Eyeglasses with lens coatings and add-ons offer additional benefits to the health of your eyes beyond vision correction. Turn a pair of regular eyeglass lenses into photochromatic sunglasses. Or, add anti-reflective, blue light filtering, or UV-blocking properties for an additional layer of protection. Discover more about each type of lens coating we offer and how it can improve your lenses.
From photochromic add-ons to digital light protection, lens coatings and add-ons allow you to fully customize your sunglass or eyeglass lenses. No matter how you want to tailor your lenses, we can help ensure that you receive the perfect pair to suit your needs. The most common add-ons for glasses are:
The most common options for glasses lenses are photochromic, anti-reflective, blue light filtering, and UV protective coatings. A photochromic coating reacts with UV light making lenses darken in sunlight, and lighten again in low-light conditions. An anti-reflective coating reduces the mirror-like quality of lenses to help reduce eye strain, while a blue light coating filters blue-violet light emitted by artificial and natural sources. A UV protective coating filters out ultraviolet light and protects your eyes from the sun's harmful rays. Additional coatings that can improve vision and performance include anti-glare, anti-fog, and scratch-resistant coatings. Anti-glare coatings are a great way to reduce eye strain when applied in addition to a blue light filtering treatment. Anti-fog coatings can help your lenses stay clear in humid, wet, or warm conditions. And scratch-resistant coatings do what the name suggests, and help protect your lenses from normal wear and tear. With proper cleaning and care, a scratch-resistant coating can also help prolong the life of your lenses.
For lenses that stay clear indoors but offer just the right amount of tint outdoors, add a photochromic treatment. At FramesDirect.com, our photochromic lens technology comes from industry leader Transitions Optical. They make Transitions® Signature® and Transitions XTRActive® lens treatments that provide the benefits of sunglasses in your everyday eyewear. These lenses are completely clear indoors but darken in seconds when you step outdoors, eliminating the need for a separate pair of prescription sunglasses.
Benefits of Transitions Lenses:
Transitions lenses are everyday lenses for everyone. But since they react only to UV light—and not visible light—they won’t work in the car.
Transitions availability depends on the lens type, material, and package selected. If you have questions about Transitions lenses, please speak to one of our expert opticians at 1-800-248-9427.
Anti-reflective (AR) or anti-glare treatment coating is a clear coating that reduces reflections on the front and back of your lenses, letting more light through for better clarity. One of the biggest benefits of an applied anti-reflective coating is reduced eye fatigue or eye strain caused by glare. Anti-glare treatment also provides superhydrophobic properties that make your glasses easier to clean. We recommend AR-coated lenses in any pair of glasses.
Lenses with BlueReflect Blue Light Filtering Coating decrease the amount of blue-violet light reaching your eyes to reduce glare and increase eye comfort. FramesDirect.com’s Premium Lens Package offers precision-engineered blue light lens coatings that can filter a significant portion of blue-violet light, leaving your eyes fresh even after a long day at the office. This lens option also provides scratch-resistant and anti-glare properties. You don't need a glasses prescription to enjoy this protection: We can add a digital light protection coating to non-prescription lenses, also called ‘plano’ lenses.
Note: Blue-violet light is between 400 and 455nm as stated by ISO TR20772-2018. (ISO: International Standards Organization – “Ophthalmic optics – Spectacles lenses – Short Wavelength visible solar radiation and the eye, FD ISO/TR 20772”).
Eye care professionals recommend you wear glasses with UV protective lenses every time you go outside. Cumulative damage from prolonged exposure to sunlight causes 3.2 million people to go blind every year. Because UV protection is so important, we add UV lens coatings to all polycarbonate and high-index lenses for no additional charge.
Our clear, UV-protective lens coating blocks 100 percent of harmful UVA and UVB rays to help protect against:
The benefits you enjoy by upgrading basic lenses with lens coatings far outweigh the cost, making lens coatings more than worth their price. Lens coatings improve eye safety, cut major vision annoyances like glare, or can offer the convenience of eyeglasses and prescription sunglasses in a single pair of frames. Few people, if any, regret adding lens coatings, while many regret not adding them.
Lens coatings, including UV protective and anti-reflective coatings, and Transitions lenses, should all last for the lifetime of the lens.
Yes! In fact, all of our lens coatings can be added to a pair of prescription or non-prescription (plano) glasses. UV protection is especially important in eyeglasses, as your eyes need to be protected from the sun's rays whenever you are outside.
Reviewed by Sonia Kelley, OD, MS on June 27, 2023