Grey, brown or green? – How to choose the shade of your sunglasses

Sunglasses are not just a fashion accessory; they are also designed to protect the eyes from harmful UV rays and provide visual comfort in bright environments. Different colours of sunglasses, such as green, brown and grey, work best in different situations. In this article, we will look at the different uses of sunglasses and how different lens colours can improve your vision.

UV protection and sunglasses

Before getting into the colours of sunglasses, it is important to stress the importance of UV protection. When choosing sunglasses, make sure they offer 100% protection against both UVA and UVB rays. Long-term exposure to UV rays can lead to various eye diseases such as cataracts and macular degeneration. With proper UV protection, sunglasses can help protect your eyes from these harmful rays. CE or UV400 marked sunglasses are safe in terms of UV filtering and meet EU quality and safety standards. In addition to UV protection, lenses must be of high optical quality to ensure perfect vision. Our lenses are made from optically high-quality MR material and all our sunglasses have 100% UV protection.

The colours of sunglasses have different uses

Driving

Sunglasses are particularly important for safe driving. Sun glare and reflective surfaces can reduce visibility and increase the risk of accidents. Polarised sunglasses with grey, brown or green lenses are popular options for driving because they reduce glare, improve colour perception and provide good contrast in varying lighting conditions. The polarising property of the lens (usually a film in the lens material) removes horizontal gloss, e.g. water reflections or gloss from wet road surfaces.

Outdoor activities

When you’re outdoors, such as hiking, cycling or skiing, sunglasses are essential to protect your eyes from the sun, wind and debris. Depending on the sport, lens colours such as brown, grey or green can be useful. Brown lenses improve contrast and depth perception, while grey lenses keep colours true and reduce brightness. Green lenses offer good contrast and brightness, making them suitable for a wide range of outdoor activities.

Beach and water activities

Spending time near water increases the amount of glare due to the reflective nature of the water surface. The reflection of the sun’s rays from the water surface depends on the angle of the sun with respect to the water surface. The lower the sun is, the more the water surface reflects the sun’s rays. The reflectivity of a surface or object is expressed by the albedo value.

Polarised sunglasses with grey or green lenses are ideal for beach trips and water sports, as they reduce glare from the water, improve vision and contrast.

Snowy environment

In snowy conditions, the brightness and reflection of sunlight can be very harsh, which can cause severe glare and temporary loss of vision, known as snow blindness. Sunglasses with brown, gold or grey lenses are effective in reducing glare and improving visibility in snowy conditions. A polarising lens is also useful in icy conditions.

Colours of sunglass lenses

Grey lenses

Grey lenses are a good overall colour for sunglasses, as they effectively reduce brightness and glare without much colour distortion. Grey lenses are suitable for everyday use such as outdoor activities and various hobbies. Grey lenses can be worn in all weather conditions and due to their good colour rendering, they can be worn for long periods of time.

Green lenses

Green lenses are another common colour for sunglass lenses. Green lenses improve contrast and vision, while keeping colours fairly true to life. Green sunglass lenses are ideal for activities that require good depth of vision and contrast, such as tennis. Green lenses work in sunny conditions as well as in slightly dimmer conditions in semi cloudy or cloudy weather.

Brown (reddish brown) lenses

Brown lenses improve contrast and depth of vision and reduce eye strain. Reddish/brown lenses are often designed for bright weather and to provide the best possible contrast, but colours are not transmitted through them in a completely true-to-life way. Brown/reddish lenses are particularly suitable for driving and activities in bright sunlight such as golf, cycling, fishing or skiing.

Other sunglass colours

In this article, we introduced the three most common sunglass shades, but sunglasses are also available in other colours. For example, blue lenses offer a cool and trendy look, but they are not as effective at reducing glare or improving contrast as other colours.

When choosing sunglasses, take your specific needs and your activities into account when choosing the colour to ensure that your vision is the best it can be. Also, make sure that the sunglasses have 100% UV protection and that the lenses are of high optical quality. This will protect your eyes and keep your vision optimal for different activities.

In summary, sunglasses are essential to protect the eyes from harmful UV rays and to improve vision in bright environments. Different colours of sunglasses serve different purposes, and choosing the right colour for a particular activity can greatly improve visual acuity. When driving, exercising outdoors or enjoying a day at the beach, sunglasses with the right lens colour will protect your eyes from UV rays, reduce glare and improve your vision.

Remember that you can now find your vision information and prescription for your glasses in My Kanta if you have visited a Kanta-affiliated shop or an ophthalmologist.
You can log in to My Kanta at: https://kansalainen.kanta.fi