Fabrics that enhance and deliver sun's therapeutic rays
Source: Apparel World Date: 2008-07-10
SunSoul Inc, a Toronto-based company, has developed fabrics - and clothing - that enhance and deliver the sun's therapeutic rays to the skin, treating acne and providing skin rejuvenation as well as delivering ultra-high (50+) UV protection.
The patent pending technology fuses fluorescent compounds to the micro-fibre of the material, resulting in the conversion of harmful UV rays and broad spectrum sunlight into amplified narrow bands of beneficial light when exposed to the sun. The transmitted light can be adjusted to different wavelengths by simply changing the colour of the SunSoul fabric's pigment system. Clinical trials have yielded significant results.
Blumod helps improve the appearance of troubled skin due to acne and yelomod helps rejuvenate damaged or aging skin. Both SunSoul collections offer casual, sports-oriented shirts, tops, caps and visors that deliver their therapeutic benefits when worn in the sun a few hours a week.
"The technology," says Toronto cosmetic plastic surgeon, Dr. Stephen Mulholland, "is revolutionary. It's opening a door to a new realm in the treatment of skin concerns and providing simple solutions that people can take charge of themselves." Dr. Mulholland is a part of the team that created SunSoul.
Using light energy to treat skin disorders is common practice among dermatologists and cosmetic surgeons worldwide. SunSoul's new technology means many more people will now have access to healthier-looking skin without the high cost and inconvenience of time-consuming physician office visits and medical procedures.
The blumod material is treated with a proprietary fluorescent blue pigment system that captures the sun's harmful UV light, converting, amplifying and transmitting it to the skin as blue light. Blue light has been proven in dermatological procedures to be effective in eradicating acne causing bacteria.
The blumod material triggers a process called Photo Dynamic Therapy (PDT), in which blue light reacts with tiny molecules generated by skin bacteria, called porphyrins, mixing it with oxygen, to suppress bacterial growth. The fluorescent blue material - blumod - only needs to be worn in the sun a few hours a week to help improve the appearance of troubled skin.
Yelomod, SunSoul's collection of simple clothing created for skin rejuvenation, amplifies yellow light transmission through the fabric to the skin - the same yellow light that is the foundation of the rejuvenating laser treatments used by dermatologists.
The fabric is treated with a proprietary fluorescent yellow pigment system that both amplifies the sun's existing yellow light and converts harmful UV light into beneficial rejuvenating light.
Both blumod and yelomod have an exceptional additional benefit: a UPF of 50+. The fluorescent dyes capture and convert UV light to beneficial light, while the dense knit of the lightweight microfibre nylon and spandex provides an additional barrier to the transmission of harmful UV rays.
