Choosing varifocal glasses

Varifocal lenses have more than one prescription in each lens, meaning you can use the same pair of glasses or sunglasses for looking at short and long distances. Often, as you get older you begin to struggle to clearly see some things up close. This makes it harder to do everyday tasks like reading. This is where varifocal lenses can help. Rather than needing to carry around different glasses for long and short-sightedness, you can use varifocals for both.

How do varifocals work?

Also known as multifocal lenses, the prescription for short sightedness is at the bottom of the lens, at the prescription for seeing things far away is at the top. This means you can sit in the park reading a book and enjoying the view without needing to swap glasses when you lift your head.

There is also a transitional area in the middle of the lens, which is for looking at medium viewing distances, such as your cars dashboard. There are also many other features compatible with varifocal lenses, such as UV protection and anti-reflection coating.

With some varifocal lenses, there can be some distortion between the long, short and transitional parts of the lens. However, this is often reflective of the lens quality. With higher quality varifocals, the less blue and distortion there is between the different areas of the lens.

Packages and lenses

We have several types of varifocal lenses for you to choose from, so you can tailor the varifocal lenses to your needs and lifestyle. You can talk to us in store for some help and advice choosing the right varifocals to you. We can give you an eye test to get the right prescription. You can find out more about these glass lens options.

Find out more about lenses

Myths about varifocals

Many people are discouraged to wear varifocal lenses, due to some misinformation and myths surrounding these convenient lenses.

One of these myths is that varifocals make your eyes weak. They in fact reduce eye strain which can prevent your eyes from becoming weak.

Another myth states that you cannot drive in varifocals. However, many varifocals are designed specifically for driving. They are ideal as you can easily switch from looking at the road to the dashboard.

Another stigma surrounding varifocals is that they aren’t very stylish and are usually bulky. However, varifocal glasses and sunglasses are available from several leading designer brands, with stylish frames and thin, sleek lenses. You can see some stylish varifocal lenses as chosen by Gary Lineker.

Finally, one of the most common misconception about varifocal lenses is that they are expensive. As mentioned, a single pair of glasses with varifocal lenses can be more expensive than a pair for just short or long distance. However, if you struggle to see long and short distances clearly, buying one pair of varifocal glasses is cheaper than buying two other pairs.

Getting used to varifocal glasses

It can take a while to get used to any new glasses, with varifocals being no different. The best way to get used to varifocal glasses is by using them.

You can do this by picking up a book to get used to the different depths and distances. You may have to reposition your head when reading with varifocals than you would with normal reading glasses. If you tip your nose towards whatever you’re reading and keep your chin up, you will be reading through the correct, bottom part of the lens. This will be clearer for you and reduce eye strain.

If you experience some blurriness around the edges of your varifocal glasses, this is nothing to worry about. It can take a couple days or even weeks for your eyes to adjust to this. However, if they don’t, you can come into one of our stores and we can adjust these for you.