What are Crizal Lenses? Pros, Cons & Costs

What are Crizal Lenses?

Crizal is an anti-reflective (AR) coating applied to the back, front, or both sides of eyeglass lenses to reduce glare and provide protection against:

Scratches
Dust
Smudges
Water
Harmful effects of UV rays and blue light

Crizal coating is a brand name developed by Essilor, which specializes in creating lens innovation solutions for eye health.

Who Needs Them?

Crizal lenses reduce the amount of light reflected on eyeglasses, improving visual clarity, comfort, and transparency.

Anti-reflective glasses can benefit people who:

Work long hours in front of a computer
Have trouble with night driving
Are photographed often
Work under bright lights
Spend long hours doing outdoor activities
Have undergone laser eye surgery

Types of Crizal Lenses

Depending on consumer needs and desired protection, there are several types of Crizal lenses. They range from enhanced, best-in-class protection to standard anti-glare reduction.

Types of Crizal lenses include:

Crizal Sapphire. Provides enhanced glare and UV protection but not blue light protection
Crizal Prevencia. Selectively filters blue-violet light from computers, tablets, and smartphones
Crizal Rock. Uses High Resistance Technology to reduce scratches and smudges from dust and water
Crizal Easy Pro. Is designed to be smudge resistant and stay clean longer
Crizal Easy. Ideal for smudge, glare, and scratch resistance

How Do Crizal Lenses Work?

Crizal coating uses 360° Multi-Angular Technology to reduce the amount of reflective light hitting the lenses resulting in less:⁴

Backside reflections
Optical diffusion caused by scratches and smudges
Ghost images induced by multi-reflections

The 360° Multi-Angular Technology changes the way light interacts with eyeglass lenses. It manipulates light’s wavelengths, intensity, and direction to create less glare and protect the eyes from UV rays and blue light.⁴

How to Clean Crizal Lenses

Because Crizal lenses are transparent, they are more likely to look dirty than regular eyeglass lenses and require more frequent cleaning.

The steps to clean Crizal lenses include the following:

Rinse the lenses under warm water to remove dirt and debris
Clean with mild dishwashing soap to remove facial oils
Rinse with water
Dry with a soft cotton cloth
Polish with the provided Crizal microfiber cleaning cloth (can also be used to touch up lenses throughout the day

How Much Do Crizal Lenses Cost?

The price of Crizal lenses ranges from $92 to $160, which is above the cost of regular eyeglass lenses.⁶

Pros and Cons of Crizal Lenses

Crizal lenses are a good option if you want to reduce glare and minimize the effects of harmful blue light. However, there are also a few drawbacks to using anti-reflective lenses.

Pros of Crizal Lenses

Depending on your lifestyle and activity level, Crizal lenses provide complete protection and the most precise vision by offering the following:

Best-in-class blue light and glare reduction
Smudge resistance and scratch protection
Overall UV protection
AR coatings that make your eyes look clearer with less glare
More durability than regular lenses
Reduced eye fatigue at work
Improved night vision

Cons of Crizal Lenses

Negative aspects of anti-glare Crizal lenses include:

Price
The need for frequent cleaning
Inability to be used as reading glasses
Lenses that can’t be repaired if damaged

Where to Buy Crizal Lenses

Crizal lenses are sold by various chain and independent optometry offices worldwide.

Enter your zip code on the Essilor website to find a location near you.

Alternative Treatments

There are not any current studies showing that blue light coming from computer screens or smartphones is damaging to the eyes.⁸

Furthermore, a recent study concluded that blue light-blocking lenses do not reduce eye strain from extensive screen time.⁹

Alternative ways to treat eye strain from computer use include:

Sit arm’s length away from the computer screen
Look away from your computer screen every 20 minutes
Use artificial eye drops to treat dry eyes
Brighten the room lighting
Increase the contrast on your computer screen
Use a matte computer screen filter

Summary

Crizal is an anti-reflective coating added to eyeglass lenses to reduce glare, protect against UV rays and blue light, and resist scratches and smudges. They are an additional cost for regular eyeglass lenses.

The benefits of Crizal lenses include improved night vision, reduced glare for outdoor activities and photographs, and more durability than regular lenses. The drawbacks of Crizal lenses include their need for frequent cleaning, their price, and that they can’t be used as reading glasses.

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