Special Clothing That Filters Out the Dangerous Rays of the Sun

To protect yourself from the dangerous rays of the sun, you can stay in the shade, wear sunscreen, a hat or other items of clothing that cover your exposed skin. To keep yourself from overheating on a hot day, purchase clothing that blocks UV rays as well as keeps you comfortable. Does this Spark an idea?

Fabrics

The Skin Cancer Foundation recommends clothing made of tightly-woven fabrics and features darker colors. A pair of jeans, for example, protects you better from the sun than a white T-shirt. Though lighter-colored and lighter weight clothing feels more comfortable during the summertime, expect to experience some damage from the sun as a result. To see how much protection your item of clothing offers you, hold it up to a light. If you can see the light through the material, that means the sun will burn right through it, too. One exception to the rule is light-colored silky or satin fabrics. Thanks to the reflective nature of the material, it protects you from harmful rays.

UV Clothing and Detergents

Manufacturers now treat clothing with chemical sunscreen, which may protect your skin against UVA and UVB rays. These types of clothing usually come with a sun protective factor of 50 or more. Another alternative is to wash your clothes with a laundry additive called Sun Guard. Add it with your laundry detergent to increase the sun protective factor of your clothing. Keep in mind, both UV clothing and laundry additives wear down if the item of clothing is worn or washed often.

Daily Wear

A regular T-shirt blocks about 50 percent of the sun's harmful rays. UV ray-protective clothing, such as those from SunGrubbies.com, offer a sun protection factor of 15 or greater on a wide variety of products such as shirts, pants, skirts, hats, swimwear and swim accessories for men, women and children. The Skin Cancer Foundation recommends the company's line of shirts for men and women. Available in a wide variety of colors, styles and textures, these shirts sufficiently protect against sun-induced skin damage.

Swimwear

Whether you like to surf the waves or swim in the pool, spending large amounts of time under the sun can lead to harmful skin damage. Protect your skin with UV-protected swim wear, such as those from Solartex.com. Endorsed by the Skin and Cancer Foundation of Australia, the company provides a wide variety of outdoor clothing for men, women, infants and kids. The company's line of swimwear blocks 98 percent of the sun's dangerous rays and can be worn at or in the pool or beach. The clothing also protects against minor skin irritations and chlorine.