Why wear a rash guard for snorkeling?! aka UV swim shirts or sun shirts 🌴🐠

ALOHA!

So if you’re getting ready for your first snorkeling trip… maybe snorkeling in Hawaii (like on Oahu, on Maui, or on the Big Island)… maybe snorkeling in the Florida Keys… you may be getting started on figuring out what some of the essentials for snorkeling are.

And if you haven’t already, if you’re going to Hawaii, then soon enough you’ll probably hear about a suggestion of wearing a rash guard for when you go snorkeling.

So…

What is a rash guard?!

You’ve probably seen pictures of surfers.

In which case, these are the types of shirts that is common for surfers to wear.

A rash guard quite literally is a “guard” against a “rash.”

One of the “rashes” that was “guarded” against was said to be chafing from skin to surfboard contact as surfers were paddling out to sea.

But as a snorkeler, your skin isn’t rubbing against anything.

After all, you’re mostly just casually swimming along looking for fish and turtles.

So then…

Why wear a rash guard when you go snorkeling?

Well, if you consider sunburn to be a rash…

Another one of the rashes that a rash guard protects against is sunburn.

For snorkeling, one of the biggest reasons to wear a rash guard aka swim shirt is for that sun protection.

And, if you want to be environmentally friendly, then wearing a swim shirt is the environmentally-friendly option compared to wearing sunscreen! (Sunscreen has chemicals. You wear sunscreen. You go into water. Toxic chemicals also go into the water. Marine life are impacted by these toxic chemicals. That’s what they say is the reason for the banning of sales of certain sunscreen in Hawaii anyway.)

So wearing a swim shirt that has built-in UV protection (which rash guards generally do!) means that you have less skin exposed.

And having less skin exposed means that you need to apply less sunscreen!

It also means that you don’t need to be as concerned with making sure to re-apply sunscreen throughout the day too. Although it’s still a good idea to apply sunscreen on the skin that’s still exposed, but a swim shirt means a lot less sunscreen you need to apply!

Remember, when you’re snorkeling, your entire backside is going to be exposed to the sun.

And since you’re likely going snorkeling in a tropical destination, also keep in mind that the sun is probably stronger than you’re used to back home. Meaning, it can be a good idea to be extra careful about protecting yourself from the sun!

Now…

Find your perfect rash guard for snorkeling!

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And if you don’t have a dedicated underwater camera, you may want a waterproof phone case to turn your phone into an underwater camera!