Solumbra is a line of sun protection clothing and a patented fabric that was introduced in 1992.

History

Solumbra was developed by Shaun Hughes, who was diagnosed and treated for malignant

melanoma Melanoma, also redundantly known as malignant melanoma, is a type of skin cancer that develops from the pigment-producing cells known as melanocytes. Melanomas typically occur in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye ( ...

at age 26 during a visit to

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK or MSKCC) is a cancer treatment and research institution in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital. MSKCC is one of 52 National Cancer Institute– ...

. He felt that traditional UV protection was insufficient: he would tan through

sunscreen Sunscreen, also known as sunblock or sun cream, is a photoprotective topical product for the skin that mainly absorbs, or to a much lesser extent reflects, some of the sun's ultraviolet (UV) radiation and thus helps protect against sunburn and ...

and

sunburn Sunburn is a form of radiation burn that affects living tissue, such as skin, that results from an overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, usually from the Sun. Common symptoms in humans and animals include: red or reddish skin that is ho ...

through his summer clothing. Based upon medical research and involvement of UV and medical experts, Hughes developed the Solumbra line of fabric and clothing. Solumbra entered the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

marketplace in 1992. Solumbra was reviewed under medical device regulations by the U.S.

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...

(FDA) and

Health Canada Health Canada (HC; french: Santé Canada, SC)Health Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Health (). is the Structure of the Canadian federal government#Departments, with subsidiary unit ...

. No

sun protective clothing Sun protective clothing is clothing specifically designed for sun protection and is produced from a fabric rated for its level of ultraviolet (UV) protection. A novel weave structure and denier (related to thread count per inch) may produce sun p ...

had previously been reviewed as a medical device in the United States or Canada. Solumbra offered improved and superior

ultraviolet Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nanometer, nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 Hertz, PHz) to 400 nm (750 Hertz, THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than ...

(UV) protection compared to a conventional 30 SPF sunscreen and typical summer clothing. Solumbra sun protective clothing is rated at 100+ SPF. The Solumbra logo depicts the sun’s rays eclipsed by effective sun protection that, in turn, provides an area of safe shade.

Technology

The main goal of Solumbra fabrics is to prevent UV from transmitting through the garment's fibers and

apertures In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. An opt ...

(holes between the fibers). Hughes developed the technology without treatments or coatings that could lose their effectiveness and photoprotection after use, laundering, and exposure to environmental factors. Solumbra clothing designs are based on published medical guidelines. Designs are typically long-sleeved, long-legged, or wide-brimmed to cover the maximum amount of skin.

Research

Sun protection clothing can offer superior photoprotection because of some common problems with sunscreen: misapplication, low durability, poor reapplication behavior, and poor cosmetic elegance. R. Sayre was the lead researcher of ''

in vitro ''In vitro'' (meaning in glass, or ''in the glass'') studies are performed with microorganisms, cells, or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called "test-tube experiments", these studies in biology an ...

'' SPF testing for traditional summer fabrics. This revealed that traditional summer clothing in North America offered less than 15 SPF protection, the minimum level recommended by doctors. These traditional summer fabrics tested between SPF 59 when dry and SPF 39 when wet. Nicholas Lowe and R Sayre followed this up with ''

in vivo Studies that are ''in vivo'' (Latin for "within the living"; often not italicized in English) are those in which the effects of various biological entities are tested on whole, living organisms or cells, usually animals, including humans, and ...

'' research. They found that Solumbra achieved over 50 SPF when dry or wet. ''In vivo'' research spearheaded by J Menter and Sayre, published in the ''

Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology The ''Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology'', sometimes abbreviated ''JAAD'', is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal covering dermatology. It was established in 1979 and is published by Elsevier on behalf of the American Academy of ...

'', showed that most mice contracted squamous cell

carcinoma Carcinoma is a malignancy that develops from epithelial cells. Specifically, a carcinoma is a cancer that begins in a tissue that lines the inner or outer surfaces of the body, and that arises from cells originating in the endodermal, mesodermal ...

(SCC) skin cancers through typical summer fabrics, and mice protected by Solumbra fabrics did not incur skin cancers. Subsequent research by Menter and Sayre found that specific Solumbra fabrics provided photoprotection for mice against injury from visible light when sensitized with the

photosensitizer Photosensitizers produce a physicochemical change in a neighboring molecule by either donating an electron to the substrate or by abstracting a hydrogen atom from the substrate. At the end of this process, the photosensitizer eventually returns to ...

ALA Ala, ALA, Alaa or Alae may refer to: Places * Ala, Hiiu County, Estonia, a village * Ala, Valga County, Estonia, a village * Ala, Alappuzha, Kerala, India, a village * Ala, Iran, a village in Semnan Province * Ala, Gotland, Sweden * Alad, S ...

, compared to insufficient protection by typical summer fabric.Menter JM, Hollins TD, Sayre RM, Etemadi AA, Willis I, Hughes SNG. Protection against photodynamic therapy (PDT)-induced photosensitivity by fabric material, Photoderm Photoimmunol Photomed 1998; 4:154-159. Research was just presented by an independent researcher in March 2012 showing that Solumbra fabrics now offer 100+ SPF even after 500 durability cycles.

References

{{reflist

External links

Special clothing combines sunblock ability and summer fashion

Work out

Compare Coolibar, Solumbra and other sun protective clothing

* ttp://triblive.com/lifestyles/1901915-74/says-protection-clothing-skin-upf-cancer-hughes-rays-fabrics-obagi Sunwear clothing can boost protection from burns Clothing brands of the United States Safety clothing Sun tanning