THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN POLARIZED AND PHOTOSENSITIVE LENSES 

When it comes to sun protection for your eyes, the choices are vast and sometimes confusing. The most important factor is good Ultraviolet (UV) A and B protection. In fact, sunglasses listed as UV 400 give you exactly the protection you are looking for.

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

There are 3 ways to achieve this:

1. Traditional sunglasses offer you UV protection paired with a fashion tint. These tints come in a multitude of colors and can be made to a variety of tint levels. Fashion tints around 5% to 10% reduce some glare while 80% tints "shade" your eyes from the sun's brightness.

2. Polarized lenses offer you the same UV protection but have an additional feature of blocking light in the horizontal plane. Light enters your eye randomly. Polarized lenses create vertical openings to let light pass through while blocking light in the horizontal direction that bounces off of surfaces like the shiny hood of your car or the surface of the water. This helps to significantly reduce glare as well as shading your eyes. A variety of colors are available. Studies indicate they make driving safer than traditional sunglasses because of increased reaction time from reduced glare.

3. Photosensitive lenses change with varying light intensity and offer full UV protection. Their ability to vary in the amount of tint depending on the light intensity makes them a versatile lens. The one shortcoming is that they do not darken while driving as the car windshield blocks the direct UV light needed to begin the darkening process. Some photosensitive lenses are "extra" dark for driving but may remain too dark for night driving. There is a photosensitive lens that activates into a polarized lens called Transitions Vantage but it still requires direct light to activate it. 

There are many excellent choices to protect your eyes from the sun's harmful UV radiation for any season. Please talk with one of our expert opticians to determine which product is the best for you.

We have convenient optometry offices in Newburyport, Amesbury, South Hamilton, North Reading, and Ipswich, MA. We offer a large selection of eyeglasses, designer frames, sunglasses, contacts, and comprehensive eye exams.