• 90% of all changes in the skin formerly associated with "aging" are now considered to be due exclusively to damage from the sun's ultraviolet rays, or "photoaging." SunStuff sun protective clothing helps prevent the damage that leads to wrinkling, freckling, "age spots," sagging, and tiny spider veins on the skin.


• SunStuff sun protective clothing blocks damaging ultraviolet rays before they trigger your skin's defense mechanisms. It enables your skin to dedicate itself to the process of renewal, rather than defense.


• Sun damage is cumulative, so every little bit matters in the battle against sun-induced changes in the skin. SunStuff sun protective clothing keeps premature aging, skin cancer, and other skin changes at bay.


• Exposure to sunlight suppresses the immune system, rendering you susceptible to germs. SunStuff sun protective clothing, which blocks ultraviolet rays, help keep you healthy and active.

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Preserves Skin

80% of all lifetime damage to the skin is done before the age of 18 and is due to sun exposure. Sun damage accumulates and can be only minimally reversed. The effects of any and all exposure to ultraviolet radiation during one's lifetime combine, and in later years this damage appears in the form of skin cancer, health problems, and most commonly, in premature aging of the skin.

Americans -- particularly youth-conscious women -- spend billions of dollars each year in an effort to reduce the signs associated with "aging." 90% of all age-associated changes in the skin are, in fact, attributed exclusively to sunlight -- not to chronological aging. Signs that were once thought to be effects of age, including fine and deep wrinkles, uneven discoloration, surface roughness, sagging, "age" spots, tiny spider veins, and both benign and malignant growths, are now known to be due primarily to sun exposure.

The more youthful skin of a person in his or her 20s in theory may be preserved well into the 60s through strict avoidance of the sun. While women today turn to premium creams, spa treatments, dermatological procedures, and any possible solution, at any price, to allay the signs of age, the majority of the symptoms would diminish through regular use of a hat and broad spectrum sunscreen while outdoors.

A golden tan, considered by many as the sign of a healthy glow, is actually one of the most visible indications of injury from the sun. UV rays produce free radicals -- corrosive molecules that alter cellular DNA, damage genes, and eventually cause skin cancer. Exposure that results in a tan is a direct sign of DNA damage to the pigment cells. Long after the tan fades, the genetic damage remains, showing itself as brown spots, freckles, moles, spider veins, and skin cancer. Every time we come in contact with the sun, this process continues where it left off. Damage that becomes visible in our forties likely occurred in our infancy and teens.

Permanent underlying damage -- to both the cells and the genes -- occurs every time skin absorbs a direct ray of ultraviolet light from the sun. Some cells are killed outright. Others, wounded, emit chemicals that irritate tiny blood vessels, causing inflammation and, if exposure continues, the redness of a burn. UV exposure leads to the breakdown of collagen and elastin fibers beneath the skin, resulting in wrinkles and sagging, and weakens blood vessels, lacing the skin's surface with spider veins.

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Protects vs. Cancer

The growing affluence of Americans in recent decades corresponds with an increase in leisure time, more of which is enjoyed outdoors. In addition to the birth of the tan as a fashion statement in the 1970s and the increasing depletion of the ozone layer, this trend has resulted in near-epidemic rates of skin cancer in the past decade. It is now more common than all other cancers combined, and there is no evidence to show that its levels are peaking. The Mayo Clinic Medical Essay has reported that almost half of all Americans who reach the age of 65 will develop some form of skin cancer at least once. Skin cancer is disfiguring at best, and fatal at its worst.

80% of all lifetime damage to the skin is done before the age of 18 and is due to sun exposure. Sun damage accumulates and can never be reversed. The effects of any and all exposure to ultraviolet radiation during one's lifetime combine, and in later years this damage appears in the form of skin cancer, health problems, and most commonly, in premature aging of the skin.

A golden tan, considered by many as the sign of a healthy glow, is actually one of the most visible indications of injury from the sun. UV rays produce free radicals -- corrosive molecules that alter cellular DNA, damage genes, and eventually cause skin cancer. Exposure that results in a tan is a direct sign of DNA damage to the pigment cells. Long after the tan fades, the genetic damage remains, showing itself as brown spots, freckles, moles, spider veins, and skin cancer. Every time we come in contact with the sun, this process continues where it left off. Damage that becomes visible in our forties likely occurred in our infancy and teens.

Permanent underlying damage -- to both the cells and the genes -- occurs every time skin absorbs a direct ray of ultraviolet light from the sun. Some cells are killed outright. Others, wounded, emit chemicals that irritate tiny blood vessels, causing inflammation and, if exposure continues, the redness of a burn. UV exposure leads to the breakdown of collagen and elastin fibers beneath the skin, resulting in wrinkles and sagging, and weakens blood vessels, lacing the skin's surface with spider veins. The American Academy of Dermatologists recommends regularly wearing broad spectrum (blocks both UVA and UVB rays) sunblock, avoiding prolonged and mid-day exposure to the sun, and wearing protective clothing and headwear. 80% of all skin cancer appears on the head, face and neck. Wearing a typical 4-inch brim hat regularly has been shown to reduce the risk of skin cancer by at least 40%. The regular use of a sunproof head covering is expected to lower the risk of developing cancer on the head virtually to none.

SunStuff sun hats provide maximum protection for your scalp, ears, and face. Unlike most typical straw and fabric hats, which are penetrated to a large extent by the sun, our sun protective clothing blocks virtually all ultraviolet radiation. It prevents your skin from accumulating the cellular damage to the skin that triggers many forms of skin cancer.

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It's Never Too Late!

The great news is that it is never too late to reap the benefits of sun avoidance. The skin is amazingly resilient, and is constantly fighting to regenerate and repair itself. Studies have shown that even skin that has been badly damaged by years of exposure will make strides toward restoring itself if protected from additional UV radiation. SunStuff sun protective clothing and UPF50⁺ sun hats will defend your skin from these destructive rays, enabling the skin to dedicate itself exclusively to renewal efforts.

Although typical hats may claim to offer you protection from the sun, this claim often is based on the fact that the brim is 4 inches wide. In reality, it doesn't matter how wide the brim of a hat is, if the majority of sun rays are penetrating the fabric or straw. SunStuff sun hats are designed to provide maximum sun protection and style to individuals who are determined to stave off skin damage and the signs of aging!

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