Photochromic Lenses

Wearing prescription glasses and sunglasses in the summer can be a pain, always having to carry both pairs and changing between the two as you move from indoors to outdoors. However, thanks to light-adaptive photochromic lenses, it’s possible to wear just one pair all the time.

What Are Photochromic Lenses?

Photochromic Lenses look like regular clear lenses when indoors but automatically darken when moving into a brighter area. Ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun affect the molecules in the photochromic lenses so they change colour. They will darken in the light even on overcast days as UV rays still penetrate clouds.This provides you with the best possible vision in all lighting through different shades of tint, without you even needing to think about it.

What Are The Benefits of Photochromic Lenses?

● adapt to environmental changes (indoor, outdoor, high or low brightness).
● They help reduce eye strain, eye damage and potential heightened –risk of cataracts later in life by blocking up to 100% of UVA/UVB light.
● Convenience – there’s no need to carry both glasses and sunglasses, swapping between the two.
● It may save you money – although photochromic glasses can be more expensive than ordinary prescription glasses, they’re effectively two-in-one, meaning you won’t have to buy separate glasses and sunglasses.
● available in different colours to suit all needs.

How Do They Work?

Regular sunglasses block out particular wavelengths of light with either coloured filters or polarisation. As photochromic lenses are carbon-based, the molecules react to UV; they change shape and absorb the light, meaning the lenses start to look darker. The more UV rays there are, the darker the lenses will become. They adapt accordingly from clear through to different darker shades, depending on the levels of UV. The darkening can take up to 30 seconds for the tint to take effect on the glasses, and it can take between two to five minutes to return to normal when going back indoors.

Who Needs Them?

Photochromic lenses can be worn all day every day, just like normal glasses. Anybody can benefit from them, but especially those who regularly interchange from indoors to outdoors. Photochromic glasses can be particularly good for children who are unlikely to be able to juggle two separate pairs of gasses – regular and sunglasses. It also helps their eye health from an early age by protecting them from the sun and UV rays.