9 Best Sun Parasols for UV Sun Protection

One of the most stylish ways to protect your skin from harmful UV rays is with a sun parasol!

Sun parasols are basically sun umbrellas that you use outside (though some models can be used inside too). They provide shade and protection against UV radiation, while also being lightweight and easy-to-carry anywhere!

Parasols are perfect for not only keeping the sun at bay, but also adding to your dress up attire with elegant lace. The shade coverage provided by a sun parasol allows for natural sun protection against direct sunlight.

Parasols are extremely versatile as they can be adjusted depending on how much cover you need, and they’re often much lighter than umbrellas. Plus, parasols pack tons of personality, with many designs boasting elegant lace and elaborate stitching that looks like something out of the past.

Our List of the Best Parasols for Sun Protection

1. Handmade Blue Lace Parasol

The Handmade Blue Lace Parasol provides a vintage, delicate feel that’s perfect for outdoor weddings or just lounging on the beach.

The 30″ diameter parasol features a lightweight design and won’t weigh you down when carrying it from place to place. The wooden handle and lace design adds just the right amount of beauty to your outings without making them too formal so you can still enjoy some sun protection while looking feminine and stylish.

2. VIVI SKY Pagoda Peak Parasol

The VIVI SKY Pagoda Peak Parasol is great parasol with an old-fashioned vintage look that’s sure to draw attention. With it’s peaked pagoda shape, it’s a parasol brimming with classical elegance, making it a great choice for use at a wedding or any other special occasion.

Featuring strong metal ribs and skeleton, it’s designed to hold up well under a variety of weather conditions. With a diameter of 36″, it should be enough to cover two people huddled together.

This parasol promises UV protection, but doesn’t include a UPF rating. However, since it does not have lace holes, it should provide more UPF protection than some others on this list.

We especially love the idea of using this parasol for an Instagram photoshoot, since the style is so unique. This parasol also comes in several colors, including ivory, black, pink, and purple.

3. BABEYOND Lace Vintage Parasol

The BABEYOND Lace Vintage Parasol is perfect for people seeking a beautiful and practical parasol to protect them from the sun.

The lace detail on this 30″ diameter parasol will make you feel like you’re in a romantic novel all day long, while also staying protected under its canopy of colorful cover.

This lace parasol features a wooden handle along with sturdy metal rubs. It has a unique beauty, along with providing ample coverage to stay in the shade anytime anywhere! Whether for a prom or a cosplay outfit, this lace parasol is sure to impress bystanders.

4. Honeystore Vintage Lace UV Sun Parasol

The Honeystore Vintage Lace UV Sun Parasol is the perfect accessory for weddings, outdoor events or to use while traveling in style!

We especially love that this 34″ diameter parasol umbrella features double layer embroidery lace, which makes it much more durable than your average lace parasol. These double layers are also what give this parasol its UPF 50 rating, allowing for better UV coverage closer to what you might get with a UV umbrella.

While the top of the parasol comes in dozens of different bright, colorful lace patterns, the under layer is black to provide reliable UV protection from the sun.

5. AEAOA Bamboo Cloth Parasol

The AEOAA Bamboo Cloth Parasol has a unique design that’s different than most of the other parasols detailed here, with an open flat top. This flat design allows for the parasol to be very lightweight and shows off the parasol’s stylish bamboo design and innards.

While it boasts a unique look that will work great for photos and comes in several bright colors, this style of umbrella does not provide as much sun coverage, since the flat top only results in a small wedge of shade to guard against the sun.

6. Totes Women’s Auto Open Ruffle Stick

This fun and whimsical Totes Ruffled Parasol Umbrella is a must-have for when you want a parasol that functions a bit more like a standard umbrella.

While the design is closer to a traditional umbrella, the ruffle on the edges adds a dash of style that we’d classify as more akin to a parasol!

Another benefit of a parasol that’s more umbrella-like is that this ruffled parasol has an automaton opening mechanism that makes it easy to open quickly. Just press the button on the handle and voila! It pops open.

This parasol also boasts an impressive 45″, providing generous coverage for two people.

