There’s more to choosing sunglasses than just trying on a variety of pairs and looking at the mirror. You also need to consider UV protection, durability, visibility and the shape of your head and face. In this post, we will give you a few tips on how to choose the right pair of sunglasses for this summer.
Probably the most important function of sunglasses is to protect your eyes. Exposure to UV radiation can cause a number of serious health problems like cataracts, burns and cancer. If you want to be sure that your sunglasses offer adequate protection for these health risks, look for a pair, which can block at least 99% of UVB rays and at least 95% of UVA rays. It’s not a good idea to buy sunglasses, labeled as ‘cosmetic’ or sunglasses with no information on UV protection.
Another important decision you need to make, concerning sunglasses, is on their style. There are many different styles, shapes and sizes. Among the most popular include:
Mirror shades have mirror coating on the surface. Most often, they come in an aviator or wraparound shape. You can see mirror shades, used by the police officers in the US.
Aviator sunglasses have lens, shaped like a teardrop and thin metal frames. They are usually worn by pilots, military personnel or law-enforcement personnel in the US. This type of sunglasses looks with any face shape, but is best for oval faces.
Wayfarers or Spicolis were very popular in the 1950s and 1960. This is the type of sunglasses Audrey Hepburn wore in the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s from 1961.
Teashades are made popular by John Lennon and Ozzy Osbourne. However, they are not very good for keeping light out of your eyes.
Wraparounds are usually associated with athletics and extreme sports.
Oversized sunglasses are usually worn by celebrities, including models, actors and singers. They look glamorous.
Before buying a pair of sunglasses, make sure they fit properly. The frames shouldn’t feel too tight around your head. The weight of the sunglasses should be evenly distributed your nose and ears. Your eyelashes shouldn’t touch the frames or the lenses.
When buying a new pair of sunglasses, choose the lens color wisely. This will not only define the fashion statement you make, but will also affect the way you see contrast and colors. There are colors, which tend to enhance contrast, but they can influence negatively color distinction. You can even find sunglasses with interchangeable lenses, which allow you to change the color easily, depending on what you’re doing.
Gray lenses reduce the brightness of sunlight and don’t affect contrast or distort colors.
Brown lenses enhance contrast by blocking some of the blue light. They are good for snow, hunting in bright light or against open backgrounds.
Amber or yellow lenses enhance the contrast significantly, because they block all or almost all blue light. This makes them an ideal choice for hunters, who benefit from that contrast when looking at targets against the sky. They are also good for snow sports. However, amber lenses are not recommended for any activity that requires color recognition like driving, for example.
Red or orange lenses are a great choice for snow sports on overcast days or for clay targets against open backgrounds.
Violet lenses are good if you need to see clay targets on a green background.
Copper lenses will mute the color of the sky and the grass against a golf ball.
Blue and green lenses will enhance the contrast with a yellow tennis ball.
One more thing to consider is the lens material of the sunglasses. NXT polyurethane is a lightweight, flexible and impact-resistant material with great optical clarity, but it is rather expensive. Glass is heavier, expensive and can break. Polycarbonate is less scratch-resistant and provides less optical clarity than NXT polyurethane or glass, but it is more affordable. Acrylic is also affordable, but it is the least durable and offers the least optical clarity.
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Tags: color, frames, lens, lenses, Sunglasses
