Atlantic Star Safety

Sunglasses

Most people buy sunglasses to shield their eyes from bright sunlight. Often when buying them, they pay more attention to fashion and how the pair they are interested in looks on them. And then there's the cost consideration. Most people don't even care how they look in their sunglasses as long as they don't have to squint. On this page, we'll touch on what to look for when you're buying sunglasses.

Sunglasses in a Practical Light

When purchasing sunglasses, your primary concern should be protecting your eyes from ultraviolet light since it can damage both the retina and the cornea. Most of us don't realize that (or at least don't think about it) when buying sunglasses. We just don't want to squint. Incidentally, squinting is caused when too much light gets into your eyes. This causes the iris to close, and once it's closed as far as it can, you squint. At that point, if your eye is still getting too much light, it can damage your retina. That's why sunglasses are so important--particularly when you're in places where a lot more light is reflected (off snow or water, for example).

When you're buying your sunglasses, it's okay to be concerned about fashion and how they look on you, but you also have to be sure they provide 100% UV protection. Here are some other things to consider:

Lens Material - There are different types of lens materials, but the three most common are CR-39 (a type of hard plastic), polycarbonate (which is a synthetic plastic that's very strong yet surprisingly lightweight) and glass, which is more scratch-resistant.
Lens Darkness - The darkness of the lenses you choose should depend on what you're using them for. For skiing, you want to get very dark lenses, but you can go a little lighter for driving or going to the beach or pool, and even lighter if your sunglasses are strictly for fashion purposes.
Lens coatings - Some sunglass lenses come with coatings that make them scratch resistant, waterproof or anti-reflective. Another popular coating is a mirrored coating. While nice to have, these coatings do raise the price.
Frames - Cheaper sunglasses have wire or plastic frames, but higher-quality frames are composite or metal frames. It's also good to look for spring-hinge frames instead of screws.

You don't have to spend hundreds of dollars to get good quality lenses, just keep these things in mind.