Have you wondered about A Black Sun Blocking Shirt, Yes or No? Did you wonder if black was a good color to block the sun off of you?
Do you wonder if a black sun blocking shirt is a good idea? When the shirt feels so comfortable and is easy to wear, how can it not be a good one to block the sun?
How will your long sleeve lose fitting black shirt work for you when it comes to sun blocking?
You will need protection from the sun when you’re going on walks and hikes. If you are at the pool or beach, you will need protection from the sun. Then those fun river trips, or getting to spend time in the mountains hiking and enjoying the outdoors, that shirt will protect you from the sun.
Is your family one who gets season passes to theme parks or for the amusement park,?
When you are spending the day at a park, you’re risking skin damage from the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays. Even on cloudy days, says the American Academy of Dermatology, up to 80 percent of the sun’s harmful rays can penetrate your skin. This kind of sun exposure will add up fast.
UV damage may quickly lead to skin cancer. So having your black shirt to block the sun can help keep your skin from getting too much sun.
Black will absorb the dangerous Ultra violet rays, and keep them off your skin. Black does the best job of keeping those sunburn rays off of your body.
However, black may be better for the cooler times of the year.
Summertime will be too hot here at my house to enjoy being out in a black shirt unless it is a UPF shirt that is specially woven for sun protection. Styled with air vents, and very loosely fitting.
Yes, Black Is A Good Color For A Sunblocking Shirt!
You can pack a black shirt like the one in the picture above, and have a garment to keep the sun off your skin when you visit cooler parts of the world. Or in the wintertime. It will work great, but it will be a bit too warm to be comfortable all day during the warmer months of the year.
A lighter-weight one will be more comfortable. In the hotter months, the weight of the fabric is important. If the shirt is looser fitting, has long sleeves, and has a collar to pull up around your neck against the sun, you should be protected.
In my part of Central Texas, it may be too hot to be comfortable when you wear a black sunblocking shirt during the summertime. That is unless it is a UPF rated shirt.
We know that avoiding the sun as much as possible, especially between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., when the sun’s rays are strongest will keep you safer.
The next best way to protect your skin is to cover yourself with clothing.
Yes, even though what you see all about is bare, naked skin. The fact that your peers don’t care if their skin is getting sunburn, is that the best choice for you? A summertime sunburn is not something to enjoy with all your friends!
Your sun blocking clothing can look sharp and attractive. You can enjoy being out in the sun, but you don’t have to have damaged skin to enjoy fun in the sun.
Many sportswear and outdoor activity retailers offer UPF clothing, or ultraviolet protection factor-rated clothing. These garments can offer protection as well as the comfortable fitting and easy wear.
The Skin Cancer Foundation has been encouraging people to wear these SPF-rated garments because the researchers there feel this kind of clothing is effective. Remember. that there are many items that will offer your skin some protection.
Is Black The Only Good Color For A Sun Blocking Shirt?
Color can be important in your sun blocking clothing wardrobe. Black can be a great color for a sun blocking shirt. However, the best way to sun blocking clothing is a combination of color and fabric, and design. All elements are important.
Your sun blocking clothing has to be on your body to provide any protection. If your garments are not comfortable, you won’t enjoy wearing them. And they will spend less time on your body. Regardless of what color they are.
Garments that are loose-fitting to allow air to flow around your body to cool will be most comfortable. UPF rated clothing is helpful for staying protected from the sun. But so is regular clothing from your closet as long as it meets the criteria for being sun blocking and for a loose fit.
UPF clothing usually is styled to have some advantages over regular clothing. There are usually vents under the arms of the shirts to allow air to get to your body. There may be mesh areas over the shoulders with fabric overlays. Air vents are sometimes located in the front of the shirt for more airflow
Clothing is made from quick-drying fabrics and other materials that dry fast and are soft and easy on your body when you are moving, underarms, back of knees, and elbows. Places where the fabric could chafe or rub.
With the finishes on the fabrics that are now possible for sun blocking clothing, you have many choices for dressing comfortably and attractively. With lots of choices in color and style.
Clothing Is Considered The First Line Of Defense Agnist The Sun
Clothing is the first line of defense against the sun. The right clothing along with proper use of sunscreen offers more certain sun protection than either alone.
Since people often don’t use sunscreen in the right way (you should apply 1 ounce of multi-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30. This should be applied evenly to all exposed skin every day, then reapply every two hours if you’re exposed to the sun).
While clothing may be the best way to keep the sun off your skin, it is important to remember that not all clothing is created equal.
What difference do different items of clothing make in how well you’re protected? How can you be sure your sun blocking clothing effectively blocks the sun’s rays?
