How to protect your skin from sun exposure through glass

It may not be obvious, but the effects of UV radiation can still impact your skin through glass.

UV radiation is made up of UVA and UVB (and UVC, but that doesn’t penetrate the earth’s atmosphere). UVA radiation is responsible for skin ageing and UVB causes your skin to burn. UVA can penetrate glass so whilst you are unlikely to get sunburnt through glass, the ageing effects of UVA are still prevalent.

So, when you are in your car, office or at home you are potentially exposed to harmful UV rays. The purpose of this blog is to provide some practical suggestions as to how you best protect yourself from the sun when exposed through glass.

In your car

You may spend hours a day in your car getting to and from work or just going about your daily chores. As damage caused by sun exposure is cumulative you should not discount the effects of the sun whilst you are driving around.

Steps you can take to reduce skin ageing whilst driving include:

1. Wear UPF 50+ clothing with long sleeves and UPF50+ driving gloves. Arms and hands are particularly exposed through the front windshield. 
2. Apply SPF 50+ broad spectrum sunscreen. It is important that the sunscreen is broad spectrum so that it also blocks UVA radiation.
3. Wear sunglasses to protect your eye area.
4. Check local regulations in your area but you can often get a tinting applied to your side and rear windows which will help reduce UV radiation penetration through the glass.

At home

You may have a lovely spot in your house with a far-reaching view or have a home which allows a lot of natural light to come into your home. 

Steps you can take at home next to a window to reduce skin ageing include:

1. Wear UPF 50+ sun protection clothing and SPF 50+ broad spectrum sunscreen.
2. Use window blinds which reduce or block UV radiation altogether.
3. Position your furniture so that you are less exposed to sunlight coming in through the window.
4. Apply a protective tint to your windows to reduce UVA radiation coming through the windows.

In the office

Whilst Covid has meant that more people work from home, it is still the norm to go to a place of work to collaborate with colleagues. We can spend many hours at work during the week, so how we set ourselves up there is important.

Steps you can take in the office to reduce skin ageing include:

1. Wear UPF50+ sun protective clothing and SPF50+ broad spectrum sunscreen.
2. Rearrange your desk and seating if you are exposed to direct sunlight through the window
3. Install or lower a window blind to reduce UV radiation coming in through the glass.

You can find out more about Solbari's sun protective range by clicking the blue links below:
Women UPF 50+
Men UPF 50+
Sun hats UPF 50+
Accessories UPF 50+ 
SPF 50+ Sunscreen