We get the question a lot. Naturally, anti reflective coating is a great addition for your glasses as you purchase new lenses. But what happens if you have already purchased your glasses, and realize the benefits of this addition after the fact?
You might think the answer is complex. In some ways it is. Still, in essence, it’s also simple: yes, you can get anti reflective coating on your current glasses, even after you have already purchased them.
There are, of course, some caveats to that statement, which we’ll explore below. Join us for a deep dive into the benefits of anti reflective coating, how that coating is typically applied to your glasses, and what all of that means for adding this type of coating to your lenses after the fact. Of course, we’ll also cover the steps you can take to make sure you actually get the benefits of this coating.
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The Benefits of Anti Reflective Coating For Your Glasses
First, let’s start with the basics: why would you want to add anti reflective coating to your glasses to begin with? As you might imagine, the answer is the benefits that you get from this addition, regardless of the situation.
Glasses, regardless of the material they’re made of, tend to reflect light back that falls on them. As a result, when you’re wearing glasses, it can become difficult to see anytime a light shines on them. The average plastic lens reflects about 8% of the light that falls on it back to its source.
Now, imagine the situations in which this might become problematic. Staring at a computer screen can begin to hurt your eyes, as you have to squint just to be able to see clearly. When you do it for hours at a time, the result can be significant headaches and worse vision over time.
Driving, especially at night but also during sunny days, can be another danger. Multiple light sources in the evening will fall on your glasses. When they reflect back, you cannot see as clearly. As a result, you will struggle to see and could expose both yourself and anyone riding with you to potentially serious danger.
Anti reflective coating can remedy these problems. They allow more than 99 percent of all light to come through, minimizing the potentially dangerous glare that you might be exposed to as an alternative. You can see more clearly, while also remaining safe in any situations where light shining on your glasses might otherwise become an issue.
Finally, the fact that these glasses allow more light to shine through also means that your counterparts will be more easily able to see your eyes. Because so much of our communication is through body language, that helps minimize misunderstandings and better get your points across.
The Process of Adding Anti Reflective Coating
Because of these benefits, anti reflective coating has become popular for many who need prescription eyewear. If you find yourself among that group, here’s what you need to know about the actual process of adding this type of coating to your lenses.
First, the lenses have to be completely clean for the process to be effective. This coating effectively covers any blemishes, exaggerating them and making them permanent. This cleaning process tends to be intense, with multiple processes and technologies working to remove any blemishes as necessary.
After the cleaning is complete, the glasses are dried entirely. Any moisture can result in the coating not sticking properly. Once even the last residue of moisture is removed, the lenses are ready for the actual coat.
That coat consists ofa clear magnesium fluoride crystalline layer that goes directly onto the lens. It’s either sprayed directly onto the front and back of the lens and then heated for full bonding, or through a vacuum process that also ends with intense heat to complete the crystallization and bonding.
In other words, it’s a complex process. That might make you wonder just how you can get anti reflective coating on your current glasses. Don’t worry – it’s still possible, if you take the right steps. First, of course, you have to understand whether or not you already have this coating on your glasses.
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How Can You Tell if Your Glasses Have Anti Reflective Coating?
The benefits might sound so tempting that you’re ready to get started in adding this type of content. Before that actual process happens, though, it makes sense to check whether you actually need it. In other words, look whether the coating already exists on your prescription lenses.
As we explained in a previous blog post, that process is quite simple:
When you hold your glasses, tilt them this way and that and look for glare. What you will see if you have an anti-reflective coating is a bit of glare, but mostly a greenish and pinkish color. You will also notice that if there is nothing truly bright (like an overhead light) trying to reflect off the lens, it appears quite clear. If you don’t have the anti-reflective coating, the glare will appear the same color as the light reflecting, often white, and reflections will be strong. No matter where you hold the glasses, reflections will be apparent.
