Eyeglasses Questions

Every face is a work of art and like a prized masterpiece, it deserves a great frame. If you have the time and inclination, you can try on every frame in the store to determine which fits you best. But narrowing your choices can save a great deal of time and frustration.

According to the Vision Council of America, scale, shape and coloring are the essential factors for selecting the correct frame .
In general the size of the frame should relate to the size of the face, the shape of the frame should contrast with the shape of the face and the color of the frame should complement the coloring of the face.

Look at your face in the mirror to see which shape fits you best: When you come in for a fitting, a Katy Optiks professional will help you further asses your face shape and coloring. Let us help you select the perfect frame to showcase your best features.

It all starts with your eyewear prescription! It's always tempting to start by finding a fashion eyewear frame that is the right color and matches your face. However, your prescription may not work in a certain frame shape or size, and may affect the lens finish, so allow a professional to show you a variety of frames from which you can choose your favorite.

A frame that will "hold" your prescription and fit you properly will result in lenses that have the least amount of concentration or unwanted thickness. Moreover, by selecting premium lens materials, you can further be assured of ending up with the thinnest lenses.

Fashion forward and avant garde are always just ahead of the current trend. Today, avant garde shapes for women are the oversized ovals, which are feminine yet have dramatic lines. For men, the edgy styles draw from the golden-era of Hollywood. Generally speaking, most people are more comfortable wearing clothing, jewelry and eyeglasses that are "on trend." Today's women's trend are cat eye shapes in deep tortoise tones. For men, the vintage masculine lines in black are on trend.

There are a metal and plastic frames for every face shape and lifestyle. The choice between the two is subjective. However, some helpful tips suggest thicker prescriptions can be somewhat "hidden" in a plastic frame. And nosepads, usually found in metal frames, can help balance the frame on a face that has a low nose bridge or long straight eyelashes.

It's a rare-earth metal with very high tensile strength which makes it more expensive than other metals. It is light-weight and non-corrosive, as well as hypo-allergenic. People who have skin reactions to other metals can successfully wear titanium frames.

With the variety of "chassis" available to hold rimless glasses together, the quality ranges from excellent to poor. Quality can be recognized in rimless eyewear by inspecting the manner in which the lenses are attached to the metal/plastic pieces. The seemingly seamless attachment of the lenses to the chassis and the balanced weight of the eyewear are distinctive characteristics of quality manufacturing and will ensure that the glasses stay together.

Lens coatings are used to reduce reflections, and to harden the surface of lenses that improve the percent of light transmission and cut down the UV transmission.

Generally speaking, coatings provide both a functional and cosmetic benefit to lenses. Anti-reflection will increase light transmission through the lenses and reduce reflected glare, making the lenses seem almost invisible. Scratch resistance protects lenses on the front and back surface, which increases lens durability. Some lenses have built-in protection from potentially harmful ultraviolet light. Those that don't have built-in protection can have UV protection added to them. Hydrophobic and anti-static features enhance lenses by maintaining their surface to help keep them oil and dust free.

In appearance, a progressive addition lens looks like a single-vision lens with no reading segment line. These lenses provide smooth, continuous clear vision all the way from close-up through arm's length to distance with no image jump as the eye moves from one focal area to another.

The light transmitted by digital devices and LED screens is full of visual noise or high energy light waves that are just beyond the visible spectrum causing an elevation of stress on our eyes which can lead to headaches, loss of focus, blurred vision and overall eye fatigue. By adding coatings to lenses that reduces blue light, overall transmission and transparency is increased and eyes are kept comfortable and refreshed.

The right eyeglasses color can create a subtle magic. Basic color concepts and the concepts of warm or cool skin tone, and their complimentary colors all provide a reliable method for making frame selections. Individual color preferences and perceptions are subjective choices but the ability to make an informed recommendation requires objective knowledge.

Your eyebrows are very important if you wear glasses; they frame and should compliment the eyewear shape.

If the marks appear after you've been wearing your eyewear for a few months, you might need a proper adjustment of the frame or nose pads. If you are prone to allergies, selecting the right materials will ensure that red marks don't appear. An eyewear professional that assists you in making the correct frame selection and eyewear fit is the best guarantee to prevent red marks on your nose.

Tinted lenses are important for individuals in a range of occupations who suffer from eyestrain and fatigue. These comfort tints designed to correct eyestrain can be modern photochromic lenses, which provides light tint indoors than darker tint outdoors. In addition to corrective tints, cosmetic tints serve to enhance a frame's features.

An eyewear wardrobe can be obtained in stages, just as outfits and jewelry are chosen for activities and events.

Sunglass lenses aren't just for summer. More than 80 to 90 percent of UV light is reflected off of snow and ice three times as high as that reflected off of beach sand according to the Centers for Disease Control. Regardless of the season, UV-blocking sunglass lenses are imperative to wear while outdoors.

The sunwear industry has become very high-tech. Leading sunwear manufacturers include professional athletes in their design teams to develop lenses that are sport specific. However, for general purpose outdoor usage, lenses should be polarized to eliminate reflected glare caused by light bouncing off shiny surfaces such as snow, ice and water as well as roadways and metallic auto surfaces during daytime driving.

Wetting the lenses first, and then wiping their surface in one direction with a soft cotton cloth will keep lenses clean and prevent marring marks from developing in the center of the lenses.

A well-used adage is the best daily practice: When they're not on your face, they are in the case!