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  3. Transitions

Transitions® Lenses 

Transitions® Lenses automatically turn dark outdoors and clear indoors, protecting your eyes while keeping up with your busy routine. They’re a great option for those who experience light sensitivity and find themselves squinting in bright sunlight, struggling with harsh indoor lighting, or find it difficult to see clearly when moving from outside to inside. An intelligent photochromic lens, they provide optimum vision, comfort, and 100% UV protection all day long.

What you get with Transitions®

Transitions® are the leading brand of photochromic lenses (also known as light-adaptive lenses, variable tint lenses, and photo sun lenses). They’re ideal for people who frequently move from indoors to outdoors and those who struggle with light sensitivity.

Photochromic technology

Designed with leading light-adaptive technology, so your eyes are always exposed to the optimum amount of light, whether you’re in bright sunlight, under a cloudy sky, or indoors.

UV protection

Transitions® lenses provide 100% UV protection, regardless of the lens tint.There's no need to switch between glasses and sunglasses, as your lenses automatically transition when activated.

Harmful blue light protection

Transitions® lenses protect your eyes from harmful blue light sources indoors and outdoors, such as digital screens and the sun.

The pros and cons of Transitions®

With their adaptability into any pair of glasses frames, these lenses will have you covered any time of day. Take a look at some of the advantages and limitations of photochromic lenses and see if they are the right choice for you.

 

Benefits

Considerations

Usage

You can wear them all the time as your regular glasses and outdoors as sunglasses. They’ll automatically adapt to changing light conditions, for use indoors and outdoors and in high or low brightness environments.

It may take a bit longer to fade back from dark to clear in cold weather. Transitions® lenses are more responsive on a sunny day in a warm climate than a cold climate of 5°C and lower.

UV Protection

You’ll get complete and constant protection against harmful UV rays. These lenses absorb and block 100% of UVA and UVB rays, making them a UV protection solution that you can count on.

You may want to keep a pair of sunglasses in the car if you spend a lot of time driving. Your windshield has UV protection, which blocks UV rays from activating these lenses.

Convenience

You can easily move from indoors to outdoors without having to swap your frames, so you can benefit from clear vision and protection wherever you are.

Transitions® lenses can take few minutes to darken and return to their clear state. 

Comfort

Your eyes may be more comfortable with Transitions® lenses, especially if you’re light sensitive. They protect your eyes in brighter outdoor conditions, so your eyes can see comfortably without battling against excess light.

For extended periods of screen time, consider task-specific blue light blocking glasses. BlueReflect PlusTM lenses filter out 99% of harmful blue light from digital screens and the sun and help your eyes to relax during long hours of digital screen time.

Lens Type

You can wear them with any glasses prescription. They adapt to match your lifestyle at any age. You can easily transform your single vision or progressive glasses to Transitions® glasses.

We don't offer Transitions® for bifocal glasses.

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Frequently Asked Questions 

Transitions® lenses will provide the same level of protection against UV rays as a pair of dedicated dark sunglasses. You can rely on them in most places to see comfortably in any lighting conditions including outdoor activities. 

However, if you spend long periods of time in high-glare conditions, a pair of polarized sunglasses would be the recommended choice for activities at the beach, water, snow and road. Transitions® lenses aren’t as dark as most sunglasses lenses and, depending on the size of the frame, may not provide the same facial coverage as a typical pair of sunglasses.

If you spend a lot of time driving, you may consider keeping a pair of polarized sunglasses in the car. Wearing Transitions® lenses behind your windshield, which blocks UV rays, will prevent these lenses from darkening. 

Transitions® lenses will maintain their quality and performance over the lifespan of your glasses (for at least 3 years). After this period, you may notice that it takes them longer to change from tinted to clear and start to see a slight yellow colouring around the edges. 

Remember – you should get a comprehensive eye exam every 1-2 years (which may be a great time to upgrade to a new pair of Transitions®).

Transitions® lenses start to darken within about 30 seconds of UV exposure and can continue to subtly darken for about 10 minutes. When you go back indoors, they should return to their clear state within about 5 minutes.

When photochromic lenses are exposed to UV light, molecules react by changing their structure (which is what causes the lens to darken). Transitions® is the leading brand of light-intelligent lenses – a series of exclusive, patented formulas are each integrated into the lens surface, which cause the photochromic molecules to recalibrate constantly yet smoothly. This means your eyes are always exposed to the optimum amount of light, whether you’re in bright sunlight, under a cloudy sky, or indoors.

Yes, you can wear transition glasses for reading outdoors and indoors. They are designed to tint in the sun and turn to clear inside, so you can enjoy great vision and UVA/UVB protection without needing to switching glasses. They also include blue light filtering properties, and are great for reading on digital screens.

Transitions® lenses are as clear as normal lenses indoors. These lenses darken when they detect UV light, which is present outdoors when you’re not exposed to direct sunlight. Your lenses may become tinted on a cloudy day, depending on the amount of UV radiation present.