Frequently Asked Questions about Sun Protective Clothing
We hope this page might help to answer some of the more commonly asked questions
about our Sun Protective Clothing. If you have any further questions -
please ask!
What is the difference between polycotton and polyester fabrics?
Polyester is a man-made fabric which results in a garment which is extremely light and comfortable to wear, with excellent quick drying and chlorine resistant properties. The yarn does not absorb water, which is why nylon/lycra garments are dry almost as soon as you get out of the water. However, the elastane thread (trademarked Lycra) is very susceptible to chlorine and that is why you will often see a relatively new garment becoming thin and see-through. The elastane has broken down, leaving only the polyester thread, and this on its own has no elasticity, hence the garment becomes baggy.
The
Chlorine resistant garments
that you now commonly see in the shops are made from a man-made yarn called PBT. This yarn has built in elasticity and therefore no elastane thread is necessary. Chlorine resistant garments will never break down in chlorinated water and often make a much more sensible, long term investment as they can be passed down to several children.
The
Soft Touch Range of UV
protection sunsuits that are sold on this site are made from a polyester fabric, but the yarn has been spun in such a way that it behaves more like cotton, thus making these suits particularly soft to touch and far less sticky than nylon. We feel this fabric is more pleasant for babies and infants than if they are not put in totally synthetic fabrics – you wouldn’t put your baby in a nylon dress or pair of trousers so why should they wear a nylon sunsuit?
All these fabrics can achieve the same SPF of 50+ and fit in the same way. Neither of the fabrics are hot to wear, and it is purely down to your own personal preference which fabric you decide to buy.
Aren’t UV sunsuits hot?
No. Although sunsuits would appear to be hot to wear, children do not find them unpleasant even in the hottest Australian climates. In fact once they have worn a sunsuit and realise that they no longer have to suffer two hourly suncream applications, children become very keen indeed to wear their sunsuits which offers great peace of mind to Mum and Dad!
Is it very important that the garment correctly fits my child?
Look at the surfers at the beach; they all wear skin-tight fitting sun-tops (commonly
called rashies or
rash vests). These tops were originally designed to prevent surfers from chaffing and rubbing from their boards, and they would not be effective if they were lose or baggy.
Imagine coming out of the sea or pool wearing a loose fitting, soaking wet t-shirt dragging down off your body. You would very quickly become uncomfortable and cold which would result in you removing the t-shirt and exposing your skin to the sun.
This is the same with a sun protective garment. Baggy garments may appeal to the fashion sense of the child but they are not very practical. They balloon up in the water and if the child takes off their top as soon as they come out of the water, you have wasted your money.
The UV garments that we sell on this site are sized to fit snuggly and provide a ‘second skin’ for the body – a protective skin. If the garment fits well your child will quickly forget they are wearing it, will not get cold or uncomfortable when they come out of the water and will happily keep the garment on all day – thus receiving the protection from the sun that it was bought to provide.
We therefore strongly advise you not to order ‘the next size up’ for your child. Please do use the sizing guide and measure your children before you order, rather than relying solely on age.
Do you recommend all-in-one suits for babies?
Yes, absolutely. We are parents ourselves and have learnt that a crawling infant wearing a 2-piece suit on a beach is a parental disaster. A wet nappy drags the shorts down so that a bad case of ‘builders bottom’ quickly appears and then the nappy gets filled with sand. Trying to change a sandy bottom is not pleasant for parent or baby!
In an all-in-one suit your baby becomes a neat little package and it is very easy to change their nappies by undoing the zip or using the crotch poppers.
Why do you not sell all-in-one suits for children over the age of 2 years?
Once a child is at toilet training age, an all-in-one suit no longer holds the attractions it used to. Toilet training a child in a zip is, for obvious reasons, very difficult - especially when there is some urgency involved!
Once toilet trained, children are far happier if they can take their shorts on and off when they need the toilet which they obviously can’t do with a zipped suit.
We also feel a 2-piece suit offers far more flexibility and can be worn as separates.
Wouldn’t it be better if your garments had long sleeves and long legs?
Yes, it would. However there is a limit to the lengths parents and children are prepared to go to in order to protect their children from the sun.
KoolSun’s garments have been to cover as much of your child’s body as is socially acceptable and it is essential that you to protect the remaining exposed skin with a good quality suncream. Organic or chemical free sunscreens are readily available now, so even if your child has sensitive skin there is no excuse for not using sunscreen.
Of course, keeping baby in the shade is always preferable to any sun exposure.
Are the suits machine washable?
Yes, all the sun protection garments we sell are machine washable on a 40 degree delicate cycle and carry full washing instructions.
Why do your Sun Hats have flexible brims?
This is a very clever, and unique design feature. The girls at KoolSun found over the years that, although their children were quite happy to wear their
UV protection
sun hats in the water, as soon as they dived down to the bottom of the pool to fetch a hoop (or into the sea to catch a wave), the peak of their hat flipped up allowing the sun to reach their faces. Being children they never thought to put the brims back down again, so the sun hats became completely useless.
By using a neoprene brim that is flexible, the brim goes down into the water with the child and remains in situ when they surface again. This means you will not be constantly shouting at your child to put their hat brim down!
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