When in doubt, you can always go to your eye doctor to ask them to perform the same check. Either way, you can make sure whether or not this option is already on your lenses before you make the decision to go through the process of adding it.
What You Need to Know: Adding Anti Reflective Coating to Your Current Glasses
With all of those factors out of the way, it’s time to finally answer the central question of this article. As mentioned in the introduction, yes – you can add anti-reflective coating to your current glasses even after you purchase them. However, that is only true if your current eyewear fulfills a few conditions:
The lens is not oily, especially from skin oils. This matters because the coating will trap that oil, which decreases visibility in a potentially significant way.
The lens is not scratched. Scratches will be made worse by the coating, and will – like the oil mentioned above – significantly reduce the effectiveness of your glasses.
Given both of these conditions, it’s clear that the process is not always simple. In fact, that is why many opticians will not undergo it. They either refuse to add the coating outright, or ship it out to a third-party source which decreases quality and significantly increases expenses. We’ve heard from many customers who have run into these exact problems, and conclude that adding the coating after purchase is simply not possible.
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That, however, is not quite true. You just have to find the right merchant. That merchant should be able to not just add the coating reliably, but also engage in a cleaning process that reliably clears the lens before the coat is applied. Anything else, and you can actually reduce the quality of your entire eyewear.
Another important consideration is honesty. If your lenses are scratched, you should be able to trust the vendor you work with to let you know so that you don’t ruin the entire pair through erroneously applied coating. Only credible merchants with a long-time history will be able to convey that trust; don’t work with anyone who promises the service to you.
When you find the right merchant, however, the process is actually surprisingly simple. Once you know whether or not they can help you in this process, send in your existing lens with exact description on what you want. Often, that means simply noting you only need the new coating, not an entirely new lens. Personal contact with the vendor helps you minimize misunderstandings and maximize the chance of actually getting what you’re looking for.
We’re one of the merchants offering these services. In fact, you can get it done easily through our lens replacement program. Simply send in your existing frames, choose anti reflective coating (for $40) as an option, and note in your paperwork that you are only looking to add the coating instead of an entirely new lens. Our convenient live chat helps you check with one of our support agents to make sure you are actually getting exactly what you’re looking for as you’re placing the order.
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We believe that credibility matters in this process. If your lens ends up worse off with the coating, we will let you know in time to help you make a decision. We also have a long history of customer success and satisfaction, and will make sure to treat you according to your individual needs and preferences.
If you have any more questions about adding anti reflective coating to your current glasses,contact us. We’d love to help you make it happen, and take full advantage of the many benefits you get from this type of addition. Simply put, the benefits are too much not to leverage them, helping you stay safer and optimize your vision for the light regardless of the situation.
F.S says:
November 1, 2021 at 8:33 pm
I am looking to get anti-glare coating added to my current pair of progressive glasses. I recently got them from my optometrist and not liking how it is without them.
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Mirna Romero says:
November 2, 2021 at 10:30 am
Hello F.S., you can order new lenses for your current frames and add all the options you want for them, material, tint, and coatings. You can do this through our Lens Replacement Service on the following link: https://rx-safety.com/lens-replacement/ If you have further concerns please do not hesitate to contact us by email at [emailprotected] or you can call us: 888-245-6638. There is also a chat option on our website where you can talk directly to our customer service reps. It would be a pleasure to help you!
Sandra says:
November 16, 2020 at 4:21 pm
I need the anti glare very bad
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Diana Smith says:
July 16, 2020 at 12:08 am
I would like to get anti-glare coating added to my current two pair of bio-focal glasses. I just picked them up today from my optometrist and realized I forgot to add that onto my order. Can I still get this done with your company? Also, is it $40 per lens, or $40 for a pair of lenses? Thanks!
Anti glare glasses, or lenses treated with Anti glare coatings, also known as anti reflection, reflection free, AR or MAR coatings, were developed to reduce reflections for camera lenses and have now become available for prescription glasses lenses.
