All sunglasses are protective eyewear designed to prevent the harsh sunlight from damaging and discomforting your eyes, but what do polarized lenses do exactly?

The thing about sunglasses is that they come in different shades and tints, each designed to help fight against various light spectrums for various tasks. For example, yellow and gold tinted sunglasses help dim blue and green backgrounds, which makes it easier for people to see targets and objects. This is what's called polarization, and every pair of sunglasses is polarized to an extent. Polarizers are optical filters that pass specifically polarized light and block waves of other polarizations. They can convert a beam of light of undefined or mixed polarization into a beam with well-defined polarization, improving vision.

What do polarized lenses do?

If you've asked yourself “what do polarized lenses do?” you know now that they're lenses specially designed to filter lights and make it easier to see in bright conditions. But, chances are you're still wondering why they're so much more expensive. What benefit could make them cost so much?

The frames remain the same. It is the lenses that are made with a special process, fusing a polarization layer to the lens to filter out distracting and potentially damaging glare. The biggest benefit of polarized sunglasses is that they reduce glare, which is caused when the sun's rays reflect off of a solid surface or water. It reduces your depth perception, distorts your view, and even temporarily blinds you!

How do polarized lenses work?

According to sunglass professionals, the chemical filter on the polarized sunglass lens contains molecules that are aligned horizontally and absorb horizontal light waves, while still allowing vertical rays to pass through. Because they can block glare while providing the protection other sunglasses afford, people like to use their polarized sunglasses for everyday activities where clear vision is an absolute must, like driving, sports, and general outdoor work. This glare reduction is the biggest difference between polarized and non-polarized sunglasses.

Are all sunglasses polarized?

No. Whilst all sunglasses are designed to protect against UV rays, only those equipped with the polarization layer are polarized.

SFx Ultra Polarized Lenses

Our polarized lenses integrate a world-leading Japanese polarization film with a 99.9% efficacy rating; making them one of the strongest, lightest and most durable lenses possible. Offering 100% UV protection, they are available in a wide choice of colors, mirror finishes and gradient options.

How to replace your sunglass lenses with polarized lenses

Sunglass Fix offers the largest range of sunglass replacement lenses in the world, with over 250,000 lens models, covering all top brands.

We offer free worldwide shipping and easy to follow video instructions to help you replace your sunglass lenses with new polarized lenses.