Clothing with UV protection? Do you really need that?

We now hear enough that the skin must always be well protected with sunscreen when outside. However, more and more manufacturers of sports clothing are advertising that their clothing has UV protection. But is this absolutely necessary and doesn't normal clothing protect us from the dangerous rays?

How protective is clothing?

How much clothing protects against UV rays depends on the type of fabric and how densely the fabric is processed. Even a normal T-shirt with a dense fabric can offer UV protection. However, special UV protective clothing is even more geared towards protection: the fibers are particularly densely woven and the textile is additionally treated with a substance. The UPF value indicates whether this is such clothing.

Just like the sun protection factor of sunscreen, the same applies to the UPF (Ultraviolet Protection Factor) value for UV protective clothing. It indicates how long the clothing can be worn without getting sunburned.
However, when buying, you should not only pay attention to the UPF value, but also to the specified standards. There are currently three different standards:

• Australian-New Zealand Standard (AS/NZS 4399:1996)
• European standard (EN 13758-1)
• UV standard 801 .

The standards differ not only in the specified scale for a UPF value, but also in how the measurement is carried out to obtain the UPF value.

In the Australian-New Zealand and European standards, textiles are only subjected to measurements when new, unstretched and dry to determine the UPF value. This means that the value is only determined under the most favorable conditions that the textile material can have. A UPF value of 15-24 is considered good, 25-39 is considered very good and a UPF of 40-50 is considered excellent. Values ​​over 50 do exist, but are no longer recognized.

With UV Standard 801, the UPF value of the textile is measured under the most unfavorable conditions. This means: the textile is washed, stretched and moistened. The material is then exposed to the most intense radiation intensity that only exists at the height of the Australian summer. The lowest UV value achieved during the procedure is declared on the textile. The scale of UPF values ​​according to the 801 standard goes from 2 (lowest) to 80 (highest protection).

Care should therefore be taken to use UV protective clothing that meets the 801 standard, although in Germany most of this clothing is marked with the 801 standard.

Who should use UV protective clothing?

Not only people with pale and sensitive skin should wear this clothing, but also those who spend a lot of time in the sun. Areas of skin that are directly exposed to the sun, such as the face, hands and décolleté, should also be applied with sunscreen. It should also not be forgotten that the head also needs to be protected! For example with the super trendy headgear from Chaskee. The extremely light caps are tested by a Swiss institute according to Standard 801 and usually achieve UV protection of over 80 - and the neoprene cover with its modern patterns and colors also looks great!

So nothing stands in the way of exercising in the beautiful sunshine!

The new Chaskee models have arrived in the shop - shop through our range at your leisure.