Selecting The Right Tint Color
For Your Eyeglasses & Sunglasses

My patients are always asking, "what is the best lens tint color for me?"  I am here to say that there is no perfect tint color for everyone and every purpose.  It all depends on the patient's visual needs and the intended use of their eyewear.  By far, brown and gray are the most popular tint colors that are dispensed.  Brown is the best color overall because it allows the wearer the widest light spectrum through to the eye, while blocking blue light and offering optimum contrast.  While a gray tint provides good protection from bright light and glare, but also keeps the distortion of colors to a minimum.

First of all, I want to tell you that the tints people select for their eyeglasses and sunglasses are very personal and subjective.  The tint that may work well for one person may not have the same effect for others.  All I can do is give you some generalizations about the different color selections you can make.  Fortunately, most of the tints applied to lenses can be removed after trying them for awhile and a new tint can may times be applied.

Because white light is made up of many colors, picking tints carefully can improve the performance of your eyewear in specific environments and activities.

Tints are categorized as Fashion Tints and Sunglass Tints.  Fashion tints are used for everyday eyeglasses, computer glasses and activewear, while of course Sun tints are used for sunglasses.  In this issue of The Eye Opener, I will try to help shed some light on eyewear tints.
 

Fashion Tints
Fashion tints are used for everyday eyeglasses, computer glasses and activewear for sports.  Some of these lens colors can cause severe color distortion and are unsuitable for driving and other tasks when color recognition is important.  There are several color options to consider with fashion tints.

Rose
A rose tint is cosmetically appealing to some, soothing to the eyes, and seems to provide a degree of relief when the wearer is working in brightly lit offices.  A rose tint has been historically a very popular tint for "adding a healthy color" to patients, especially with mature women.

Blue
Blue can be a good choice for fashion tints in lighter shades. But blue is actually the worst color of all in fashion tints because it enhances blue light which creates more glare problems. If you like blue as a fashion choice, consider using a brown or gray lens with a blue mirror coating on the front surface of your lenses.

Yellow or Amber
A yellow or amber tint makes objects appear sharper against a blue or green background. Blue light bounces or scatters the most and can create a kind of glare known as "blue haze". Yellow tints are sometimes marketed as "blue blockers" because they are fairly opaque to blue light. Yellow tints are good for overcast, hazy or foggy conditions and are a favorite of shooters, skiers and pilots. Yellow is generally NOT a good choice for any activity that depends on accurate color perception.

Sunglass Tints
We all know that the purpose of sunglasses is to reduce the brightness of sunlight and ambient light to a more comfortable level. The color you choose for your sunglasses is up to you. However, be aware that bright or unusual lens colors may significantly alter your color perception. For this reason, it's usually best from a visual standpoint to choose the following tints:  gray, brown or green.

Important:  Please be aware that the color and the darkness of the tint in your lenses affects only the amount of visible light that passes through your lenses. You cannot determine how much ultraviolet (UV) light passes through a sunglass lens by looking through its tint. The level of UV protection sunglasses provide is determined by the lens material in your sunglasses and whether any UV-absorbing lens coatings have been applied to your lenses. Regardless of the color and darkness of the lenses you choose, make sure your sunglasses provide 100% protection from the sun's harmful UV-A and UV-B rays.

Gray
Gray sunglass lenses reduce light intensity without altering the color of objects. Thus, they provide the most natural color vision.  Gray is sometimes referred to as a "true-color" tint. A gray tint provides good protection from bright light and glare, but also keeps the distortion of colors to a minimum.  Gray is available in a wide range of densities and is an excellent choice for general use and driving.  Gray is the most popular sunglass lens color in the United States.

G-15
The G-15 grayish-green sunglass tint is sometimes called the "Ray-Ban" tint. It is a combination of a gray and green tint that transmits 15% (and blocks 85%) of sunlight.  For many years, it has been a classic mainstay in sunwear.

Brown
Brown lenses enhance contrast by blocking a larger percentage of blue light than gray lenses do.  Brown lenses provide a warmer appearance to colors and make green colors more vibrant.  Brown and amber tints work well in variable light conditions and provide improved contrast because they filter some of the blue light, although not as effective as a yellow tint.

