Sunhats- why aren’t these worn more?

[Strawblue]

I’m curious as to why more people don’t wear sunhats given the extreme heat we’ve been getting over the years, and messages about covering up due to the risk of sunburn and melanoma etc? Even the days when it was 41 deg for two days a few weeks ago absolutely no parents were wearing hats at pick-up (many walk to/from school too).

I walk everywhere as I can’t drive and I get boiling hot. I bought a sunhat (like a straw one) last summer and rarely wear it outside of our garden as I feel so self-conscious that you don’t often seen them worn off a beach.

I wondered why people don’t wear them? Obviously this is a question for people who are out in the sun a lot and not those who go everywhere by car so are protected more.

Is it you don’t like hats, ‘hat hair,’ not fashionable, feel you don’t suit them, etc,? I want to wear my hat but feel such an idiot because most people don’t wear one when out walking. FIL says I should do as I like and stop worrying what other people think but I’ve been been able to be fashionable and feel like people are staring at me thinking I look like an idiot!

I hate the feeling of hats on my head, whether it’s sun hats or woolly hats in winter. Never wear them.

Myself and my children have hats brought from local NT property shop. Always gets compliments. Eldest has a blue straw one and a gardeners hat, I have like a grey cotton one and a gardeners hat, youngest has a straw hat with ribbon on it.

shop.nationaltrust.org.uk/wide-brim-gardener-hat-with-removable-straps.html

shop.nationaltrust.org.uk/cotton-safari-sun-hat.html

Can't find the one I brought for my son but these are lovely and can put their initials on
www.boutiquebonita.com/the-hat-collection/childboater

I didn't know wearing a hat was shameful and something to be embarrassed about.

I love hats but they do make me hotter in this weather. I bought a sun visor on holiday and have started wearing that though I’m worried it makes me look like an elderly American tourist.

And of course you don’t get as much protection as you do with a hat.

I wear a big floppy straw hat all the time! I’m surprised people are so self conscious about it on this thread.

I'm on a bit of a quest for the perfect sun hat and have just ordered 2 from Zara. Hopefully they can be made to work.

As pp pointed out, in a typical summer it's hard to get value from a sunhat in the UK.

Have a Tilly Hat. I love it. I've had it a very long time now though and it's brown which doesn't wiork with my wardrobe :(

My DF got skin cancer on his scalp. My parting always burns. I wear a sunhat. Don't care how ridiculous I look. Rather that than cancer

A hat makes my head feel very hot, and like other posters, I cant get my hair up under the hat, so I have to leave it down and hate the feeling of sticky hair all round my neck

I also have a problem across the front of my forehead, an old scar from an operation which makes it painful and uncomfortable to have something pressing it on, its the same with a cycling helmet which is why I avoid wearing those too.

I'm always amazed at how few people wear hats in the sun. I feel a little hotter for the first few minutes, then massively cooler than I would be with the sun beating down on my head.
My mum has always worn a wide brimmed hat and now I do, I happen to think it looks very glam and I often get complimented on it!
I also had to have a skin cancer removed from the top of my head caused purely by sun exposure as a teenager. My thick blonde hair did not protect me from that.

I've been wearing one during this heatwave but I always take it off as soon as I can get in the shade as my head is boiling, but I prefer that to the feeling of the sun on my head and face. It makes me feel really unwell. I do hate it though. Sweaty hair and a mark from the band on my forehead, and they never seem to quite go with what I'm wearing. I've got a standard straw fedora style and a rounder floppy wide brimmed straw one. They are a pain to take anywhere as they don't travel well.

I wear a cotton sun hat with brim for gardening. I use a scalp/hair spray for when running.

I'd like a nice straw hat or something to wear.

I've bought a big straw type one from H&M this year and bloody hell it's brilliant. I'm annoyed it's taken me this long. I'm debating adding two little thin straps so I can tie it up under my hair when there's a stiff breeze.

Scalp spray is factor 30. I too worry about skin cancer as I've had a mole (non cancerous) removed in the past and I'm very pale with dark/strawberry blonde hair; I don't tan as I spray myself in spf 50 (though I'm getting a lot of freckles in this weather still).

God, I'm old and after getting badly sunburned last year (stupid twat I am) I wear my sun hat loads!

I bloody loves it!

Think it was £7 from accessorise last year - bargain

IDGAF what anyone else thinks of me

Main reason, they never fit my big head!
About 2% of hats I have tried fit me.
And those 2% have not suited me.

Now I'm getting grey and last year I could feel my scalp burning more easily.

I got a similar big floppy one from oasis via asos for holidays but never wear it in this country except for in my garden. Don't know why as I regularly burn my scalp. Same with bucket hat at festival

I always wear a hat in the sun, but then I wear hats all year round. I also carry a parasol when it's very hot. I'm extremely blonde with fair skin and I don't want to risk getting a tan, I like to be as pale as possible.

I've got a big head so I buy men's hats. Game changer.

I have baseball caps for running, but I know full well they don’t suit me. I really struggle to find hats that suit me tbh. I had a bloke’s
fedora-type hat that I bought cheaply at a beach shop a few years ago, but it got so squashed that it just lost all its shape and now I can’t find it anyway. However, my quest continues….! I think what I want may not exist though as it needs structure but also not to get easily squashed. And not to cost an arm and a leg. And to accommodate a ponytail or bun as I hate hair on my neck in the heat. Not easy…!

I am currently wearing a straw trilby type one. But you're right OP, I've only just got confident enough to wear it out and about. Which is weird because I don't generally care that much what people think of my clothes.

I've got fine hair and have burned my scalp so many times, plus have pigmentation on my forehead that spf makes no difference to. It also encourages my children to wear theirs. Hats for the win!

I never leave the house in all seasons without a hat (and factor 50 as I’m a bit vain…) all autumn and winter long I wear a warm hat so have really just got used to it. In spring and summer I just get a straw type hat from M&S. I take my hair down to put it on, in a plait for example then pin it up when I take hat off in office for eg. Sorry to hear you’re feeling self conscious. I suggest you wear it proudly you may start a trend!

I’ve just been. Wearing my white baseball cap on the beach this morning, it was lovely. I kept looking at the others who were mostly hat-less and thinking about how their faces would be ageing in the hot sun! Plus I had a skin cancer scare earlier in the year. White is a good colour for keeping cool.

if you wear a hat you might find that others follow suit! I lived in Australia and they all wear hats there, Brits are useless at dressing for sun.

When I go running I wear a visor and a bum bag! I've decided to lean into the tourist vibe... 🤣

I’ve got a packable straw/rafia hat I’ve had for years. It’s amazing, you can fold and roll it and stuff it in your bag or suitcase It’s got a thin leather strap that runs round the brim and goes into a chin strap. If it goes out of shape you just wet it, reshape it and let it dry outside.