Many consider sunglasses to be an indispensable summertime accessory, but did you know that sunglasses are at least as important during the wintertime months? Here in New York, we’re pretty good at remembering to cover our hands with gloves and our heads with hats. Our eyes, though, are also in need of protection when it’s cold. The sun shines with the same force when it’s cold as it does at other times of the year.
In fact, since the sun sits at a different angle during the winter months, it actually can expose your eyes to more UVA and UVB rays than it does during the summer. You can protect yourself from these UV rays with polarized sunglasses. Check out our guide on the benefits of polarized sunglasses and polarized sunglasses vs non-sunglasses. In this post, we’ll talk about several reasons you should wear sunglasses in the winter. It’s important to make sure that you take care of your sunglasses, so check out our guide on how to take care of your sunglasses, how to remove scratches from sunglasses, and how people lose their sunglasses and how to prevent it.
Avoid Corneal Sunburn
When you’re bundled up in your coat and boots, the last thing you think about is getting sunburned, but winter rays can actually sunburn and irritate your corneas. This is especially true when there’s snow on the ground because UV radiation bounces off the snow back up into your eyes.
If you snowboard or ski during the winter, you should definitely wear sunglasses on the slopes, but even if you’re just walking around the city, prevent corneal sunburn by wearing your shades. Snow reflects up to 85 percent of UV rays, causing what is commonly known as “snow blindness.” Although temporary, snow blindness can be painful and very inconvenient while your eyes heal from the sunburn.
Prevent Dry Eyes
Cold and windy winter conditions cause our skin, lips, and eyes to dry out. It’s easy enough to moisturize skin and lips with lotion and lip balm, but what can you do to keep your eyes moist and comfortable?
Wearing sunglasses in the winter can help you to prevent dry eye. The lenses shield your eyes from wind and blowing snow. Wind causes the tears on the surface of your eyes to evaporate more quickly, thus making your eyes feel dry and irritated.
Reduce Glare
Reflection of the sun’s light from horizontal surfaces like car hoods and streets can make you experience blinding glare. Wearing sunglasses with polarized lenses will significantly reduce glare and help you to see better, especially during times of day when the sun is lower in the sky.
Be Fashionable
We thought we’d cover the health-related issues first since they’re the most important, but we didn’t want to skip this important point: wearing sunglasses in the winter can be a fashion statement.
It’s true that sunglasses are most commonly associated with summer fashion. A good pair of wayfarers can make or break a summer outfit. But more and more people are finding that accessorizing a winter wardrobe with sunglasses will turn heads and make you feel more confident.
At the very least, sunglasses can hide the fact that you didn’t get enough sleep last night or ran out of time for applying eye makeup in the morning. On the other end of the spectrum, a well-made, well-chosen pair of sunglasses can pull your look together like nothing else and encourage you to hold your head up a little higher. Check out the sunglasses trends for fall 2017, The most popular sunglasses styles, and sunglasses trends through the decades.
Find a New Pair for This Winter
This winter, find a new pair of sunglasses online that blends your personal style with one of the trending styles of the season. A stylish pair of wooden sunglasses will keep you turning heads all the while it protects your eyes from glare, wind, and dryness.
Choose a classic pair like our Tritons to give your look a timeless appeal, or shake up your style with a colorful Vili pair of glasses. We look forward to helping you keep your eyes healthy and stylish this winter. Contact us to learn more and be sure to check out our pop up shops!