To wonder why more adults don't wear rash vests

[Hardingham291]

On holiday in Greece, it's 41 degrees and rising. I'm wearing my long sleeved rash vest in the pool. It's so easy, don't have to worry about how long I've been in the water for or re applying the sun cream all over my body. Its also great for keeping cool if you leave it on after a swim.

A few kids are wearing them but I'm the only adults. So many burnt shoulders here. Why aren't they a 'thing'?

You're clearly not a redhead then! It's very difficult in hot weather where there's no shade like in the pool, even with factor 50 on

YANBU, But I do think it really depends on how easily you burn. I’m pale and burn very easily and it would never occur to me NOT to wear a rash vest once I discovered them (for some reason I used to think they were only for sporty/surfy people 🤣). No more uncomfortable than swimsuits imo. And far less uncomfortable/more practical than heavy spf 50.

But so many people seem to be obsessed with getting a tan (which I secretly think makes white people look like a rotisserie chicken 🫣- a tan is actually sun damage after all, although I admit to being envious sometimes of naturally darker skinned folk). I’d never say that in RL though 🤣

No, but they still feel clingy and stick to you when wet and aren't particularly comfortable to dry off in. They're also pretty hot.

I wear one for sea activities that need one: snorkeling, body boarding, under a wetsuit if chilly. As soon as I'm on the beach, it comes off and I'll sit in the shade of the sun is too strong.

I'd much rather wear a loose cotton / linen shirt / cover up for sun protection.

If we're designed to be in the sun why do we get burnt and get skin cancer from the sun? I've had agonising sunburn that blistered when I was younger, I don't feel designed to be in the sun!

I'm super pale but I hate the feeling of rash vests. I'm very good with suncream and keep out of the sun when not in the water and I never burn

I don’t wear one because I don’t want to. I apply plenty of factor 50 though and have never burned.

Aren't they unbearably hot? They look really uncomfortable. I just stay in the shade

Fuck no. They actually keep you cooler as don’t allow the sun through. Also not uncomfortable. I only started wearing them as an adult when I had kids to ‘model it’ as normal behaviour, but didn’t find it uncomfortable at all. I now even wear them if sightseeing in a hot place, as they are super light and keep you cooler than normal light clothes that cover you up in the sun. It does look weird as fuck if the place you are at is nowhere near a beach but I stopped giving a shit about what others think decades ago, I only care about comfort and health.

If that were true people wouldn't get burnt would they? We know now that even getting a tan is a sign of sun damage.

I'm with you OP, I love a rash vest and also shorts. No need to worry about bikini line, no need to keep slathering on the sun cream (which I hate). DH burnt his shoulders very badly in Malaysia while swimming in the sea, didn't notice at the time at all. Now he always wears a rash vest too.

It’s just individual choice. If I’m in a pool on holiday I’m not wearing much let alone long sleeves. Regular applications of suncream is fine for me. Not sure why you can’t just enjoy your choices without looking at what other people are doing, tbh.

Former Marie Curie nurse, skin cancer is not a good thing to have. People need to educate themselves about the damaging effects of sunburn.

I travel solo so putting sun cream on my back is tricky without help.

I wear one of my running T-shirts on top of my costume if I'm swimming for any length of time. I guess it's similar to a rash vest. Doesn't go droopy like a normal T-shirt would.

I wear a rash vest and swim shorts when I am in Greece - mainly because we go sailing so are usually doing something with sails / lines / the engine. It’s easy to get distracted and forget to put on sunscreen.

I did burn quite badly on my lower back though - my rash vest rose up and I hadn’t realised. They are not a magic solution.

Totally agree with you OP.
Yes it's another layer but it's really not an 'extra' feel when it comes to swimming. I don't need to worry about suncream washing off etc. I can stay as long as I like in the pool. I take it off when I exit the pool, and sit in the shade and am happy with just sunscreen here.

I don't understand how people are so casual about tanning and its risks. And I say that as someone who loves sunshine and heat. It's a known carcinogen. Like smoking. Never mind the ageing effects.

Rash vest all the way. So handy.

No convincing needed here, agree they are amazing! Total game changer. Working on a tan not really in my vocabulary!

I consider it a huge failing if I come back fromholiday any less deathly white than when I set off.

Finally, someone with my ethos!!

In my part of the US, most people who wear them are Muslim women who don’t wear regular swimsuits for religious reasons. So I’ve got that association with them, and wearing one would feel weird to me. Like wearing an Amish-style dress or something.

I was the only adult wearing one in the hotel pool in Greece. Plenty of kids in them.

Should be fine as they are tight and not "outdoors" clothes. You wouldn't be allowed to wear a normal t-shirt. Water parks may say short sleeve only.

I also bought a short sleeve swimsuit which had a high totally covered back which also helped protect my back and shoulders which are definitely the areas which I burn

My husband wears one as he has very pale skin and a huge scar from back injury which is painful if he gets burnt. I don't wear one as I'm capable of putting sun cream on, totally agree that so many people on holidays just don't put cream on, or at least not enough, and get burnt to a crisp.

Because I love the sun and want to tan.

lands end also sell basically swim skorts - game changer if you are in the pool with kids for hours and don’t want to have to keep slathering the spf 50 on!

obviously, they’re not glamorous and you will end up with a farmer’s tan if you forget to do your face hands and neck!

No, because I have olive skin, I am aware of and know how to use suncream, I don't sunbathe and don't sit directly in hot sun between 12pm and 3pm because I'm not an idiot.

I swim and then cover my back and shoulders with a loose cotton blouse or scarf when out of the water.

Some countries literally don't allow it.

I was made out to be dodgy AF (as if I'm some kind of terrorist) in France. They sent security to remove me from the pool this was after I had already gone threw 2 verification checks and getting 'special permission' to wear it after proving it was legit swim wear not street wear.

However the leather grandma parading around topless in a thong by the kiddy pool was absoloutly normal and fine to them with not an eyelash batted. Funny thing is kids where allowed rash vest and all in ones it was just adult that HAD to be scantly clad.

Utterly bizarre that you have to be practically naked to use the pool there.

You don’t lie on a sun lounger in a rash vest! You wear a bikini or swimsuit underneath, pop it on to swim, then take it off again. So much easier than battling with sunscreen all over your back.

I don’t lie on sun loungers in my swimwear; I always wear a long sleeved shirt, hat and sunglasses and sit under an umbrella. I have Fitzpatrick type 1 skin so there really isn’t any sun exposure that’s beneficial for me.

Using clothing to cover up will always protect you more than sunscreen alone.