UPF clothing vs SPF for optimal sun protection?

First off, as a board certified dermatologist, I would never tell you to pick just UPF clothing or just sunscreen as your sun protection strategy. The best option is to use multiple avenues to help protect your skin, including both clothing, SPF, seeking shade, and avoiding the peak hours of highest UV intensity in the middle of the day when possible. 

But when it comes to an overall strategy, relying more heavily on UPF clothing and hats and saving sunscreen for any remaining sun-exposed areas (like the face, neck, backs of hands) is definitely the most fail safe way to avoid sun burns and excessive tanning. 

Why? Because clothing (particularly items with a UPF rating of 30 or higher) doesn’t lose its effectiveness in protecting your skin throughout the day, doesn’t wear off with sweating or swimming, and you don’t have to worry about missing a hard to reach spot like the middle of your back. 

The problem with relying on mostly sunscreen to protect very large areas of exposed skin is that it increases your chances of ending the day with a burn because it’s so easy to forget to reapply every 2 hours, and it’s hard to remember to evenly coat every square inch of bare skin. For infants and children who can burn even more quickly in the sun than adults, UPF clothing is an even more important option for providing quick, easy, and comprehensive sun protection for the whole day.