UV-PROTECTING PROPERTIES OF TEXTILE FABRICS AND THEIR IMPROVEMENT

Too much exposure to UV radiation can result in skin damage such as su nburn, premature skin ageing, allergies, and even skin cancer, particu larly in white-skinned people. Textiles can provide effective protecti on against such damage, Unlike cosmetics, using textiles to protect th e skin or enhance skin protection has only recently been researched. W ork on the sun protection factors (SPFs) of cotton, wool, silk, polyes ter, polyamide, and polyamide/elastan fabrics and their improvement by means of UV absorbers is described, A fabric's SPF is determined by t he chemical structure of its constituent fibers and the substances pre sent on and in them (additives and textile processing aids) and by its structural characteristics (porosity, thickness, dimensional stabilit y, elastic properties, etc.). Fabrics of cotton, silk, polyamide, and polyamide/elastan (these last two with only a low delustrant content), particularly in pale shades, were found to give too little protection against intense UV radiation, If they are closely woven or knitted, t hat is if their porosity is row, their performance can be markedly imp roved by treatment with UV absorbers, A reactive UV absorber for cotto n is described.