Golf is a game spent under the sun for many hours. Very often, golfers try to protect themselves from the harmful UV rays. Sunblock is used generously to protect exposed parts of the body. But what about the unexposed skin? Is a t-shirt enough to protect you from the harmful rays of the sun?
1. Ultra Violet (UV) rays penetrate the fabric of the t-shirt to reach the skin. Prolonged exposure leads to damage of the skin's DNA and cell function.
2. UV rays come in many sizes. UV rays of 0-250 Nanometres (Nm) are usually blocked by the earth's atmosphere. UV rays of 250-400 Nanometres (Nm) are the ones you should be careful of. These are rays that cause problems from pre-malignant keratoses, wrinkles, dark unsightly blotches, immune system suppression to the most dreaded type of skin cancer, Melanoma. If not detected early, Melanoma is often fatal.
3. Independent lab tests show that cotton t-shirts allow 50% of the harmful rays through to your skin and up to 60%-70% when the t-shirt is wet.
4. Fabric plays an important role in providing UV protection. The closer the weave, the fast drying fabric and also the colours used all have an impact on the protection.
5. Ultra Violet Protection Factor (UPF) is the measurement used in fabric, equivalent to SPF in sun block lotions. Recommendations by the European, American and Australian standards suggests a minimum of UPF 30+ in fabrics to protect you against the harmful rays.
