Anti-reflective coating, or anti-glare, as it is sometimes referred to, has many benefits.
But is it really worth the cost of getting it on your lenses? Anti-reflective coatings are added to the lenses of your glasses in order to minimize the effect of the light hitting the backs of your lenses. When light hits the lenses, it causes a ‘glare’ that looks like a bright white reflection on your glasses and is visible to other people and yourself. There are two key reasons why this glare is not something glasses-wearers want:
- Glare can cause a bright visual reflection to others, making the glasses-less attractive visually.
- Glare can prevent light from penetrating the lenses properly, which can impair vision and cause excess strain on the eyes.
Regular plastic lenses reflect approximately 8 percent of the light that hits the lenses. In contrast, high-index plastic lenses can reflect up to 50 percent more light, causing even more strain on your eyes, particularly in darker conditions.
However, anti-reflective coatings bring that reflection rate all the way down to 0.5 percent, thus allowing for 99.5 percent of light to pass through the lenses. Therefore, many glasses-wearers opt for anti-reflective coatings in order to avoid these common problems.
When you add an anti-reflective coating to your lenses, your lenses become virtually unnoticeable to those around you, which is why it is widely agreed that they are worth investing in. When interacting with people, your eyes are far more visible when wearing anti-reflective coatings - even when you are in dark or low-light conditions. This can be especially beneficial for photographs, making you look your best at all times with your eyes completely visible.
One of the key reasons people may opt for anti-reflective lenses is that it reduces the strain on the eyes, giving you clearer, sharper vision in all conditions. This has even more of a positive effect while driving, particularly at night. Without anti-glare, glasses can cause a halo or glow around lights on the road, making it harder to see where you are going.
With anti-reflective lenses, this halo is reduced, making it much safer to drive in darker conditions.
Are the Coatings Difficult to Clean?
When anti-reflective technology for glasses was starting, it certainly had a long way to go in terms of quality. Anti-reflective coatings caused a lot of trouble for glasses-wearers, with the coating peeling off and proving difficult to clean. These coatings were also very difficult to keep from getting badly scratched, making them a huge inconvenience.
For these reasons, many people stay away from anti-reflective coatings, choosing not to deal with all of these problems. However, with new technology, the truth could not be more different. New anti-reflective coating methods performed at rx-able mean that none of these past issues needs to be worried about anymore.
Our coatings are fused onto the lenses, so they cannot peel off or scratch at all. Our coatings are also formulated using chemicals to make them hydrophobic, meaning that you will see far less water or grease on your lenses if you opt for an anti-reflective coating. Using our anti-reflective lenses means that you will be able to keep your glasses cleaner for longer as well as preventing scratches, not encouraging them.
How Do I Know if the Anti-Reflective Lenses I’m Choosing are Worth the Money?
It is true that anti-reflective glasses have come a long way in terms of quality, but that does not mean that all AR lenses are created equal. It is important when you are choosing where to buy from that you ensure you are paying attention to the quality of the brand. The higher-grade AR coatings may be more expensive but will prove to be worthwhile in terms of the coating quality. These lenses will offer you better vision as well as a lower chance of your lenses scratching.
Premium anti-reflective coatings such as the ones provided by rx-able as a part of our lens replacement services also offer another whole host of additional benefits. These high-quality anti-reflective lenses are also smudge-free, scratch-resistant, and water-resistant, making the investment even more worthwhile.
At rx-able, we offer several different options when it comes to anti-reflective coatings:
- Standard anti-reflective coating
- Premium anti-reflective coating
- Crizal Alize UV anti-reflective coating
- Crizal Avance UV anti-reflective coating
These options differ in price and offer different standards to our customers, click here to learn more.
Our standard anti-reflective coating is a great basic for removing reflections and glare that make it difficult to see - it is also easy to clean and scratch-resistant. Our premium coating offers 99.5 percent light transmission, with a 6th layer making the lenses smudge-resistant and hydrophobic. Our Crizal ranges offer the best vision possible, protective against glare, scratches, smudges, and even UV light; with these lenses, you will be ready for anything that comes your way. For the highest quality lenses, opt for our Crizal Avance range for enhanced scratch resistance for the most durable lenses on the market.