What You Should Know About Your Sunglasses

Any time of year, sunglasses should be a part of your daily heath-consciousness routine. Sunglasses are not just for summers on the beach anymore or just for looking cool and mysterious. Designer sunglasses are no longer just for wealthy movie stars. Sunglasses are crucial in protecting your eyes from the permanent damaging effects of Ultra Violet radiation.

Two thousand years ago to filter the bright sunlight while watching the gladiator contests, Nero had fashioned for him simple lenses made from polished emeralds. In the mid eighteenth century, James Ayscough developed the first blue and green corrective lenses. Today we have a myriad of color choices and styles of sunglasses to choose from.

While sunglasses were marketed in the early years of the twentieth century, it wasn’t until 1929 when Sam Foster started mass producing his “Foster Grants” that sunglasses become readily available and quickly grew to be adopted by high society members and movie stars alike as a fashion accessory.

After numerous incidents including crashes were attributed to sun glare, the US Army Air Corps contracted with Bausch & Lomb to develop anti-glare sunglasses. This led to the development of dark green tinted sunglasses that absorbed light through the yellow spectrum.

The first polaroid filter sunglasses where made by Edward Land in 1936, and closely followed in 1937 by Ray Ban’s release of their Aviator style glasses. Ray Bans used a longer anti-glare lens that afforded pilots more protection from glare in their cockpits.

By the 1970′s Hollywood stars and fashion designers made a huge impact on the sunglasses market. Clothing designers and stars put their names on glasses and sunglasses and everyone had to have them. In 2009, stars are still hiding behind their oversized designer sunglasses, making fashion statements and protecting their eyes from the harmful effects of the Ultra Violet radiation.

UV rays can cause serious damage to the corneas, and a good pair of sunglasses will shield 100% of these rays. A protective coating on the outside of sunglasses acts as a kind of filter. While it allows light through, it helps to filter out the radioactive light waves that can lead to so many dangers to your eyes.

Modern sunglasses are always tinted in one or more light blocking colors, in addition to their UV ray blocking ability. Light of course comes in all the colors of the rainbow, so the tint chosen is important. Gray through almost black give the greatest amount of protection for intense light with the least color distortion.

Good quality sunglasses afford us protection from glare. Light reflecting off water surfaces can produce glare, so can white snow or any number of other shiny surfaces. The glare can block out other objects like an oncoming vehicle Be sure your new sunglasses are polarized to eliminate glare.

Your new sunglasses can be chosen from a number of color tints. Some light frequencies cause blurred vision; others enhance the contrast between colors. You need to decide what situations you are most likely to be wearing them in order to choose the most beneficial tint.

Blue light is a color of light that can cause burred perception, so sunglasses that are yellow, gold, amber and brown can be chosen to counteract blue light. Yellow tinted lenses, while making the rest of the world look a different color, will enable you to see the most clearly through them.

Specialty tints that provide the best contrast against green or blue backgrounds are rose or purple. Meanwhile the most popular tint of all is still green. Green gives the best overall visual enhancement together with reduction of the effects of glare.

Now that you know the history of sunglasses and how they work you can be a responsible consumer. Know what to look for when choosing your sunglasses. It is not a bad idea to have more than one pair around for different reasons. This is especially true if you spend a lot of time outdoors on a variety of activities. Be responsible about your eyes and learn to protect your vision while it’s still yours to protect!