Hats As Sun Protection, NOT Just for Bald Men

[scotrace]

Lots of guys find The Fedora Lounge because their hair starts to thin and they begin looking for a hat. It's true that a brimmed hat provides excellent protection against the sun's rays. And statistics show that the rate of cancers of the head and neck rose with the decline of hat wearing. People are wising up as more and more brimmed hats are seen in the street.

But I understand there was a story in the news today, which I can only relate second hand, that said that this is true of people with plenty of hair as well. Apparently, dangerous skin cancers are even more problematic if you have hair, because they can remain hidden in the scalp until they are more difficult to treat. Melanoma of the scalp among people with plenty of hair is becoming more common, because they don't think they are vulnerable and don't wear head protection, even though they may be gooped up with sun screen.

Even for guys with a full head of hair, hats are a good thing to wear in the sun (and wind, rain, cold and snow for that matter). There's a reason heads were always covered outdoors for centuries.

 

[ScionPI2005]

It's true that when I started wearing hats with brims, I did so mainly for the style. The idea of sun protection was merely and afterthought that didn't occur to me for some time. Still, I consider it an added bonus for becoming attached to wearing hats regularly.

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

Yeah, my decision to wear hats came early on and is all about style - but I agree, it's good to have a pragmatic justification for a funky proclivity.

Not only does the top of the head benefit from being shaded but the entire face and neck as well. I am involved in marketing work for and ophthalmology practice and have learned that the lower eyelids are a place that many seniors develop cancer due to lack of a brim or proper UV sunglasses.

Protect yourselves fellas; buy more snap-brim hats!!

mad: This is me with no hat and sunburn.)

 

[DanielJones]

Hats all around!

I fully agree. I wear a hat out of a matter of practice. It looks good and helps protect the face scalp & neck. I rarely ever go outside without a hat on. As for eye protection since I was 14 I have to wear sunglasses outside because my eyes absorb too much light. Long story, but an injury made the pupils a tad more open than they normally should be. So, no matter what, the area around my eyes is always protected. Which means I don't have those little crows feet from squinting all the time either.

Cheers!

Dan

 

[Rachael]

Grandma was right. again.

I started wearing hats when visiting my grandmother during summers as a child. She not only insisted that we wear brimmed hats, she provided stylish options which encouraged a healthy habit and a love of all things vintage.

The hat rack by the door is always ready, and if a friend happens by I can offer a spare. As I calculate money saved on face creams (and biopsies), there is one more reason to bless the advice I took as a child. Now if I could find a way to pry the cap off my son's head and replace it with a proper hat all would be right with the world.

 

[WideBrimm]

Baldy that I am, I only wish that I had had the foresight, wisdom and guts to begin wearing hats a long time ago. As for woven/panama hats the first thing I do is hold the hat up to the light. Just seeing light through the weave gives me reservations regarding protection from the sun. Cotton canvas bucket fedoras are an inexpensive alternative for sunny days.

 

[Kaleponi Craig]

I started wearing fedoras years ago because I just liked the way they looked. But I am also very, very sun sensitive and the wide brim lid is perfect for me. Highly recommended by my wife also, who is a dermatologist..KC

 

[jec]

As survivor of skin cancer about 25 years ago, I wear a hat whenever I am outside. But it is only recently that I realized how exposed and unprotected I was (on my ears and sides of my face) when wearing just a baseball cap. Now I appreciate the complete shade and protection I can get from a wide brim.

 

[shortbow]

Growing up in Texas and New Mexico, my mom put Stetsons on us at an early age, because of the protection they offered. Dad refused to teach us flyfishing if we weren't wearing one. As time went by my brothers left their hats behind, opting in later years for ball caps. About thirty years ago I switched to fedoras, and have worn one every day since. Sun is a big one, the brim shades my eyes, keeps me cool, but I like them also for keeping rain and snow off my glasses and off the back of my neck. I tried for years to get my wife and kids to wear hats, but to no avail. Apparently it is more stylish and lots of fun to freeze in winter, cook your brains in summer, and man, all that water is apparently lots of fun as it runs down your back. I figure a hat should be the first thing you put on in the morning and the last thing you take off at night.

 

[MAB1]

Growing up in Texas and New Mexico, my mom put Stetsons on us at an early age, because of the protection they offered. Dad refused to teach us flyfishing if we weren't wearing one. As time went by my brothers left their hats behind, opting in later years for ball caps. About thirty years ago I switched to fedoras, and have worn one every day since. Sun is a big one, the brim shades my eyes, keeps me cool, but I like them also for keeping rain and snow off my glasses and off the back of my neck. I tried for years to get my wife and kids to wear hats, but to no avail. Apparently it is more stylish and lots of fun to freeze in winter, cook your brains in summer, and man, all that water is apparently lots of fun as it runs down your back. I figure a hat should be the first thing you put on in the morning and the last thing you take off at night.

:eusa_clap

 

[Jfala]

I started wearing hats for both style & protection. With a good amount of freckles on my face and a long time relationship with my dermatologist (strictly professional), covering my head, face, ears, et al is a must.

Wear more hats I say!

 

[cookie]

Lots of guys find The Fedora Lounge because their hair starts to thin and they begin looking for a hat. It's true that a brimmed hat provides excellent protection against the sun's rays. And statistics show that the rate of cancers of the head and neck rose with the decline of hat wearing. People are wising up as more and more brimmed hats are seen in the street.

