The scorching summer months provide us with a number of challenges. Aside from consuming lots of water to prevent dehydration, you need also consider your exposure to sunshine and UV radiation.
Although exposure to sunlight has health benefits for the body and mind, prolonged exposure without protection may cause serious health problems.
For those hot, sunny summer days, it’s essential to have a sun hat on hand. However, picking one might be difficult if you don’t know what to look for!
What is a Sun Hat?
A sun hat is a head covering that is worn to shield the face and neck from the sun. The straw hat is the most well-known kind of sun hat. However, any hat made of permeable material that protects you from the sun may be called a sun hat.
A sun hat usually has a brim that is between 4 and 6 inches wide. But sometimes you can find hats with extra-wide brims that are 7 to 10 inches.
What Makes Wearing a Hat in the Sun Important?
It’s crucial to practice sun safety whenever you spend any length of time outside. This involves trying to limit your exposure to the sun’s damaging rays by finding as much shade as you can, putting on sunscreen, and, of course, wearing a hat.
It takes just fifteen minutes of unprotected exposure to the sun on a day when the ultraviolet radiation level is high for a person to start to feel the effects of the sun’s rays and get sunburn.
You’ve definitely had sunburn before, so you already know how excruciatingly painful it is; yet sunburn is serious since it may be fatal.
Sunburns increase your chances of acquiring skin cancer.
Guide to Finding the Perfect Sun Hat for You
Sun hats are both fashionable and incredibly functional. Sun hats are one of the most effective methods to resist the heat if you live in a region with hot weather where your skin will be injured by the scorching sun.
Here are some considerations to bear in mind while purchasing stylish and attractive sun hats.
Wide Brims
The first piece of advice is to try to buy sun hats with wide brims.
When choosing a sun hat, you need to give careful consideration to the brim since it decides how much of your face, neck, eyes, and shoulders will be shielded from the harmful effects of the sun.
In any case, a wide brim may help shield your face from harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays. Even though there is a broad range of sizes available for sun hats, the ones with the widest brims are the most efficient at shielding your face from the sun.
Sun hats with sleek designs might look good, but they may not protect your face from the sun. That is a very big problem. Because of this, it’s important to get a hat with a wide brim.
Some wide-brimmed sun hats for women have a classic, glamorous look that might go well with your vintage one-piece swimsuit. Others are much more practical and look like casual safari hats.
Size
A sun hat’s size is another detail to bear in mind. Although hats with a wide brim are recommended, there’s no purpose in purchasing one that’s too big for your head. Before you buy a sun hat, you should always try it on and make sure it fits your head well.
It does not make a difference whatever sun hat you choose; nonetheless, you must ensure that it is the correct size.
Sun hats that are either too loose or too tight may be uncomfortable for the wearer. In addition, they will not protect your head from the sun. If you need sun hats for technical purposes, it’s essential that you get the right size.
Materials
You may get sun hats made of many different materials. These materials may determine the level of UV protection provided by the sun hat.
Natural fabrics, such as hemp and cotton, provide some level of protection. Typically, sun hats with UV protection-specific patterns are made from synthetics.
Nowadays, the UV protection rating is often displayed on the hat’s tag or in its description.
Ultraviolet Protection Factor Protection
The most effective sun hats block out almost all of the harmful rays of the sun. The ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) specifies how much ultraviolet (UV) radiation the material blocks.
Protect your skin from the sun’s damaging rays by wearing a sun hat with a UPF rating of 50 or higher. A sun hat with a UPF rating of 50+ is the ideal option, since it will protect the wearer from almost 98% of the sun’s damaging rays.
It is important to keep in mind that the fabric of the hats might be harmed if they are not properly cared for and maintained. As a direct result, the UPF rating will drop.
Color
When selecting a hat to shield you from the sun, most people are aware that it is essential to choose one that is of the proper style and constructed of sun-protective material. However, many people forget another vital aspect of sun hat: color.
Black or a comparable dark hue is the optimal color for a sun hat. Why? Well, the reason is rather complex, but to put it simply, a dark colored hat will not only protect your skin from the sun’s rays, but it will also prevent you from overheating in the summer heat. The reason behind this is because dark colors absorb more heat and UV radiation than bright hues.
The best way to protect yourself from the sun is to wear a dark-colored hat, which will soak up more of the sun’s harmful UV rays. However, this doesn’t simply refer to heat from the sun; dark colored hat will also absorb body heat, keeping you cool.
There are alternatives to dark-colored sun hats if you do not want to wear one. If you like a light-colored sun hat, choose one with a vibrant hue, such as red, yellow, or orange, since the darker a color is, the more UV radiation it absorbs.
Durability
A sun hat is an excellent purchase for the summer. Therefore, choose for a material that won’t wear out quickly and won’t fade. To top it all off, the sun hat you choose should be long-lasting and able to endure the elements and extreme temperatures of the outdoors.
If you happen to live in a region that seldom experiences either extremes of heat or humidity, you don’t need to spend a lot of money on a sun hat. But if you live in a region where the sun is very intense, you should invest in a durable sun hat.
Final Words
Sun protection is always vital, but it is more critical during the hot summer months. Wear a high-quality sun hat to shield yourself from the sun. Choose a dark color for the greatest sun protection, and make sure it has a wide brim and is constructed of a synthetic material for optimal protection.
Once you know what to look for in a quality sun hat, finding one is a breeze, you’ll be able to confidently enjoy the warm summer sun.
Sun hats exist in a variety of designs, and you can easily choose one that meets your preferences and budget.
Good luck with your hat selection!