How Does White Make You “Hotter”?
Really, does White Make You Hotter? If you are referring to looking better, white is an obvious choice. Most people can wear some form of white and it makes them look great.
However, if you are referring to causing you to be sweaty and hot, there is a scientific explanation. White will reflect all the color and keep the sun away from your body if your white clothing is made from fabric that blocks the sun.
If the fabric allows the sun to penetrate and reach your skin, you will not be protected from the sun’s damaging rays.
Hold the fabric between you and the sun to find out if you can expect to have good skin protection everywhere the garment covers.
Now, Why Will You Be Warmer or Hotter? Because the white fabric reflects the heat, so completely. The white sends the Ultra Violet Rays back out away towards the sun. This same white sends the heat from your body back to your body. It won’t absorb the heat.
This is the reason that white needs to be a loose-fitting billowy type of fit.
You will need the air to be able to circulate and cool your body.
So while we love to wear white in the summer, winter might work better in our part of Central Texas.
White: Does It Keep You Cooler?
It could be true that wearing white keeps you cooler than wearing black. A white tee shirt and a black tee-shirt will be close to the same unless you really get warm and sweat. The shirts of course need to be similar in fit and how thick the fabric is.
There probably isn’t a significant difference. Objects which are white reflect incident visible light and therefore tend to reflect some of the incident infrared light which causes objects to heat up.
However, if there is no way for the heat your body creates to be released, the heat absorbed by the black shirt added to the body heat will keep you over warm. Just make sure the black shirt is loose fitting so air can get to your body.
Now, I know you need to test this theory. And you should. Find out for yourself what is better for warm-weather wear, and what works for you in cooler weather. Where you live is important.
Check your sun risks here for any day and any location.
White Still a Favorite Of Yours?
Style is important. So let’s mix in some Science bassed information too.
In some instances, wearing a fabric that is sun blocking and the correct light or dark color can make a real difference. Going to the grandkid’s games when we get a chance can make this information important.
Seems we have a summer full of hot weather, every year. This makes those of us who live in this part of the world resort to various tricks to be more comfortable. As well as safer from Skin Cancer.
Lighter weight clothing that fits looser and allows air to circulate around our bodies is appreciated. Lighter colors also can help. I knew this was true about the lighter colors, but didn’t know why. Now that I do, this explains why the looser-fitting long sleeve shirt works.
Thanks to a team of Japanese researchers for studying and reporting back what they found:
White, Plus Yellow, Gray, And Red
When determining what colors to check out for their study, 9 mannequins torsos were dressed in different color identical polo shirts. The colors, ranging from red to light green, yellow, blue, black, white, or dark green.
An important detail: the temperature outside was about 86* Fahrenheit or (30 degrees Celsius.)
After only five minutes of being out in the sun, the surface temperature of the shirts was checked. There was a difference of 65* going from lightest color, or coolest color to the darkest or warmest color.
This is enough to make a difference when trying to stay cool in the sun on a hot day. And important to notice as well, this change happened in only 5 minutes on a mid 80* day. That is not considered a very hot day in my part of the world.
It is common knowledge that white is the most appropriate color for summer temperatures. It keeps the body cool.
Black which tends to absorb heat, is considered warmer or not what we want on hot days.
The study confirms this, indicating that the surface temperature of the white polo shirt was about 30 degrees Celsius. This puts it about the same as the air temperature during the study.
In contrast, the surface temperature of the black polo shirt was over 122 Fahrenheit or 50 degrees Celsius. Yes, a difference of 20 degrees Celsius from the white shirt.
You Weren’t Surprised?
Nothing new, we already knew that! OK, the surprise is the findings of the intermediate colors.
After white, the colors that keep your body cool? None other than yellow, gray, and red. Red is still considered in the collective imagination as a ‘warm’ color.
Purple is in the middle of the ranking, so it can be worn during hot weather if it is your favorite color.
Red and purple? Who would have thought? I don’t have those two colors at all in my summer stuff. And I love purple.
On the other hand, if you are to make this science study work for you, the staple in my closet colors is what we should be avoiding. Blue is a cool color. But does absorb the light rays.
Yes, I know it is one that absorbs the heat rays and doesn’t release unless the fit is loose and flowy. Not like jeans!
Light green and dark green and black were also there with the blue. Just not as good of a choice as the red and purple. There was no mention of orange, but should be right there with red and purple one would think.
So there should be some new considerations for summertime wear. At least now that we know they do offer reasonable cooling abilities.
A Quick Minute To Consider What Color For Your Face Mask?
During this time that the pandemic is changing some things for some of us, have thought about choosing a mask color?
I honestly have not considered this to be important. Am I wrong?
Apparently, this was considered by the team doing the research and reports on the temperature of the shirts.
The answer is no, according to the main author of this experiment. He justifies his position by referring to the fact that the surface of the mask is smaller than that of a polo shirt.
This allows the heat to flow away from the mask by the very act of filtering the air, coming in, and going out as we breathe.
In the full sun and outside, it is better to use a white mask. These are usually less annoying for most of us.
I would add your sunglasses to get good sun blocking coverage if you are going to be in the sun.
Sami’s Take On Does White Make You “Hotter”?
With the color white and its ability to reflect all light rays including the ones that make you feel hot, there is something to the ability to help you feel cool.
Speaking from experience, the fit is important for how cool white will help you feel. If it is the warmer time of the year, and the garment fits tight to my body like a tight-fitting tank or tee shirt, it does make me feel hotter,
I do know for sure that a tight-fitting tee shirt is one of the least flattering items I can wear. They are my go-to for an undershirt kind of garment under my long sleeve denim when it gets cold. It gets undershirt cold very seldom, so there is no real need for me to have actual undershirts.
So, yes, I think that white can keep your body feeling hotter if you are busy and moving about. Unless the clothing you have on allows the heat your body will create to escape, you will feel warmer. A loose-fitting shirt or top that allows air to get under is a better idea.
With the science on colors that help me stay cooler, I will be making different color choices. The one thing I will say about the color grey is to choose carefully. The lighter greys will do a better job of hiding the sweat factor that accumulates under your arms.
I know, it is disgusting, but we all do it if our body is functioning correctly. That is how our body was designed and an important part of living healthy. We need to move enough to sweat several times a day, especially in warmer weather. Prepare for it.
Learning that color can actually make a difference will make me think about what I wear, and how to stay cooler. For last summer I had a red and white checked loose-fitting shirt that served me well. Now that I know a looser-fitting tee shirt will work well under it, summer will be good.