1) The thin layer of anti-reflective coating on the lenses can get scratched or worn down over time, which makes it harder for you to see clearly and, in turn, affects your vision. 2) They don't prevent all glare and light from reaching your eyes, so it may cause you to have eye strain or headaches.
Anti-reflection/anti-glare - This treatment helps to cut down on distracting glare and reflections. You can add this treatment to any of our lenses from single vision to varifocals. This treatment comes as standard for our SuperDrive and SuperDigital varifocals.
This coating can cost anywhere from $20 to $90 to add to a pair of glasses. This cost is sometimes covered by insurance, although this will depend on your exact plan. Many doctors recommend getting an anti-reflective coating.
In short: anti glare coatings will protect against external light sources entering the glasses, while anti-reflective coatings will protect against both internal and external light.
Checking whether your glasses have an anti-reflective coating on them or not is relatively simple. When you hold your glasses, tilt them this way and that and look for glare. What you will see if you have an anti-reflective coating is a bit of glare, but mostly a greenish and pinkish color.
Anti-glare lenses allow more light to penetrate through your glasses. When your lenses are coated with anti-glare, a greater amount of light can pass through them, reaching your eyes and enhancing your clarity of vision.
Crizal is the best known anti-reflective coating on the market, and also the best and the most expensive. Before you choose Crizal, think carefully about whether you even need or want anti-reflective coating on your glasses.
An example offered by EyeMed, a vision insurance company with 36 million members, puts the cost of lenses with premium anti-reflective coating in 2022 at $136. The same lenses are $337 without insurance.
Anti reflective coatings are applied to all sorts of ophthalmic substrates (various plastics and glass materials), but the process and machinery required to reproduce these with any sort of uniformity time after time is where the cost comes from.
Polarized lenses can give you better ability to see detail than just standard sunglasses and they allow you to see bolder color. In summary, polarized lenses help you relax and see the world in a whole new way. Anti-reflection coating or AR coat enables better vision by decreasing reflections off of your lenses.
Yes, if glare from headlights and street lighting is an issue then anti-glare glasses will help you when driving at night. In years gone by people would use yellow-tinted glasses to reduce glare and help them drive at night.
The intact anti glare glasses reduce the reflection of light and give you clearer vision through lenses, but peeling anti-glare coating can ruin your vision and style. The average life of an anti glare coating is two years, and after that, you have to change it with the new one.
LensCrafters reportedly offers Premium AR (standing for anti-reflective) lens enhancements on their glasses. The company claims that this lens enhancement helps to reduce reflections by about 90 percent.
You do not need anti-glare coatings on the front surface of polarised sunglasses. They already block glare from their in-built polariser which is sandwiched within the layers of the polarised lens. Anti-glare may be applied to the rear surface of the lens to prevent light from bouncing back into your eyes.
Applying anti-reflective coating on my glasses after purchase is not an ordinary process, but some optical shops will do it. “Someone… walked into Lenscrafters or one of the other major glasses chains and got it done for $40 or $50.
When it comes to the similarities of anti-reflective and blue light coatings, they're both AR coatings, so they have the benefit of minimizing glare. The difference is the blue defense coating has the added blue light-blocking capabilities in addition to the AR coating.
Anti Reflection Coating is called as “AR Coating”. It is the coating to reduce the reflection upon surface of plastic and glass by interference* of lights. The suitable coating to each substrate and the customized coating to meet the requirement from customers are available.
If you need the most versatile lense, green is probably your best option, however, blue is still considered an all around lens that performs extremely well for snowsports or water sports.
Adding an anti-glare, or anti-reflective (AR), coating to your eyeglasses can allow more light in and also cut down on glare. Both of these things can improve night vision and improve vision for driving at night.
Typically anti-reflective coating can be broken into two categories: standard and premium. Premium anti-reflective coatings last longer and are available with extra features. For example, most have a surface treatment that seals the layers, repels water, and allows for easier cleaning.
