuesday, May 24, 2005

Clothing and skin protection

A news item in a recent broadcast on KSLTV Channel 5 in Utah suggests methods for testing clothing to see how much sun protection it provides.

From KSLTV:

...try putting the fabric up to a bright light. If you can see through it, try something else. Experts say clothing is the best protection, but sunscreen is important too, if you keep putting it on.

Marc Holbrook, REI : "A fairly thin, white t-shirt, cotton t shirt, might give us a SPF of about five, even less if its wet. But by making the clothing tighter woven or thicker we block more UV rays. And believe it or not, color makes a difference."

And color is better than white. Marc Holbrook of REI says if an article of clothing has an SPF rating it likely means the clothing has been tested, not that it has had anything added to the fabric. But you can do a simple test yourself to see how sheer a fabric is.

Marc Holbrook: "Here's a good example. I can actually see my fingers through the fabric. That's a good test; that's not very much UV protection."

Glen Bowen, MD, Huntsman Cancer Institute: "Most of the damage, about 80% of the damage that is done before we graduate from high school."

Glen Bowen, MD, Huntsman Cancer Institute: "Doesn't mean you can't be outdoors, but we should dress more like our grandparents did, where they used a hat, they usually wore long sleeve shirts."

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