A good pair of sunglasses does more than just shield your eyes from glare. With so many styles to choose from, the right shades can express your personal flair or complement your facial features. Beyond aesthetics, high-quality sunglasses also actively protect your vision and skin from sun damage.
Prioritize Protection
Before anything else, ensure potential sunglasses provide complete protection against harmful UV radiation. Extended exposure to UVA and UVB rays places you at higher risk for conditions like cataracts, macular degeneration, and skin cancer around the eyelids.
When shopping, look for glasses labeled 100% UV protection or UV400. This shows they filter out 99-100% of UVB rays and at least 95% of UVA rays. Sunglasses lacking proper UV blocking may do more harm than good by causing your pupils to dilate and allowing in more rays.
Also seek sunglasses made from polycarbonate plastic rather than cheaper acrylic. Polycarbonate naturally filters UV without chemical treatments that can wear off and look for larger wraparound styles that prevent rays from sneaking in from peripheral angles.
For maximum safety, experts recommend purchasing all eyewear from reputable retailers known for quality and protection. Avoid cheap novelty or children’s sunglasses from discount stores, boardwalks, and such.
Consider Color and Polarization
Beyond blocking UV, sunglass lenses also use tints and treatments to improve visual clarity in bright light. Different colors serve various functions:
- Gray reduces overall glare and light transmission across the color spectrum. A versatile tint great for everyday wear.
- Brown blocks blue light and increases contrast. Useful for activities like driving, tennis, and baseball.
- Green filters green-red light for contrast enhancement. A good choice for golf and other sports.
- Amber minimizes eye fatigue by absorbing blue light. Great for viewing digital screens and night driving.
Look for gradient lenses that transition from dark at the top to light at the bottom. This reduces overhead glare while maintaining clarity ahead. Or choose adjustable photochromic lenses that change tint density based on ambient light levels.
Polarized lenses offer additional anti-glare benefits by blocking horizontally reflected light. Great for activities near water, snow or glass like boating, fishing, and driving. If you need visual acuity in high-glare settings, make polarization a priority.
Coordinate Frames and Faces
With protection as your number one criterion, you can then narrow sunglass options based on facial shape and proportions. Tailoring frames to your specific bone structure allows you to look and see your very best.
- Heart-shaped faces look great in cat eyes, aviators, and wayfarers. Angular styles contrast nicely with a wider forehead and delicate chin.
- Round faces balance out with square, rectangular or oversized butterfly frames. Avoid circular lenses that accentuate full cheeks.
- Oval visages pair well with rounded or oval frames. Oversize styles overwhelm delicate features. Go for rimless or semi-rimless styles.
- Square faces soften with round and oval frames. Curved shapes offset strong lines. Avoid boxy, oversize styles that appear harsh.
No matter your face shape, most bulk sunglasses suppliers offer a wide range of sizes and silhouettes to flatter every feature. The folk at Olympic Eyewear recommend trying on a variety of pairs to discover frames that feel like they were custom made for your bone structure.
Conclusion
With so many frame options to evaluate, it helps to settle on a few tried-and-true styles that become your go-to shades. Start with a versatile pair in black or tortoiseshell perfect for everyday wear.
Then build out your collection with playful variations. Try bold cat-eyes in your favorite colors or bright patterns for weekend fun. Oversized aviators instantly pull off an edgy rock star vibe. And classic wayfarers never go out of style.