What is the difference between polycotton and polyester fabrics?

Polyester is a man-made fabric which results in a garment which is extremely light and comfortable to wear, with excellent quick drying and chlorine resistant properties.

Polycotton is a more natural fabric and feels more like the t-shirts that you put on your children. This is ideal for infant or sensitive skins, but takes a little longer to dry than polyester.

Both fabrics achieve the same SPF of 50+ and fit in the same way. Neither of the fabrics are hot to wear, and it is purely down to your own personal preference which fabric you decide to buy.

Back

Why do you only use Polycotton for your baby range?

We only use polycotton in our baby wetties because we feel it is more pleasant for the infant if they are not put in totally synthetic fabrics – you wouldn’t put your baby in a nylon dress or pair of trousers so why should they wear a nylon sunsuit?

Back

Why don’t you use nylon lycra in your garments?

We have made a conscious decision to move away from the traditional nylon lycra sunsuit as this can be perceived as hot and clammy to wear.

Back

Aren’t sunsuits hot?

No. Although sunsuits would appear to be hot to wear, children do not find them unpleasant even in the hottest of climates. In fact once they have worn a sunsuit and realise that they no longer have to suffer two hourly suncream applications, children become very keen indeed to wear their sunsuits which offers great peace of mind to Mum and Dad!

Back

Why is it so important that the garment correctly fits my child?

Look at pictures of professional surfers; they all wear skin-tight fitting sun-tops (or rash vests to give them their proper name).  These tops were originally designed in Australia to protect the surfers from getting a rash from their boards and if they were not an excellent fit they would simply rub.

Imagine coming out of the sea or pool wearing a loose fitting, soaking wet t-shirt dragging down off your body. You would very quickly become uncomfortable and cold which would result in you removing the t-shirt and exposing your skin to the sun.

This is the same with a sun protective garment. Baggy garments may appeal to the fashion sense of the child but they are not very practical. They balloon up in the water and if the child takes off their top as soon as they come out of the water, you have wasted your money.

Our garments are sized to fit snuggly and provide a ‘second skin’ for the body – a protective skin. If the garment fits well your child will quickly forget they are wearing it, will not get cold or uncomfortable when they come out of the water and will happily keep the garment on all day – thus receiving the protection from the sun that it was bought to provide.

We therefore strongly advise you not to order ‘the next size up’ for your child. Please do use the sizing guide and measure your children before you order, rather than relying solely on age.

Back

Why do you only make all-in-one suits for babies?

We are parents ourselves and have learnt that a crawling infant wearing a 2-piece suit on a beach is a parental disaster. A wet nappy drags the shorts down so that a bad case of ‘builders bottom’ quickly appears and then the nappy gets filled with sand. Trying to change a sandy bottom is not pleasant for parent or baby!

In an all-in-one suit your baby becomes a neat little package and it is very easy to change their nappies by undoing the zip or using the crotch poppers.

Back

Why do you not make all-in-one suits for children over the age of 2 years?

As mentioned before, we are parents ourselves and have first hand knowledge that once a child is at toilet training age an all-in-one suit no longer holds the attractions it used to. Toilet training a child in a zip is, for obvious reasons, very difficult - especially when there is some urgency involved!
Once toilet trained, children are far happier if they can take their shorts on and off when they need the toilet which they obviously can’t do with a zipped suit.

We also feel a 2-piece suit offers far more flexibility and can be worn as separates.

Back

Why don’t you make 2-piece garments for children over 8 years?
We have found that children nearing 9 years are becoming extremely fashion conscious and if they are going to wear a sun protective top they want it to be trendy. We have therefore based our Older Kids range on the sun tops worn by professional surfers or lifeguards.

By making this range available as separates we offer the chance to buy just the top for your child which can then be worn over existing swimwear such as board shorts or bikinis.

However, it is still very important that these garments fit well. (See Why is it important that the garments fit correctly on my child?)

Back

Wouldn’t it be better if your garments had long sleeves and long legs?
Yes, it would. However there is a limit to the lengths parents and children are prepared to go to in order to protect themselves from the sun.
We have designed our garments to cover as much of your child’s body as is socially acceptable and strongly encourage you to protect the remaining exposed skin with a very good quality suncream.

Back

Are the suits machine washable?
Yes, all our garments are machine washable on a 40 degree delicate cycle and carry full washing instructions.

Back

Why do your hats have flexible brims?
We have found over the years that, although our children were quite happy to wear their sun-hats in the water, as soon as they dived down to the bottom of the pool to fetch a hoop (or into the sea to catch a wave), the peak of their hat flipped up allowing the sun to reach their faces. Being children they never thought to put the brims back down again, so the sun hats became completely useless.

By using a neoprene brim that is flexible, the brim goes down into the water with the child and remains in situ when they surface again. This means you will not be constantly shouting at your child to put their hat brim down!

Back

Why do the POP sunglasses appear to be upside down?
Julbo have designed the POP sunglasses specifically for very small children who spend all their time looking up from their buggies or car seats directly into the sun.

Rather than having a lense that is flat across the top and rounded at the bottom like adult glasses they have reversed the shape. This makes the glasses appear to be upside down, but by having a rounded top to the lense they have ensured that the sun’s rays are blocked by the sunglasses rather than simply going over the top of the glass and into your childrens’ eyes as they look up towards you.

A very clever and well thought out design.

Back

How can I adjust the Peekaboo sunglasses to fit my child’s face.
The Peekaboo glasses have a flexible end to the arms which allows you to bend them in to fit your child’s head, ensuring a perfect fit.

Back

Can I machine wash the Aquashoes?
Yes, Aquashoes can be washed on a 40 degree delicate cycle.

Back

What size Aquashoe should I buy for my child?
As a rule these shoes come up fairly true to size.  The infant sizes have an easy velcro fastening so is not necessary to order a larger size in order to get it on easily.

We recommend that you order the same size Aquashoe as your childs' current shoe size.


Back

How can Ultrasun suncream last all day?
Most suncreams, once applied, simply lie on the surface of the skin forming a temporary barrier to the sun that begins to wear off from the moment it is put on. This why they need to be applied every two hours and if they are not reapplied you will burn.

Ultrasun, once applied, sinks into the skin and bonds with it for up to 24hours, and cannot be rubbed off – by towels, by water, even by your make up remover! It is important that it is applied 45 minutes prior to sun exposure so that the cream has time to bond with your skin, but once on it will provide protection all day without the need to reapply.

However, Ultrasun state that everyone has a personal ‘individual sun account’, and once the skin has received maximum sun exposure for that particular day, no suncream will be able to protect it from damage. You may not be burning, but you will be absorbing dangerous UV rays and it is time to seek shade.

For further details please visit the Swiss Ultrasun website www.ultrasun.ch and select the English option.

Back

Why is your suncream only a factor 28? Isn’t factor 60 better?
No. Ultrasun is tested to the Australian suncream standards where the highest protection factor possible is SPF 30.  Ultrasun has achieved almost the highest standard possible.

Prosport is tested to US standards where the standard attainable is much higher. 
Back