Dr. Jennifer Tsai’s mission as an optometrist is very straightforward: take care of your eyes now, and make decisions that will protect their health down the line. Turns out, your everyday sunglasses may be doing more harm than good. Here’s her suggestion on what to swap them with.
When it comes to taking care of your eye health, Dr. Jennifer Tsai is big on two things: prevention and consistency. It’s little, everyday practices of eye care that can make all the difference in the long run for your vision. One thing she always keeps in her bag? “A pair of really good quality sunglasses,” she says.
Dr. Tsai’s clinic, Line of Sight, is based in New York City—even with towering skyrises and buildings offering shade, it’s not enough protection for your eyes. “Especially in the summer; when you think about New York City, or a place like this, [you may think] I don’t really need sunglasses because I’m [only] outside for my commute to work. I’m not surrounded by nature,” she says. Turns out, that train of thought couldn’t be further from the truth. “We’re constantly exposed to light on a daily basis—any area that has reflection, such as buildings that bounce off light; water, oceans, or pools; or if you snowboard or ski.”
Light exposure may not seem like a big deal, other than making it hard to see from the brightness you perceive around you. The reality is, it is very damaging, especially with repeated instances. “It’s super important to protect our eye area, not just from damage to our eyes causing things like macular degeneration or cataracts. It can also cause the skin around our eyelid to age prematurely,” Dr. Tsai states.
That’s where sunglasses really come to the rescue. “Look for a pair that basically has any label that can validate that it has 100% UVA and UVB protection. And ideally, if it’s polarized as well,” she shares. Polarized glass lenses in particular are powerful tools against light reflection, both in urban landscapes or out in nature.
We’ve all opted for cheap Amazon sunglasses to go with trends and fun looks. However, they’re likely not doing much at all when it comes to protecting your vision, especially from strong UVA and UVB rays—and lens protection truly is everything. “Just because it looks good does not mean it’s actually protecting your eyes,” Dr. Tsai cautions. “If the lens is dark, the darker it is actually could be worse off your eyes if it doesn’t actually have UV protection. Your pupils dilate behind it, thinking that there’s less light. So now, you’re taking in a lot more UV exposure than you normally should when you wear fashionable sunglasses that don’t actually have UV protection.”
The brand that Dr. Tsai keeps on hand and stocked at her clinic is Barton Perreira. “They were the original designers of Oliver Peoples,” she shares. “It does well at our clinic, because the size and shape fits well for nearly everybody. It’s nice and very comfortable.”
Barton Perreira glasses are handmade in Japan over the course of anywhere from six to seven weeks, undergoing a multi-stage construction and inspection process. They exclusively use high-grade Japanese titanium and zylonite, otherwise known as Japanese acetate. This is a major cost driver for a pair, but that seems to be the price for perfection when it comes to eyewear.