AR coating is highly recommended for all eyeglass lenses, but particularly for polycarbonate and high-index lenses, which reflect more light than regular glass or plastic lenses if anti-reflective coating is not applied.
With sharper vision in all conditions members purchasing Kirkland Signature HD lenses will receive an unprecedented degree of customization. Included on all lenses is our anti-reflective treatment which provides superior scratch resistance, exceptional quality and gives each lens a cosmetically appealing look.
In fact, because some of the older anti-reflective coatings were softer than the lens material beneath it, it could actually scratch more easily than an uncoated lens. However, the newer anti-reflective coatings have been designed to more readily resist scratches.
The great news? They can! Your prescription sunglasses can have a special coating put on them to polarize them and help eliminate glare and clear up the images you're viewing through your lenses.
Don't use any cleaning products other than dishwashing liquid or glasses cleaning solution to clean your glasses. Products such as acetone, alcohol, and household glass cleaners can damage lens coatings.
Typically applied on both sides of an eyeglass lens, this coating, also known as AR or anti-glare, “reduces the amount of light reflected off the surfaces of spectacle lenses, and may enhance the contrast of certain scenes,” says Scott E.
It's not possible to polish lenses to get rid of scratches without altering the power of the lens, so you'd need to get new lenses. You can add a special scratch-resistant coating to your lenses - it might be worth thinking about this next time you buy a new pair or you get your spectacles reglazed.
LensCrafters reportedly offers Premium AR (standing for anti-reflective) lens enhancements on their glasses. The company claims that this lens enhancement helps to reduce reflections by about 90 percent.
It's not possible to polish lenses to get rid of scratches without altering the power of the lens, so you'd need to get new lenses. You can add a special scratch-resistant coating to your lenses - it might be worth thinking about this next time you buy a new pair or you get your spectacles reglazed.
Yes, transition lenses accept anti-glare (AR) coating, and there are good reasons to have one applied. An anti-glare coating makes your glasses look better to others. They restrict stray reflections on the front of your lenses, the reflections that mask your eyes.
AG and AR coatings offer many benefits and are definitely worth the extra cost, especially if you find yourself bothered by glare. They can help you see better, look better, and feel better compared to wearing glasses with uncoated lenses.
Applying anti-reflective coating on my glasses after purchase is not an ordinary process, but some optical shops will do it. “Someone… walked into Lenscrafters or one of the other major glasses chains and got it done for $40 or $50.
Anti reflective coatings are applied to all sorts of ophthalmic substrates (various plastics and glass materials), but the process and machinery required to reproduce these with any sort of uniformity time after time is where the cost comes from.
Sunglasses with photochromic lenses cost between $75 and $400 a pair. Getting photochromic technology added to a pair of prescription eyeglasses usually adds between $100 and $400 to the total cost of those glasses. In many cases, this can bring the total cost of a pair of glasses to nearly $1,000.
Transition brown lenses enhance contrast and visual acuity in the sun. This makes them best for those looking for golfing glasses, fishing glasses, or enhancement glasses. Transition grey lenses do not alter colors. So the colors you see will be true, only darker while wearing transition gray lenses in the sun.
Checking whether your glasses have an anti-reflective coating on them or not is relatively simple. When you hold your glasses, tilt them this way and that and look for glare. What you will see if you have an anti-reflective coating is a bit of glare, but mostly a greenish and pinkish color.
Anti-reflective lenses are very worth it, especially if you deal with a lot of glare from digital or LED screens, as well as glare from oncoming headlights when driving at night on a road trip. They also help you see better, look better, and feel better than going without uncoated lenses.
Like all tinted glasses, they should not be worn for night driving however as there is a wide agreement between experts and institutions that no attempt should be used to filter incoming light at night time as it is bound to reduce the visual integrity of the driver and so negatively affect safety.
Introduction: My name is Jonah Leffler, I am a determined, faithful, outstanding, inexpensive, cheerful, determined, smiling person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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