Gray polarized lenses provide greatest protection

Slightly tinted plastic lenses give false sense of security.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
Finally, there may be some "light" shed on the age-old debate of expensive vs. cheap sunglasses: Which protects better? The answer, it seems, is it's a draw.
Experts now acknowledge that as long as they've been slathered with a dark enough tint, most cheapie shades provide just as much protection from harmful ultraviolet rays as expensive peepers.
"In short, and indeed, inexpensive sunglasses costing $10 can afford the same protection as sunglasses costing $150 or more," said Gil Lavelanet, a researcher with Intermatch Marketing Group.
"That is because UV filtering can be applied as a coating and not only via injection-molding, where the filtering is embedded in the lens."
Lavelanet said consumers became obsessed with eyeball protection in the early 1990s, when science -- or rumor, depending on whom you ask -- suggested the Earth's UV-filtering ozone layer was deteriorating.
Intermatch Marketing Group was responsible for the public service campaign back then that used the slogan "What You Don't See Can Hurt You," emphasizing that UV light is invisible.
These days, no matter what your glasses cost, most are made in Italy or China, Lavelanet said, and most "afford at least 99 percent protection against the more harmful UVB light."
Kenny Moscot, president of Sol Moscot Opticians, a 90-year-old New York City firm, agreed that cheaper sunglasses can be as safe as their more expensive counterparts, but said there are fine details consumers should know before putting their wallets away.
Causes damage
Protection from ultraviolet sun rays is nothing to scoff at, Moscot said, because prolonged direct exposure to sunlight can cause irrevocable damage like the development of cataracts or macular degeneration in the eyes.
If consumers go too cheap -- opting for sunglasses that are simply slightly tinted plastic, rather than the more thorough dyed plastic lenses -- their eyes can be tricked into "feeling" safer, and "their pupils can open wide exposing themselves to burning sunlight," he said.
And even though it might add a few dollars to the cost of shades, people who spend a lot of time in the sun, especially on or near water should get polarized lenses, Moscot said.
"What they do is reduce surface glare," he said. "It's usually done by placing two wafers together -- plastic or glass -- to filter out light. It is predominantly used on water, because of the glare from sunlight that reflects off water. Polarized lenses give water more of a transparent appearance.
"So with boating and similar activities, those are the applications where polarization works best."
Color important
The other thing consumers should consider in their sunglasses, "expensive or cheap," is the color of the lenses, Moscot said.
"Many people believe if you have some kind of tint everything's fine," he said. "But when we say that less-expensive glasses can provide as much protection, we're talking about gray. That goes for the expensive ones too. All things stay true to color when you look through a gray lens."
Colors like blue and yellow merely increase the intensity of the sun reflected through them, Moscot said, adding "it would be equivalent to someone like myself, very fair-skinned with freckles putting baby oil on my skin and going into the hot son."
Green and brown lenses simply provide that color view, but no added protection, Moscot said.
"If safety is your concern, expensive or cheap, go with gray," he said.