As we consider sun protection, here are some suggestions for you to consider when shopping for new sun blocking threads.
Pay attention to the Color: The color of your clothing can subtract from the protection from your sun blocking clothing, as well as add to how well it protects you from UV rays.
Darker or bright colors, including red, black, and navy blue, absorb more UV rays.
Lighter colors like whites and pastels reflect the UV rays. For example, your everyday white cotton T-shirt from your closet has a UPF of only about 5. A darker navy T-shirt from your closer would probably offer much more protection than 5. The darker the color, the better protection the clothing will provide.
The exception for protecting better is if the shirt has been worn a lot and the fabric is very thin. Of course, a worn-out white T-shirt would offer less than 5 protection.
The Construction Of Clothing From Your Closet
Fabric: Like color, the material your sun blocking clothing is made of is important, and affects how much it protects you, as well as how hot or cold you will be while wearing that garment.
A loosely woven shirt will be cooler than a shirt made from a tightly woven fabric. The tighter woven the fabric that the shirt is made of, the better the sun is blocked.
And taking information from the T-shirt earlier, a white T-shirt will be cooler than a black one.
The texture of your clothing can affect how well it protects you from UV rays. Synthetic fabrics, as well as blends of fibers like polyester or rayon, are the better choices for sun protection.
So are dense, heavy, tightly woven fabrics like wool, denim, or corduroy, all excellent choices for sun protection. These fabrics will protect you from the sun. Without air vents designed into the garments, they will be hot in the warmer times of the year.
On the cooler fabric side we have natural and lightweight fabrics (think: bleached or refined cotton, crepe, and silk), which tend to be thinner and let more light pass through. These will obviously not be a good choice for a sun blocking shirt!
Paying attention to what your sun blocking hat is made of is important as well. A hat made from a thin, loosely woven fiber would protect you little from the sun’s UV rays.
So Would You Wear Black In The Summer
When you are considering UPF clothing, to protect your skin from the sun, I would wear black. Would you? A very loose-fitting shirt with long sleeves would protect me from the sun.
However, it would be warmer than other colors, so I would want a very loose-fitting garment. Much like the robes that desert nomads wear, and of a fabric that would allow the heat to escape through it. So a better choice for me could be a bright red or blue that would absorb some of the UV rays, and yet be somewhat cooler to wear.
I think that black is better worn in the cooler months, here in Central Texas. Our denim is the old dependable for sun protection here in this part of the world. The fabric is tightly woven and will keep out the sun for many years.
As the makers of specially UPF clothing are refining and improving their garments, they have developed a blend of fabric with a special finish that can be dyed to very rich blacks. By this summer we can probably have very pretty black loose-fitting long sleeve shirts that won’t be so hot.
I am hoping so, as black or denim is so practical for me.
Why Do You Need UPF Clothing?
UPF Clothing has made great strides in clothing that will protect you and your family from the sun. So what is UPF?
Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF) informs you how much UV radiation (both UVB and UVA) a specific fabric allows to reach your skin. For example, a UPF 50 fabric blocks 98 percent of the sun’s rays. That is only allowing two percent (1/50th) to penetrate to your skin, thus reducing your exposure risk significantly.
Some clothing is made to provide sun protection, and having a rating factor allows us to make better choices for ourselves and our families for sun blocking clothing.
Use this rating function for clothing almost like you would use an SPF rating does for sunscreen. These numbers can give you an idea of how well a sun blocking garment will protect your skin from harmful UV rays.
These numbers are important when buying clothing for sun blocking for yourself and your family. You don’t have to wonder how well the garments will protect you. The hangtag on the shirt or pants will give you the information to make better decisions.
Wearing Sun Blocking Clothing All Year Long
When you live in central Texas, wintertime skin protection is important. Summertime isn’t the only time you may find yourself out in the hot sun rays many hours a day. We also have our denim for the bright days that are cooler but will be a bit too warm to enjoy being out some days. The UPF fabrics are so well suited to keep us comfortable.
If you aren’t comfortable in your sun blocking clothing, you will not wear it, nor will your family. There are so many choices to keep us comfortable, and warm on cool days, and keep us cool on warm days.
Yes, you may be able to keep your skin protected with something from your closet, but unless you are comfortable you won’t wear this garment. So if you don’t keep your body covered and the sun off your skin, you will have damage with a possibility of skin cancer.
With your family, finding what everyone is comfortable wearing and protected in is worth the effort. Have them excited to put their UPF clothing on and leave it on.
Wintertime can also be a very dangerous time for our skin. The reflections from the sun can do their damage so quickly. Sunscreen is also important in the wintertime. Using both sunscreen and sun blocking clothing will give you a better line of protection. Protect you from the aging rays that make your skin look dry and leathery.
