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Celebrities like Victoria Beckham, Jessica Simpson and Kate Hudson are sporting audaciously oversized sunglasses, and now you – ever the glamour puss – simply must have a pair, too. But can you justify the expense?
You bet – up to a point. Quality sunglasses aren’t just fashion accessories. They are vision savers and worth your investment, so long as you stay within your budget and bear in mind that the price should not be used to gauge the level of protection they provide.
Your eyes, like your skin, are susceptible to sun damage. Overexposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays is linked to the development of cataracts; macular degeneration, an incurable eye disease resulting in blindness; and growths on the eye called pterygiums, says Dr. Fred Shafrin, an ophthalmologist at Columbia St. Mary’s Hospital, Milwaukee.
Sunglasses also protect the delicate skin around the eyes from UV light, which is largely to blame for signs of premature aging. No wonder celebrities aren’t messing around when it comes to coverage.
To protect your peepers, the most important thing to look for when shopping for shades is an Eye Protection Factor rating of 9 or 10.
EPF is to sunglasses what SPF is to sunscreen, though EPF is ranked on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 providing 100 percent blockage of UV light.
While EPF is a far superior measure of protection than lens color, generally speaking, “the darker the shade of the lens, the more protection you will attain,” says Jack Krause, general manager, Sunglass Hut North America.
Gray lenses offer the least distortion of natural colors, and brown lenses are the color of choice for reducing glare. If your summer plans involve yachting with the Hiltons, polarizing lenses will further reduce glare off the water.
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