Eyeglasses & contacts

 Soft Contact Lenses: come in many varieties, including Daily Disposable (Single Use), Two Week Disposable and Monthly Disposable.   These contact lenses also are available for spherical, astigmatism and bifocal correction. 

Gas Permeable Lenses are the hard lenses.  They work best for high prescriptions, especially with high degrees of astigmatism.  They allow more oxygen to get to the eye and provide better optical quality than soft lenses, but they are not as flexible on the eye and initially are more uncomfortable.

Colored Contact Lenses are soft cosmetic lenses that require a prescription.  We love to get you the right look for your eyes, including custom designs.  Most colored lenses are available in prescriptions too.

Specialty Contact Lenses come in a variety of materials and are custom designed to fit your eyes, especially difficult to fit eyes or post-surgery and post-injury eyes.   

Bebe:  Hip, sophisticated & trendy  

Boss / Hugo Boss: seriously suave  
Carrera: sporty
Columbia: rugged and durable
Dolabany: fun, artsy and colorful.
Fysh: cool artsy designs
Kate Spade: colorful and available in petite sizes
Kliik: designed especially for the petite man or woman, made in Denmark.
Koali:  artistic designs
Liz Claiborne / Claiborne for Men: you know Liz
Marc Jacobs: high fashion
Morel - Lightec/OGA/Red/Nomad: super light weight, made in france, super durable, high fashion
Nike: sports fashion
Wylie X: uber protective and stylish sunglasses for men, women and kids   

Plastic Lenses are the standard material.  Inexpensive and factory coated with a scratch-resistant coating, they make a good pair of glasses.

Polycarbonate Lenses are a lightweight, shatterproof material used in safety glasses, but also as a way to thin the lenses for a more attractive look.  We use this material for all of our children glasses, for safety reasons.

Hi-Index Plastic Lenses are high index of refraction polymers that are very dense and very thin.  With this material we can make high prescriptions very thin, though slightly heavier, than the polycarbonate equivalent.  We prefer this material both for the look and the decrease in distortion.

Trivex Lenses are a combination of Polycarbonate and Hi-Index.  This lens was developed here in Pittsburgh by PPG Industries and allows for a thinner lens than the polycarbonate lens, but also more lightweight than the Hi-Index. We like this lens for moderate prescriptions for less distortion than simple Polycarbonate and more lightweight than the Hi-Index material.

 Coatings help protect the lens and are available with most materials.

Scratch Coating - Factory Applied Scratch-Coating is standard on all lenses.  This protects your lenses from normal wear and tear from daily cleaning and life’s little mishaps.

Anti-Reflective Coating (anti-glare) is applied at the end of the manufacturing process and eliminates glare from surfaces, oncoming headlights and internal glare from your lenses.  For best function of your lenses, we recommend this on all prescriptions. 

Transitions or Photochromic Lens is a chemical property of the lens that reacts to ambient UV (ultraviolet) light and causes the lens to darken.  It protects your eyes from UV damage and reduces the brightness from sunlight when outside.  

Lenses are completely clear when inside or behind the windshield of a car.  We recommend this lens on most prescriptions as a way to protect the eyes from the potential damage from UV and for anyone spending time outside without sunglasses.

Blue Light Protective Coating is a thin coating, either clear or slightly yellow that protects your eyes from the blue light emitted from screens of computers, electronic notebooks, smartphones and other digital devices. 

Polarized sunglasses have been popular for years with boaters and fishermen who need to reduce reflected glare from the water surrounding them. Polarized lenses contain a special filter that blocks this type of intense reflected light, reducing glare. 

With polarized lenses, you may be unable to see your cell phone or GPS device, but they make the best sunglasses for many uses, including driving and outdoor activities.

Sunglasses can also be made by applying a UV Coating and Tinting.  This does not have the same reflective ability as Polarization, but works to absorb some of the brightness from the sunlight and protect your eyes from potential damage from Ultra Violet light.