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Sunglasses are attractive, popular and
multifunctional. They can protect the eyes from ultraviolet
radiation, decrease glare and light transmission, and make a
fashion statement. Whether they are gray or brown, large or
small, expensive or cheap, sunglasses make a statement about
the person who wears them.
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Early Sunglasses
Although there have been spectacles with
dark lenses around for centuries, early darkened glasses
were never used for sun protection or outdoor activities.
These early glasses were primarily used to block the
expression of a judge’s eyes during judicial proceedings,
to denote societal status or used in experimenting with
certain visual impairments. The sunglass as it is known
today is actually a twentieth century invention.
The development of the modern sunglass is
multifaceted. Sam Foster first introduced mass produced
sunglasses to the general population in 1929. He sold
glasses on the boardwalk in Atlantic City, NJ in a Woolworth
store. When the sunglasses became extremely popular with
beach going crowd, the brand Foster Grant was born.
Hollywood stars of this era began wearing the sunglasses to
hide their likenesses when in public and to also hide
themselves when they were not at their best. Once the
Hollywood stars were photographed in their sun wear, the
public began emulating them and sunglasses became more
popular with the general public. Foster Grant fanned these
flames later on when they starting using the movie stars to
advertise their sun wear.
The 1930s saw the development of
sunglasses for specialized outdoor activities. Bausch and
Lomb was commissioned to develop sunglasses that would
protect pilots from the high altitude glare that resulted in
temporary blindness. The result was a dark green tint that
absorbed the harmful ultra-violet and infra-red radiation
while allowing the individual colors of the spectrum to pass
through in order to maintain color trueness. This color,
G-15, was placed into a specially designed frame that had a
slightly drooping eyewire. The extra room in the frame
allowed more coverage for the pilot’s eye when they
glanced down at the instrument panel. The sunglasses became
available to the public in 1937 as the Ray-Ban Aviator.
The development and popularity of
sunglasses stagnated until the 1960’s and 70’s when
Foster Grant once again influenced the sunglass market with
the very popular advertising campaign, “Whose behind those
Foster Grants?” By using film icons such as Raquel Welch,
Peter Sellers, Mia Farrow and Vanessa Redgrave, Foster Grant
created a desire among the American public to imitate their
favorite icons by wearing sunglasses.
How to Choose the Best Sunglass Color
Today, the average American spends more
time than ever pursuing outdoor sporting and leisure
activities. Just as one shoe is not suited to all
activities, neither is every sunglass. There are several
different color combinations and densities for the eye care
professional to choose from. Some of the most common colors
as well as the outdoor activities that they are best suited
for are:
Yellow and Orange: These colors heighten
contrast between objects and blue or green backgrounds.
Sometimes marketed as “blue blockers”, yellow and orange
tints are good for hazy, foggy or overcast conditions
because they eliminate blue wavelengths of light. Not an
appropriate color for an activity that depends on accurate
color perception, it is an excellent choice for low light
and indoor activities. A word of caution, yellow and orange
can cause discomfort to the eyes when used in extremely
bright light conditions.
Rose and Red: Although these colors
heighten contrast in partly cloudy and sunny conditions,
they may cause significant color imbalances. The main
benefit to these colors is that they allow the patients’
eyes to adjust quickly between alternating light conditions.
Purple: Commonly used as a fashion tint,
dark purple can shade the eye while maintaining natural
color perception.
Dark Amber, Brown, and Copper: These
colors help reduce glare and perform best in hazy sunshine.
They are especially advantageous in improving contrast on
grass and against blue skies; as well as activities where
glare and depth perception can be a deciding factor.
Green: A mild, contrast enhancing tint,
green is generally used to reduce eyestrain under bright
lighting conditions. A soothing tint, it offers the best
contrast and visual acuity of all tints due to the fact that
it allows all of the colors of the spectrum to pass through
the lens with the same percentages that pass through the
human eye. This means that there is complete color accuracy
when viewing objects through a dark green lens.