Green
Green sunglass lenses provide a cool, soothing appearance to colors.  Although not as popular as gray or brown lenses, green lenses are often used to create the classic look of aviator-style sunglasses.  Green tints filter some of the blue light and enhance contrast in low-light conditions. The human eye is most sensitive to green light wavelengths so green tints offer the best contrast and greatest visual acuity of any tint.

Computer Glasses Tints
Rose
A rose tint is cosmetically appealing, soothing to the eyes, and seems to provide relief of wearers working in brightly lit offices.  A rose tint is often recommended for computer users to help reduce eyestrain, glare and headaches.

Amber
Amber lenses may be beneficial in an office setting where florescent lights are utilized.  Florescent lights emit a lot of blue light and this "blue blocker" effect may help reduce eye strain.

Anti-glare lenses are also very important for computer glasses - but that's a topic for another edition of The Eye Opener.

Activewear Tints
Brown
Brown is great for applications when distances need to be constantly judged, like tennis, golf or skiing - or other sports requiring acute visual perception and contrast differentiation.  Brown is also best for low light situations, like fishing in the late afternoon or early morning hours.

Gray
Gray tint is best for bright light situations; it is great for water sports because it blocks out the brightest of the sun’s rays.

Green
A green tint helps to accentuate the yellow color of tennis balls and make the white lines of tennis courts stand out.  It is also very helpful while playing golf to read the slope of the greens.

Amber
Amber sunglass lenses block all, or nearly all, of the blue light for superior contrast. Amber colored lenses are frequently referred to as "blue blockers" or "shooter's glasses."  Amber colored lenses are popular with hunters because they provide enhanced contrast when looking at birds and clay targets.  They are also very helpful in skiing glasses or goggles to help visualize the change in snow contours, like moguls - especially on cloudy days. Although these lenses enhance contrast, they also distort colors because of their blue light blocking characteristics and may not be suitable for driving and other activities that require accurate color recognition.

Purple
Purple is balanced color that provides a natural color perception while also reducing light to the eye.  Purple lenses can be a good choice for hunters and shooters.
 

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Gradient and Double Gradient Tints

Gradient Tints
A gradient tint is a lens with a darker tint at the top and fades gradually to little or no tint at the bottom of the lens. This lens tint provides additional protection from light coming from above, without blocking too much light from below.  Gradient sunglasses work well for driving; glare and light coming through the windshield is blocked but the dashboard is easier to see through the bottom portion of the lens, which is much lighter.

Double Gradient Tints
A double gradient tint is a lens with a darker tint at the top and bottom of the lens, and a medium tint is in the center of the lens. Double gradient tints are good for skiers, because glare coming from the sun above and the snow below is heavily blocked out but a clearer viewing area is available in the middle of the lens.
 

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Color Density (Darkness) Considerations

• The best color density for your sunglass lenses will depend on your personal preference and the ambient light level while you wear them.  Also, it depends on the activities you are involved in when wearing them.

• For general-purpose wear, choose the lightest density that will be comfortable for you in both sunny and overcast light conditions. Be aware that if you choose lenses that are too dark they may impair your vision in shaded conditions or in rapidly changing lighting conditions, like driving through shading trees.

• If you are purchasing sunglasses for snow conditions, like skiing or hiking, choose polarized lenses with a darker tint than those in your general-purpose sunglasses. Polarized lenses greatly reduce glare from snow and water.  Also, you may consider lenses with a double-gradient mirror coating for extra protection from the sunlight above and the reflected light from snow on the ground.

• I always let patients be aware that fashion tints of any kind do reduce the amount of light their eyes receive and that may hinder night driving vision.  This a also true for the "changeable tints" of Photogray and Transition lenses that darken when exposed to sunlight.  Patients with eye conditions that reduce their visual abilities often need an optimal amount of light for their best possible vision, especially at night.  These types of lenses will still retain some tinting even in dark conditions and in many cases produce more night vision difficulties.

• In many cases, your Optician can adjust the density of your eyeglass tint. If you are unhappy with the darkness or lightness of your lenses, ask if your Optician can adjust the density of your tint.  Opticians can often reduce the tint or add more tint to your lenses for better comfort and performance.

The Bottom Line: Tinting your eyewear can greatly reduce eyestrain, improve your visual comfort and improve your sports performance.  Hopefully, these guidelines may help you in choosing the right tint color for you.  Even though I have offered these tint selection guidelines, choosing tints for patients is usually a very personal decision.  ~RQ