Choosing the right prescription eyewear and sunglasses: the complete guide

This is why choosing THE right frame is essential. This guide is intended to help you find the prescription glasses or sunglasses to suit your needs.

Whether you're out and about, at work or at home, your glasses go everywhere with you on a daily basis to protect your eyes and correct any vision problems you may have. This is why choosing THE right frame is essential. This guide is intended to help you find the prescription glasses or sunglasses to suit your needs.

Choosing your glasses based on how you use them

When do you wear your glasses? The choice of a frame made for you partly depends on your habits:

• Daily use

If you’re never without your glasses, go for an attractive frame that fully reflects who you are. Depending on your preferred style, discreet, classic or more quirky frames are available. Make sure you try several different pairs and get feedback from family and friends. If you only wear your glasses occasionally, in the evening to rest your eyes for example, go for a comfortable frame instead.

• Sports use

For fans of outdoor sports (mountain biking, skiing, running, etc.), choose a pair of sports sunglasses with a light, wraparound frame that stays in place. What are the benefits? They’re specially adapted to speed and endurance sports and are made from tough materials. Designed specifically for your sport, they protect your eyes from external elements (dust, rain, splashing water or mud, etc.) and have polarized or photochromic lenses to improve your visual comfort.

Did you know?

For wearers of prescription glasses or contact lenses, Julbo offers personalized prescription sports eyewear. Suitable for all sports, our frames combine comfort and precision for improved performance. We’ve also designed sunglasses with a clip system, allowing you to slide your eyeglasses inside them. All you have to do is choose your favorite solution!

 

> Also see: Everything you need to know about prescription sport sunglasses

 

Choosing the lens coatings

 

Several coatings can be applied to the surface of your eyewear lenses. For an additional cost, they improve your visual comfort and offer greater or lesser benefits depending on how you plan to use your frames. The main coatings available are:

• Anti-scratch lenses: tougher than conventional lenses, they’re designed to withstand scratches and friction and have a longer lifespan.
• Anti-reflective lenses: these optimize your visual acuity and eliminate all forms of blinding glare (sun on the sea, car headlights, bright screens, etc.) that can interfere with your vision.
• Photochromic lenses: these change tint to match ambient light levels for constant visual comfort from morning to evening, whatever the environment.
• Polarized lenses: these protect your eyes from the glare caused by light bouncing off reflective surfaces. They’re often used for sports sunglasses.
• Anti-blue light lenses: these protect your eyes from the light emitted by screens (TV, phone, computer, tablet) and help reduce visual fatigue.
• Water-repellent lenses: these facilitate the dispersal of droplets on the surface and prevent water marks. Thanks to the extreme thinness of the coating, they also prevent dust and grease from adhering to the lenses.

Choosing your glasses to suit the shape of your face

 

To perfectly complement your face, we recommend choosing a frame suited to its shape:

-   for a round face: a round frame to accentuate the roundness of your features, or an angular (rectangular or square) one to counterbalance them;

-   for a rhombus (or diamond-shaped) face: a wide and square frame

-   for an oval face: any frame;

-   for a square face: a round or oval frame to soften your features.

 

The eyebrow line is also important: ideally the frame should stop just below it so it remains visible.

 

Sunglasses: which protection category should you choose?

 

To effectively protect your eyes from the harmful rays of the sun, think about the protection category of your sunglasses:

 

• Category 0: the lenses are clear and filter out between 0 and 19% of light. These are comfort glasses worn for purely aesthetic purposes.
• Category 1: the protection percentage is between 20% and 57%. These lenses are worn in low-light environments (overcast skies for example).
• Category 2: filtering out between 58% and 82% of light, these lenses are suitable for average, cloud-free sunlight levels outside the summer period.
• Category 3: this is the minimum category recommended for sunglasses. These lenses filter out between 82 and 92% of light and provide sufficient protection in places where sunlight is strong (beach, sea, mountains, etc.).
• Category 4: this is the highest category and filters out up to 97% of light. These lenses are only suitable for extreme conditions such as high-altitude mountains and glaciers. They must not be used when driving, as they alter vision and color perception.

 

Choosing your glasses to suit your budget

The price of glasses will vary depending on the brand chosen, how the lenses are treated and the quality of the materials. If you can, choose a robust model. Before going to your optician, if applicable, also check the level of cover offered by any complementary health and social security insurance, and then work out your average budget.

In France, social security cover for medical devices is renewable every 2 years for people aged 16 or over. Children are entitled to replace their glasses every year, or even every 6 months, depending on the case.

>  Also see: Replacing your prescription eyewear: 5 things you need to kno