7. Orgrimmar Ladies Lace Parasol

The Orgrimmar Ladies Lace Parasol is another fantastic sun parasol option. This parasol is designed with an anti-UV material, giving it a UPF 50 rating that blocks out harmful rays.

This parasol also features exquisite embroidery over the lace fabric, giving off a beautiful three-dimensional effect to draw in the eyes. The metal ribs provide sturdy support for the parasol’s shape whether it’s open or closed, keeping it secure. It comes in grey, purple, gold, and black.

8. Outdoor Lace Parasol with 95% UV Protection

This Outdoor Lace Umbrella Parasol is another glamorous parasol option that bridges the gap between parasol and umbrella. With three layers of lace trim and edge ruffles, it looks extra stylish.

Promising to block 95% of UV rays, this folding parasol even comes with a matching lace bag for storing the parasol. The item comes in four fun colors: purple, cream, pink, and lavender.

9. Chinese Oiled Paper Parasol

This traditional Chinese Oiled Paper Parasol is handmade from natural bamboo and waterproof paper.

It’s just the parasol for Asian design themes and features a decorative dragon on the top. While the flat top doesn’t make this parasol the best option for true sun protection, it offers a bit of shade and a ton of style for any special occasion.

How to Choose a Sun Parasol: What to Consider

Design

Design is a major factor to consider when choosing a parasol. Sun parasols come in a variety of designs, with fashion-oriented parasols feature lace and beautiful embellishments.

However, these gorgeous lacey works of art are not usually the most durable and tend to lack a high UV rating (lace is not a great UV blocking material since it’s thin and has many holes, allowing plenty of sun to get through).

Other parasols are more like UV umbrellas, with a similar shape and style to an umbrella, but with a few more decorative elements.

Keep color in mind as well – most classically styled parasols come primarily in white, but some feature other bright color options too.

UV Protection

Some parasols are made with UV protection in mind, but others won’t do as much to protect against the sun’s harmful rays. Since many parasols are focused on style and vintage designs, they’ll feature lace materials that are aesthetically beautiful but are not the best materials for blocking UV rays, providing little sun protection.

Consider what’s more important to you – a high UV rating or an elegant-looking parasol! You might have to negotiate between the two.

Weight

Ideally, you’ll want your sun parasol to be lightweight enough that you can carry it comfortably, but with a design sturdy enough to keep its shape. Most of the more elegant parasols feature stunning lacework and designs at a cost to portability – the more gorgeous the parasol, the less compact it will likely be!

If you’re looking for a sun protection parasol that’s more focused on function over form, consider opting for a UV umbrella – they are basically umbrellas designed for sun protection, and they tend to be much more lightweight, compact, and simple (as well as cheaper) than the more elegantly-styled parasols.

Handle

What kind of handle do you want on your parasol? Some people prefer a modern ergonomic design, while others opt for a vintage-styled handle that is more reminiscent of a time period when parasols were used daily by nearly everyone!

If you plan on adding sun protection gloves to your outfit, make sure that you’ll still be able to easily grip your parasol with the gloves on, as some UV protection gloves can be quite slippery!

Shape & Shade Coverage

In general, bigger is better when it comes to shade coverage. Depending on how big of an area you want to be protected under your parasol, there are different sizes available. The average-sized parasol covers one person, while larger parasols can protect closer to two people.

There’s also the shape to consider.

Some parasols have a rounded half-circle design similar to an umbrella. However, other parasols feature a flat circular top that doesn’t have any side edges. These flat-style parasols are commonly found as traditional Asian parasols, and while they have a beautiful style, they can be a bit trickier to shade yourself with.

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The best parasols for sun protection vary in style, design, and coverage. Some provide a substantial UPF factor to block UV rays, while others are less practical but have an incredible one-of-a-kind design. Our favorites are the sun parasols that provide solid UV protection while also boasting a beautiful look.

Ultimately, you’ll need to weight how much sun protection you want vs what parasol style works best for you look.

What is your favorite style of parasol? Let us know in the comments!