Can sunscreen clothing effectively protect against the sun?

Sunscreen clothing seems to be a fashion item since it became popular in the United States in 2007. Nowadays, whether online or offline, all kinds of sun protection clothes emerge one after another. So can the sunscreen clothes you bought really protect you from the sun?

Graphical self-network

Before discussing sun protection clothing, let's quickly review the basic knowledge about sun protection.

What is sun protection?

Ultraviolet rays.

Ultraviolet rays can be divided into three categories, namely, long wave (UVA), medium wave (UVB) and short wave. Only the first two can reach the surface of the earth, and we need to guard against the first two.

What are the hazards of ultraviolet rays?

Ultraviolet (UVA) can cause pigmentation and skin aging, while ultraviolet (UVB) may cause sunburn and redness. If exposed to UVB for a long time, the skin may even become cancerous.

Graphical self-network

After reviewing the basics, let's take a look at the problem of sun protection clothes.

Can clothes protect against the sun?

can

The strategy of sun protection can be summarized in one sentence: avoid, dress and apply sun protection. Dressing is to "block" ultraviolet rays through clothes.

Different clothes have different abilities to block ultraviolet rays.

Dark clothes are better than light clothes;

The finer the fiber, the stronger the shielding ability;

The denser the weaving, the better the sunscreen effect of the clothes.

Does it mean that every piece of clothing can be called sunscreen?

breakdown

Ordinary clothes can only protect against the sun, not the sun. So if you want to be called a sunscreen suit, you must meet several conditions.

We all know that sunscreen has two very important indicators, SPF value and PA value. According to these two values, we can judge the sunscreen ability of a sunscreen. Moreover, sunscreen clothing also has an index UPF value to judge sunscreen ability.

China's "Evaluation of Anti-ultraviolet Performance of Textiles" stipulates that only the UPF value (UV protection coefficient) of the product is greater than 30, and the UVA (long-wavelength ultraviolet) transmittance is less than 5%, can it be called "anti-ultraviolet product".

Image source: evaluation of ultraviolet resistance of textiles

As long as you call yourself "sun protection", you can buy clothes to try?

no

Evaluation of Ultraviolet Resistance of Textiles is a recommended standard. If you want to indicate UPF value on clothes, you need to do corresponding tests. In this way, some stores will be tricky, saying "sun protection" on the left and "sun protection" on the right in product introduction, but never mentioning the value of UPF. ...

Last year, scholars from Shanghai Institute of Quality Supervision and Inspection Technology tested the sunscreen clothing on the market. The results show that all the "sun protection" and "UPF" signs have sun protection clothes, and the qualified rate is 100%. And those clothes that only promote "sun protection" but have no "UPF" logo have a very high failure rate.

Wear sunscreen. Do you want to wear sunscreen?

ask

Avoiding, dressing and applying sunscreen can provide complete protection for human body. Even if you put on UPF>；; 40、T(UVA)& lt； 5% of the sunscreen clothing still has some skin exposed, such as hands and neck. For these parts, it is still recommended to apply appropriate sunscreen.

In particular, it needs to be reminded that the weather is hot recently, and many people choose waterproof and sun protection for the convenience of swimming. According to national regulations, as long as the SPF value drops less than 50% after bathing, it can be declared "waterproof". That is to say, the sunscreen effect may be halved after swimming, so we must pay attention to make-up in time (portal → what to pay attention to about sunscreen).

In a word, sunscreen clothing provides more protection than ordinary clothes. When buying, you need to pay attention to whether there are signs of "sunscreen" and "UPF" on the clothes.

On the other hand, ultraviolet rays are not without benefits. They can regulate melanin and serotonin, and help people synthesize vitamin D. For adults, proper sunlight exposure every day is of great benefit to sleep, mood and health.

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refer to

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Et al. Relationship between the dose of solar ultraviolet radiation and vitamin D in northern mid-latitude area [j]. Total Environmental Science, 20 17574:744750.

Sha, Li Hong, et al. Vitamin D nutritional status of 466 government functionaries and 538 students in Beijing [J]. Chinese Journal of Preventive Medicine, 20 14(009): 823826.

[4] Jia Manlan, Shen Yueming, Zhu. Evaluation and analysis of the quality of sunscreen clothing [J]. Textile Science and Technology Progress, 20 18(08): 3942.

[5]RIVA·A, Algaba I, PEPI·M, et al. Effects of simulated colors on ultraviolet protection provided by cotton woven fabrics dyed with azo dyes [J]. Industry &; Engineering Chemistry Research, 2009, 48(22): 98 179822.

[6] Guo Chuanchuan. Experts interpret the quality and testing of "sun protection clothing" [J]. Medium fiber inspection, 20 18(6): 20.

[7] Xu, Debate on sun protection under the scorching sun [J]. Textile and Apparel Weekly, 2065438+04 (23):1415.

[8] Kim J. Using consumer laundry products to improve UPF of knitted fabrics: Comparison of the results of using two instruments [J]. Journal of Family and Consumer Science Research, 2004,33 (2):14158.

[9]GB/T 18830-2009.pdf[J]。 .

[10] national standard-national standard information company * * * service platform [EB/OL]. [2019-07-24]./GB/search/GB details? id = 7 1 f 772d 7 f 67 DD 3a 7 e 05397 be 0 a 0 ab 82 a。

[1 1] Yale Adler, Karjas Spitzer. The secret of the skin [M]. Liuli, translated. Oriental publishing house, 20 19.

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Author: Zhao Yanchang