Do Wetsuits Protect From Sun Ultra Violet Rays?

Wetsuits are designed to keep you warm in water when diving, snorkelling or if you are partaking in any other water sport, but do wetsuits protect from sun and getting sun burn?

Wetsuits do protect you from the sun as the wetsuit’s neoprene creates a layer and a barrier over your skin to stop the sun’s harmful ultra violet light rays from damaging your skin, as well as keeping you warm. To get complete protection from the sun using a wetsuit it needs to be a full wetsuit.

If you are asking about wetsuits and sun protection because you are a scuba diver, you may like to know that the best way to dive anywhere in the world is by a scuba diving liveaboard. You can check the latest and best deals on liveaboards using the following window:

Which of the sun’s rays is most harmful?

It is the UVB rays from the sun that are most harmful to your body and is what causes sunburn, skin cancer, skin aging, cataracts and snow blindness. UVB rays have also been known to create UV-induced immunosuppression and can lower your body’s ability to fight illness too.

The sun’s ultra violet rays include UVB and UVA rays, and although it is the UVB rays that are most harmful to your skin, the UVA rays will also damage your skin too.

Are sun’s UVA rays harmful to your skin?

The sun’s UVA rays are harmful to your skin and will cause aging, wrinkling of the skin and the loss of elasticity. UVA also promotes the damaging effects of UVB rays too, which include skin cancer, skin aging and cataracts.

Do wetsuits protect from sun UVB rays?

Wetsuits do protect you from the sun’s UVB rays as the wetsuit’s neoprene creates a layer over your skin that the UVB rays cannot penetrate. To get complete protection from UVB rays using a wetsuit it needs to be a full wetsuit and not a shorty wetsuit.

Do wetsuits protect from sun UVA rays?

Wetsuits do protect you from the sun’s UVA rays as the wetsuit’s neoprene creates a layer over your skin that the UVA rays cannot penetrate. To get complete protection from UVA rays using a wetsuit it needs to be a full wetsuit and not a shorty wetsuit.

You may also want to read this article; do wetsuits protects against jellyfish stings too.

Can you get a sunburn through a wetsuit?

You cannot get sunburn through a wetsuit as it’s made from neoprene and this creates a barrier that prevents the sun’s harmful UV rays that cause sunburn from reaching the skin. This only applies to the skin covered by the wetsuit, so shorty wetsuits don’t protect arms and legs from sunburn.

Will a shorty wetsuit protect from sunburn

A shorty wetsuit will protect those parts of your skin covered by the wetsuit and not your exposed arms and legs. If you want full UVB and UVA ray protection to avoid sunburn altogether, you need to wear a full wetsuit.

Do you need sunscreen with a wetsuit?

You still need sunscreen with a wetsuit on any exposed parts of your skin, like your face, hands and feet. But if you are wearing a shorty wetsuit, you will need to apply sunscreen to your arms and legs to protect these exposed parts of your body from the suns harmful UV rays.

I hope you enjoyed this article about do wetsuits protect from sun ultra violet rays

I’d love to hear from you. Tell us about your adventures of diving and snorkeling, in the comments below. Please also share your photos. Either from your underwater cameras or videos from your waterproof go-pro’s!

If this article hasn’t answered all of your questions. If you have more questions either about snorkeling or scuba diving (or specifically about do wetsuits protect from sun), please comment below with your questions.

There will also be many more articles about scuba and scuba diving safety tips (and on snorkeling too) for you to read and learn about this fabulous sport.