Common athletic activities that work well
with tinted lenses and the best colors for them are:
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Hunting/Shooting - yellow/orange,
rose/red, and dark amber, brown and copper, purple
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Cycling - yellow/orange, rose/red, dark
amber, brown, and copper, gray
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Fishing/water sports - Gray, rose/red,
dark amber, brown and copper
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Golf - dark amber, brown and copper,
green, gray
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Winter sports - low light conditions:
yellow/orange; normal lighting conditions: dark amber, brown
and copper, gray
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Baseball - dark amber, brown and
copper, green, gray
Upgrading to Polarized
Tints, although an effective option in
sports eyewear, are not as efficient as polarized lenses.
Tinting only makes the lens darker, thereby blocking the
amount of usable light entering the eye while allowing glare
to continue to exist. Polarization on the other hand, acts
as a filter. Polarization is a film that is inside the lens
and acts like a Venetian blind, blocking reflected light
that causes harmful glare. As a result, colors can be used
in a wider range of outdoor activities with greater
efficiency.
Dark Gray - 25% light transmission; truest
color recognition and is ideal for bright sunny days and
high glare activities such as deep water fishing and
driving.
Light Gray - 55% light transmission; ideal
for being used with tints to create a custom colored
polarized lens.
Dark Brown - 25% light transmission; its
blue blocker properties are ideal for improved contrast,
visual acuity and depth perception, and is useful in
activities such as driving and shallow water fishing.
Light Brown- 45% light transmission;
ideal for being used with tints to create a custom colored
polarized lens.
Melanin - 25% light transmission; a
relatively new lens to the market, it contains the pigment
that normally occurs in the body and is ideal for anyone
with macular degeneration and works well in bright
conditions and activities in which the light varies such as
golfing.
Red - 55% light transmission; a high
contrast lens that is ideal for low light fishing and as a
shooting lens in bright light.
Orange - 50% light transmission; blocks
blue light, increases contrast and is most commonly used for
clay target shooting, biking, and skiing.
Green - 60% light transmission; true color
balanced lens that works well in varying light conditions
such as golf and tennis.
Violet - 55% light transmission; increases
contrast and darkens certain backgrounds so it works well
with shooting in average to bright, golfing and for winter
sports.
Yellow - 80% light transmission; lets in
the maximum amount of light so it is good for low light
situations such as night hunting and shooting.
Giving Sunglass Lenses the Finishing
Touch
Ultraviolet Coating
UV protection, if not inherent in the
material, must be applied to every pair of sunglasses. This
is not an option. Providing a dark lens without proper
protection can cause a greater amount of ultraviolet
radiation to enter they eye due to the patient’s pupil
enlarging behind a dark tint, resulting in damage to the
inner structures of the eye. It is the ECP’s
responsibility to protect the patient by providing this
option to the patient.
Anti-Reflective Coating
Light bouncing off of a dark lens creates
a window pane, mirror like effect that causes distortion and
eye fatigue. To prevent this, an AR coating can be applied
to the back of the lens. This works best with polarized
lenses, however, if the patient requests a tinted lens to be
coated there are a few things an ECP should keep in mind.
Due to the nature of tinting, AR coating can cause a tint to
look lighter than intended. To prevent this from happening,
the ECP should send a sample of the desired color to the lab
so that the post coated lens will be of the same density.
Alternately, the ECP can tint the lens darker than desired
and neutralize it back to the desired color. This will
prevent the lens from fading in density during the multiple
lens washings the AR lab will put it through.
Mirror Coating
Mirror coatings are a highly reflective
coating that is applied to the front surface of the lens. It
can help reduce eyestrain by blocking an additional 10 to 60
percent of light transmission to the eye. This can be
especially helpful when participating in highly reflective
outdoor activities such as water or snow skiing, driving, or
at the beach. The ECP should be mindful of the combination
of mirror coating and tinting that the lens will receive.
Conclusion
Sunglasses are a perfect option for every
patient. Just as everyone needs different outfits to fulfill
the needs of different occasions, everyone needs sunglasses
to aid in their various outdoor activities. By matching the
perfect sunglass to the patient, the ECP combines fashion,
function and protection to the patient so that they can
achieve optimal vision in all surroundings.
