It’s an inevitability that any pair of prescription lenses will have to be replaced with time. Regardless of if this comes due to scratches, a break or shatter, general wear out of the frame, or simply losing their use as a proper vision adjustment, they simply don’t last forever.

Most people opt to go to their local retailer and find a new pair of frames, update their prescription, and wait a few weeks to get their new glasses. These new glasses cost an average of $173, without even mentioning the prescription update. This is a purchase made, on average, every 1-3 years. 

The Alternative to New Glasses

There is an alternative path to this process though, one that can be cheaper, easier, and faster. Most glasses frames are going to outlive the lenses inside of them, for these cases it may be important to consider replacement lenses. Replacement lenses take any pair of frames and put a brand new set of lenses within them.

This is especially useful for those who have a more unique pair of frames, those that like antique and vintage frames but need new lenses, those that want a slightly more affordable alternative to completely new glasses, and those that want multiple pairs or styles to choose from. 

When looking at the market for lenses, and specifically replacement lenses, there are lots of options that didn’t exist in the past. On top of the average single vision lenses, there’s the bifocals and trifocals that those with particularly poor eyesight may use. A more modern alternative is also progressive lenses, lenses that have multiple prescriptions but with less harsh cutoffs as bi or trifocals. 

You Have Lenses Options

While most lenses today are plastic, it’s important to know that it’s not the only option. Glass lenses are much less likely to scratch and are the clearest vision offered but tend to completely shatter and are heavy. Polycarbonate lenses are 100% UV blocking, effectively shatterproof, and are lightweight but tend to scratch easily and are a bit more expensive.

Finally, there’s a lot of tinted lenses that have become more commonplace today. Pink lenses help with depth perception and reduce migraines, brown reduce eyestrain in bright light, yellow and orange help with contrast in low-light contexts, and gray reduce fatigue and can act partially as sunglasses.

These are just some of the different lens adjustments one can consider adding when ordering a new pair of lenses, replacement or not. And even beyond these there’s also lens coatings. Some lens coatings, things like scratch resistance and UV protection can be seen on most lenses today. Although others like fog resistance, reflection resistance, and blue-light resistance are newer options that can be very helpful at a minor price increase.

In Conclusion

This is all to say that there’s a lot of options for anyone considering getting a new pair of glasses in the near future. Regardless of if that means a new pair of frames as well as lenses, replacing an old pair of frames, adding a bunch of new features to the lenses, or just keeping it as basic as possible. There is more freedom now than ever in the eyeglass market.