Everybody’s got a pair of sunnies in their bag. And if you don’t have a bag, you have a car. And if you don’t have a bag or a car, you have bedroom. See where we’re going here? Everyone has old pairs of sunglasses lying around. That’s what makes it so easy to fix scratched sunglass lenses.
But despite their titular promise of keeping the sun out of your eyes, some brands simply don’t do as well as others in that department. In fact, it’s really not a “brand” issue as much as it’s a “type” issue. For example, the cheapo plastic pairs you can pick up at pretty much any five-and-dime store aren’t going to do you much good for extended afternoons hitting the slopes in ski country. That’s because the basic plastic pairs weren’t engineered for proper protection.
Plus, inexpensive sunnies aren’t particularly well made, which means their lenses pop out quite a bit more often. And it’s not worth looking into sunglasses replacement lenses for those pairs because the actual replacement process would cost more than the specs themselves. Easy solution? Buy a thousand pairs! Then you’ll never run into problems replacing sunglass lenses, right?
Wrong. Horribly, terribly, tragically wrong.
It’s tempting to fix scratched sunglass lenses by grabbing as many cheap pairs as you can find. But truth be told, the cheaper your sunglasses, the more UV rays you’re actually allowing to damage your eyes. It’s not enough to pick up a plastic pair and go venturing out onto the beach — your eyes will really be better off if you do your homework first. Try to pick the types with the most protection. Here’s a good list to get you going:
Blue-blocking lenses
We mentioned skiing above, and you’re planning to hit the slopes, try to invest in at least one good pair of these to help you see more clearly in the distance. These will keep your retinas safe from soaking up too much UV light, but be careful when you wear them behind the wheel — especially when coming to a traffic light.
Polarized lenses
What are polarized lenses? Think of them as serious glare fighters that allow you to fully see what’s in front of you without the harsh reflections of sunlight bouncing off the lenses. These are also popular with skiers but also among any athletes who spent a lot of time in or near the water. The secret is in the lenses’ protective anti-glare coating — that’s how polarized lenses filter UV rays the best.
Photochromatic lenses
We’re living in an age of smartphones, so why not opt into smart glasses as well? Photochromatic lenses will shift to either darker or lighter tones in order to adjust to the light around you. While extremely useful in the car or on the go, the downside is that they take some time to get used to changing light conditions.
No matter which option you go with to fix scratched sunglass lenses, you really can’t afford to sacrifice protection for convenience (or style, for that matter). Always choose the pair of sunnies that keeps your retinas safe. Check the UV ray protection level or talk to an optometrist for more info. Check out this site for more.