But I understand there was a story in the news today, which I can only relate second hand, that said that this is true of people with plenty of hair as well. Apparently, dangerous skin cancers are even more problematic if you have hair, because they can remain hidden in the scalp until they are more difficult to treat. Melanoma of the scalp among people with plenty of hair is becoming more common, because they don't think they are vulnerable and don't wear head protection, even though they may be gooped up with sun screen.

Even for guys with a full head of hair, hats are a good thing to wear in the sun (and wind, rain, cold and snow for that matter). There's a reason heads were always covered outdoors for centuries.

Scottie... how right you are:eusa_clap . I spent 16 years travelling in the tropics as an airline flight attendant and I started wearing a Panama after getting heat stroke in Singapore a few times when out for a prolonged walk. Since then (touch wood) no skin cancers on my face and minimal skin damage for my 55 years...gracias a mis sombreros (at least 3 inch brim BTW)...

 

[duggap]

Ugly marks

I am 63 and all my life I played golf in Florida without wearing a hat. Now I have those ugly dark blotches on my face with more developing everyday. The Dr. said wearing a hat would slow down the process a lot. So being vain as I am, I started wearing hats. I particularly like the fedoras, for no other reason than everyone does not wear one. Who wants to be a conformist(nothing personal to your hat machine Art.) My overall experiences from wearing a hat several years have been very positive. Yound girls look at me and smile now, before they just stuck out their tongues.lol

 

[Panache]

I like to wear hats because they are stylish.

I need to wear hats because I have two possible skin tones ...pallid and beet red.

Cheers

Jamie

 

[Martinis at 8]

At 50 yrs I still have a full head of hair. I started wearing fedora style hats specifically for outdoor sun protection from some of the environments I work in. I have a few hats that also have neck drapes for sun added protection. Generally I will also wear long-sleeved shirts. Even when the sun goes down the hats and the shirts help with pest control (malaria).

M8

 

[Pat_H]

Lots of guys find The Fedora Lounge because their hair starts to thin and they begin looking for a hat. It's true that a brimmed hat provides excellent protection against the sun's rays. And statistics show that the rate of cancers of the head and neck rose with the decline of hat wearing. People are wising up as more and more brimmed hats are seen in the street.

But I understand there was a story in the news today, which I can only relate second hand, that said that this is true of people with plenty of hair as well. Apparently, dangerous skin cancers are even more problematic if you have hair, because they can remain hidden in the scalp until they are more difficult to treat. Melanoma of the scalp among people with plenty of hair is becoming more common, because they don't think they are vulnerable and don't wear head protection, even though they may be gooped up with sun screen.

Even for guys with a full head of hair, hats are a good thing to wear in the sun (and wind, rain, cold and snow for that matter). There's a reason heads were always covered outdoors for centuries.

Excellent post.

In one of my two jobs, I get major sun exposure. And it that occupation (raising cattle) broad brim hats remain very common. For purely practical reasons. And the serious ones too, not a floppy booney hat.

FWIW, the Department of Agriculture came out with a study which is now about 20 years old actually urging farmers to stop wearing "feed caps", the free hats Feed stores pass out of the baseball style. They partially attributed the rise in skin cancer in farmers to the wearing of free feed caps, which had supplanted broad brim hats in considerable numbers.

 

[Pat_H]

I started wearing fedoras years ago because I just liked the way they looked. But I am also very, very sun sensitive and the wide brim lid is perfect for me. Highly recommended by my wife also, who is a dermatologist..KC

Great looking hat in that Avatar photo.

 

[Pat_H]

Excellent post.

In one of my two jobs, I get major sun exposure. And it that occupation (raising cattle) broad brim hats remain very common. For purely practical reasons. And the serious ones too, not a floppy booney hat.

FWIW, the Department of Agriculture came out with a study which is now about 20 years old actually urging farmers to stop wearing "feed caps", the free hats Feed stores pass out of the baseball style. They partially attributed the rise in skin cancer in farmers to the wearing of free feed caps, which had supplanted broad brim hats in considerable numbers.

To follow up just a tad, and noting what others have noted above, my father, who had a lot of sun exposure when he was young, and did develop basal cell carcinoma he attributed to a bad burn, was zealous about reminding me to wear a hat if I was going out in the sticks, while a kid. That may be where my fondness of hats developed.

My wife, today, is very zealous about having our kids wear them, although in town that's usually a ball cap.

 

[Pat_H]

I started wearing fedoras years ago because I just liked the way they looked. But I am also very, very sun sensitive and the wide brim lid is perfect for me. Highly recommended by my wife also, who is a dermatologist..KC

Excellent points. The ball cap, as noted in my post above, is actually associated somewhat with the rise of skin cancer, as it doesn't shield the way a broad brimmed hat does.

 

[Pat_H]

I am 63 and all my life I played golf in Florida without wearing a hat. Now I have those ugly dark blotches on my face with more developing everyday. The Dr. said wearing a hat would slow down the process a lot. So being vain as I am, I started wearing hats. I particularly like the fedoras, for no other reason than everyone does not wear one. Who wants to be a conformist(nothing personal to your hat machine Art.) My overall experiences from wearing a hat several years have been very positive. Yound girls look at me and smile now, before they just stuck out their tongues.lol

While I've almost always worn hats, I have some skin damage from a brief period when I was a teenager and didn't (peer pressure, you know), when in town. I worked as a life guard.

It doesn't take much to do it, and a hat, and other proper clothing, helps a great deal.