Lens thickness is always an unknown!
OMG! My glasses is thicker than Subway cookie!!
Look at that thick glasses! His power must be very high!
If your prescription is higher than -3.00, you must have heard of or experience the above scenario.
Who’d want the glasses to be thick when it can actually be thinner?! But the problem is how well do you know about glasses/lens thickness? If you do not know anything about the thickness, how are you going to expect the end result?
We understand your pain, that is why this article is here to help you to understand more about lens thickness and make better decision in buying glasses.
What thickness should you choose for your prescription?
Here are the recommendation
- If your power is around -2.00, choose 1.56 index, it will be around 3mm
- For power around -4.00, choose 1.61 index, it will be around 3 to 4mm
- If your power is around -6.00, choose 1.67 index, it will be around 4 to 5mm
- For power more than that, choose the thinnest lens, 1.74 index. It will be around 5mm to 8mm.
If you want to find out how much the glasses cost with different type of lens, click the link in the button.
So what determines the lens thickness
If you are interested to understand more about lens thickness, how is it being affected by other factors, continue with the reading. You will be an expert by the time you finish reading it!
The myth about lens thickness
Have you wondered what determine the lens thickness? Why does optician recommend you to use thin lens? Is that necessary? How do you make a better choice?
In this article, we will dive deeper to discuss everything about lens thickness. Let’s start with the question “what is thin lens?”.
What affect lens thickness
Index
To understand this, you should know that lens thickness is generally categorized into 4 groups, or we normally call it “index” ie 1.56, 1.61, 1.67 and 1.74. The higher the index, the thinner the lens is.
Prescription
Prescription This is easy to understand. For the same index, the higher the prescription, the thicker the lens is.
Pupillary Distance
Pupillary distance is the distance between two pupil centers. The idea is to align the optical center to the pupillary center so that we can minimize distortion and optimize the vision. The wider the pupillary distance, the lens will be thinner. The calculation can be a bit tedious but do remember the relationship between pupillary distance and lens thickness. Pupillary distance is an absolute measurement which intrinsically depends on wearer’s face size and eye. There is no good or bad effect associated with the pupillary distance.
Frame size
Since the lens thickness increases exponentially, as the frame size gets larger, it will utilize the side of the lens, which is also the thicker part. Therefore, for the same prescription and lens index, the larger the frame, the thicker the lens will turn out.
Why choose thinner lens
There are many advantages for choosing thinner lens.
Hide your high power
You wouldn’t want your friends to make fun of your prescription nor letting others know your high prescription. Most people associate thick lens with high power. Therefore, choosing thinner lens can easily hide your prescription.
Aesthetically pleasant
Thin frame is the latest trend nowadays. It looks clean, simple and easily pulled off by just anyone. You wouldn’t want to match it with thick lens, don’t you? That will definitely defeat the purpose of getting a thin frame.
Light and comfortable
Glasses rest on the nose. Thicker lens is generally heavier. You wouldn’t want a pair of heavy glasses sit on your nose the entire day and leave red mark. Besides, heavier lens can cause the glasses to slip down easily. You’d need to keep pushing it up. This very action can be pretty annoying.
Must know : How to choose the ideal thickness
By now you must have had a better understanding about lens thickness. It is no brainer to always go for the thinnest lens. However, thin lens can be pricey. Sometimes, you may not need to choose the thinnest lens if the benefit is not substantial. So, here’s a guide on how to choose lens with ideal thickness
Choose smaller frame/shape
Like above mentioned, larger frame will result in thicker lens. As such, if your power is higher than -5.00, you may want to filter out the oversize frames.
Know the prescription range
- 1.56 index is ideal for power less than -2.00,
- 1.61 index is ideal for power less than -4.00,
- 1.67 is ideal for power less than -6.00,
- 1.74 index is ideal for power less than -8.00.
- However, do take note that this does not take into consideration of astigmatism which can add extra thickness. Beyond -8.00, 1.74 index lens will look thick as well. If you are very particular about thickness, you may want your optician to explain further on it.
Your pupillary distance
If your pupillary distance is wide, your lens will be more likely thinner than your friend whose pupillary distance is much narrower. If you are the one with narrow pupillary distance ie 54-60 mm, try not to choose large frame to save on money on buying thin lens. To conclude, this is a general guide about lens thickness. There are more measurements and factors to consider when it comes to choosing lens thickness. Lens indexes exist are of 1.50, 1.53, 1.59, 1.70 and more. There are things like spherical and aspherical lens where aspherical lens is thinner than spherical for the same index. There is also different prescription availability for different lens index. When it comes to deciding the lens thickness, it’s best to know all the information shared here and discuss with your optician.
We also have blog about transparent glasses and different designs of round glasses.
Leave the job to us
If you’re looking for glasses recommendation, feel free to schedule an appointment with us. We will take into consideration of your lifestyle, prescription, preference and face shape to recommend the ideal one. Not to mention we also provide thorough eye test! Bring your friends and family along! Fill in the form here to get additional RM35 discount!
