More comfort. Better vision. Reduced glare from oncoming headlights. Greater cosmetic appeal. It might be hard to believe, but anti-reflective lenses can provide all of these benefits—as an add-on for any number of lens products. The same technology used to provide anti-reflective benefits to precision lenses in microscopes and cameras, is now available to enhance your healthy sight.
Antireflective (AR) coatings are applied to lenses in order to increase total light transmission and reduce reflected light from the surface of lenses. This results in reduced glare, which is especially helpful at night when driving, as well as a marked improvement in the appearance of the lenses. Those annoying surface reflections noticed when looking into the eyes of someone wearing glasses without AR coating are virtually eliminated.
New manufacturing technologies in AR lenses produce coatings that provide the crispest optics and stay free of oils and deposits that were common to older AR designs.
How anti-reflective lenses work
Carefully calibrated layers of metal oxides are applied to the front and the back of the lenses. Each of these layers is designed to block reflected light. That includes glare, annoying reflections, and the hazy “halos” you often see around lights at night.
Take special care to use only the cleaning agents recommended by your eye care professional, as anti-reflective treatments are delicate by design. They work well for sunglasses too—but as a general rule should only be applied to the back side of the lens to eliminate glare reflected around the sides of the frame.