Why sun protection is important for your baby in winter

With the colder weather now fully upon us, it's so easy to forget that in our part of the world,  proper sun protection for you and your baby is still a must during winter. It happens to all of us - when the sun is out on a bright winter day, all we want to do is get out there, soak up some of those warming sunshine rays and forget about the boring daily sun care routine.

The sciencey bit - why you still need to protect your baby from UV in winter. 

A winter sun is less intense than a summer sun, because the Earth's axis is tilted so UV rays have further to travel through the atmosphere and are much weaker by the time they reach us. This means the sun appears smaller and less powerful and you're less likely to actually burn if you're outdoors in the sun.

But a lower level of UV rays still come through even on the cloudiest of winter days, particularly as the ozone layer above Australia has been so depleted. 

Think of your baby's UV exposure like a tap filling a bucket with water, When the UV is high during summer, the tap is on full and the bucket fills quickly. When the UV is low during winter, the tap drips water and the bucket fills more slowly. But it is still filling…

The fact that it takes us a much longer time to burn during winter disguises the drip-drip-drip effect of all little bits of damage through UV exposure to young skin which all add up and can lead to health effects later on down the line. 

What sun protection should I use to protect my baby during winter? 

This bit is the easy part. Your baby's winter sun care routine should simply mirror their summer one, which means using the following five "S" forms of sun care:

• Shade - use a properly tested, breathable UPF50+ sun shade such as our musluv baby sun covers to cover your pram (don't forget that a winter sun hangs lower in the sky and more directly into a tilted pram) or on-body baby carrier. Ordinary muslins are no good here for blocking UV!  
• Slip - keep a few extra layers in your baby bag to slip on them and cover up against UV and cold breezes.
• Slap - wide brimmed bucket or legionnaire hats are great for protecting delicate necks and faces. 
• Slop - a specially formulated baby sunscreen is a great addition to your sun care kit, once your baby hits 6 months old. 
• Slide - a good quality pair of baby sunglasses with a strap will help keep your baby protected against the uncomfortable glare from a low hanging winter sun shining directly into their eyes.