Summer is coming! It’s a season where people go to the sunny beach and enjoy their quality time. An indispensable item is sunglasses. A good pair of sunglasses should be able to offer you enough protection as well as aesthetic values. If you’re looking for a pair of quality sunglasses within a budget, keep reading to know the full guide on how to buy affordable sunglasses. Upon buying affordable yet good quality sunglasses, you need to consider these things.

The importance of UV protection

Prolonged exposure to the sunlight without sunglasses may cause certain eye diseases

The first thing you must notice is that your sunglasses must reach 100% UV light protection. As you can see on some frame tag, it has to be either 100%, 99% UV ray protection, or around 400 nanometers or less. Then your glass will definitely get the full UV protection. Sunglasses, not only do they make you feel comfortable when you’re heading outside in the bright light but they also protect the eyes from the sun, the wind, and the dust. If your sunglasses don’t meet the requirement above, you’re going to dilate your pupil and get much more extensive. And as it gets larger, it will let much more sunlight go into the eye which will advance your development of both cataracts as well as other potentially retinal diseases. Your eyes can even get sunburn from being exposed for too long without protection. The good news is most sunglasses imported to the US considered a medical device and regulated by the FDA, so you don't have to worry much about UV protection if you purchase sunglasses from US-based companies.

Frame materials

There are different types of materials from which frames are made of. If you are allergic to certain metals, for instance, it’s best to be strict with your options. If colorful frames are suitable for your fashion style, then you should go for the plastic frames. Most plastic frames are made from petroleum-based plastic or acetate with a full range of color to choose from and are considered hypoallergenic. On the other hand, it’s the cheapest type of material on the market.

Another option for you is metal frames. As for metal frames, they are available in a variety of metallic materials. One of them is Monel. Monel is a mixture of many metals and very flexible. It’s one of the commonly used materials in the manufacturing of eyeglass and sunglass frames. Plus, it’s corrosion-resistant and very malleable. Titanium is also a material that comes in a variety of colors and looks. This kind of material is strong, lightweight, durable, and somewhat flexible. Stainless steel is a cheaper material but has somewhat similar features to titanium. Its qualities include strength, durability, and lightweight. 
Above are the materials you can take into consideration to choose the most suitable material for your affordable sunglasses.

Lens materials

Some people think that all lenses are made out of glass. Well, they think wrong. The majority of eyewear out there are made out of polycarbonate. 

Polycarbonate (plastic) is the industry’s standard at the moment because it’s been a good lens material since around the 70s. The most outstanding features of this kind of material are super impact resistance, lightweight and thinness. 

Polycarbonate lenses became a standard for major eyewear companies

The only downside to this lens material is its tensile strength and its optical clarity. So if you’re looking for a basic material that’s lightweight, impact-resistant, and relatively thin, go for polycarbonate (or known as plastic). But, if you want an upgraded material, something a little bit more premium, then go for glass. Glass is a great lens material. Optically speaking, glass is better than plastic in some features. Glass doesn’t do as good as plastic in impact resistance, but it for sure is better at scratch resistance. It’s the most scratch-resistant material that you can find on the market. But of course, the price of glass lenses is always higher than plastic lenses.

Which lens coatings should you consider?

To keep your eyes the most comfortable and get the best shade, lens coatings like anti-reflective (AR) coatings, gradients and polarization can help you.

_Anti-reflective (AR) coatings minimize glare and reflections of the lens's surface so that you get more light through the lens to your eyes. Moreover, you wouldn’t want the glare bouncing off the lens's backside and into your eyes. Moreover, you wouldn’t want the glare bouncing off of the backside of the lens and into your eyes. So nowadays, most eyeglass manufacturers choose AR coatings because having AR on the backside will protect you from sun glares and give you sharper shades.

_Another type of lens coating is the polarized coating. Like the AR coating, the polarized coating also prevents glare. It will make it easier for you to see clearly in a reflective environment like a lake, a river. If you want the best protection in water places, these lenses may be the optimal option for you since they are capable of reducing annoying glare. 

_What about mirrored coating (or also known as flash lenses)? Unlike AR and polarized coating, a mirrored coating applied to the front side of the lens that helps to reflect more light. In other words, the glass wearer received less visible light than other lenses. When looking straight into the sunglasses, you can see that the glasses look like colored mirrors. That’s an exciting feature of the mirrored coating, it creates a visual effect to make women's faces more appealing.

Affordable mirrored lenses offer a colorful and fun look.

Are your affordable sunglasses enough to protect you from the sun?

Your sunglasses might say it can protect you from 100% of the UV rays, but can it really prevent every UV ray contacting your eyes? If you are worried about that and you’re kind of bored with the old-school regular kind of sunglasses, you might wanna try wraparound sunglasses. Wraparound sunglasses might be better for you because it can prevent UV rays from entering on the side. Upon buying wraparound sunglasses, you should choose glasses that fit your face, not too large and not too small.

Conclusion

We hope our article on how to buy affordable sunglasses has helped you decide which are the best sunglasses for you. So there it is the tips and tricks we have to help you pick out the most suitable and affordable sunglasses. Stay tuned for our next posts!

View more choose sunglasses by your face shapes