It’s pretty obvious that the more skin you cover, the better protected you are.
Is Black OK For A Sun Blocking Hat?
The best hats for sun protection have a wide brim (3-inches or wider). Hats are a great way, along with UV-filtering sunglasses, to help your daily sunscreen use in keeping your face safe from UV rays.
Hats can also help protect easy-to-miss spots like the tops of your ears and your scalp. Shop for a tightly woven hat like a fedora, rather than, say, a loosely woven straw hat that allows UV to pass through its openings.
This is not to say that straw cannot be woven very tightly. Look through the hat at a light source, can you see pinpricks of light through the weave of the straw? If you can, the sun can get through. Find a more tightly woven one that will keep you safe.
When you are shopping for a hat, a black one will keep the sun off your face. With a wide brim, and a crown with some height to allow vents for airflow you will be protected and comfortable. Felt hats will seem warm but vents will allow more comfortable airflow.
Bucket brim hats from heavy fabric can work well for keeping the sun off you and your face and neck. Check out the markets and find the right one for you.
Another Suggestion For Sun Blocking Clothing Shopping
When I was shopping the online UPF clothing, I noticed that there were several suggestions about how your sun blocking clothing should fit.
If the sun blocking garments are too tight, and the fabric is stretched across your skin, you will not be protected from the sun! Just another of those facts that had escaped me.
Proper fit is very important. If the garment is a bit loose on your body, the threads can flow and fit together, preventing the sun’s rays from get through to your skin. When a knit shirt is too tight, the sun can shine through the stretched threads.
What if your pants are too tight, again the sun can shine through the knit fabric and you will have a sunburn in a few hours. Even a bathing suit that is stretched too tight will let the sun through the weave of the fabric.
Super-tight fitting clothing will not give you as much protection from the sun. There will be more UV passing through the fabric of your clothing.
Remember Your Sunglasses
Your sunglasses also need to fit your face well. The framework of your glasses performs as a barrier to help keep the sun from your face. A wrap-a-round style is good to hold the glasses closer to your face. Oversized lenses are also a good choice to give you a bit more cover from the sun.
If your sunglasses frame slips down your nose, it is leaving your eyes at risk for sun damage.
Look for sturdy sunglasses with wide lenses that cover the eyes, eyelids, and as much of the surrounding areas as possible. Eyes are venerable to reflections from the water, snow sidewalk, building, any area that reflects sunlight.
Remember, no single type of sun protection is complete in and of itself; The Skin Cancer Foundation advises you to use clothing, sunscreen, hats, sunglasses, and shade together for all-around sun safety.
Why Are Black Sun Blocking Shirts Hot
A black sun blocking shirt will absorb all wavelengths of light that reach the fabric and converts them into heat.
Because this is the reaction of black to the wavelengths of light, the shirt will become warmer. It will soak in all the heat as black soaks up the heat from the light energy. It releases the heat through the fabric, and this makes you warmer.
This makes black great to wear for those who love outdoor activities.
However, the heat will make your body sweat! If there is no air circulation, the sweat will keep you wet and uncomfortable. If there is a loose fit so that the air can circulate and dry your body and shirt you will stay comfortable.
When you wear your black sun blocking shirt, pay attention to the heat building up. See if your body gets warmer.
A white sun blocking shirt reflects all wavelengths of light, so the light is not converted into heat and the temperature of your body does not increase noticeably. When wearing a white sun blocking shirt, make certain you have a good layer of sunscreen on your face as the white of the shirt will reflect the sun’s dangerous rays back into your face.
Color is a preference. Wear a sun blocking shirt you will keep on your body. Most dermatologists agree that the clothes you will wear are important. Protecting your skin from the sun is what is important.
Sami’s Take on A Black Sun Blocking Shirt, Yes or No.
A black shirt is good for helping protect your upper torso. In the winter it is a warm shirt as well. Few colors are as effective as a good black shirt for keeping the sun off your body.
Make sure you keep yourself safe from the sun, and avoid sunburn. A black sun blocking shirt will do a good job of protecting your skin until it begans to fade and wear out.
Any shirt needs to be in good shape as far as wear and use is concerned. As a fabric is laundered several times, part of the protection will wear away unless it is a fabric manufactured just for sunblocking clothing. Most will offer less protection as the garment is worn.
If there is a tear or rip, that is a possible place the sun can get thorugh. If there is wear on the fabric, it may loose some of it’s ability to stay sun proof.
Is your black shirt still sun proof when wet?
Probably not, unless the lable on the shirt speficacly states that it is sun proof when wet.