What makes a lens dark
A sunglass lens is dark because of a tint, a dye in or on the lens that absorbs part of the light coming through it. The deeper the tint, the less light reaches the eye and the darker the world looks; a very light tint takes the edge off a bright day, a medium tint is the everyday sunglass, and a very dark tint is for the brightest conditions. A gradient lens is dark at the top and light at the bottom, which the gradient sunglasses guide covers, and a mirror coating reflects some light before it reaches the tint, so a lens looks darker from outside than it is from inside; the mirrored sunglasses guide explains the difference.
Two things a dark tint does not do. It does not, on its own, protect the eye: protection comes from the lens material and its treatment, not its colour, so check the product page for the protection wording and read the UV400 sunglasses guide for what it means. And it does not cut glare; it dims glare along with everything else, which is the polarized filter's job.
Dark or polarized
Dark and polarized are two different properties and a lens can be either, both or neither. Dark is how much light the lens lets through. Polarized is a filter inside the lens that blocks the light bouncing off flat surfaces, a wet road, water, a car bonnet, so the glare goes and the detail under it comes back. A dark lens without the filter makes a glaring road darker and still glaring; a polarized lens of medium depth makes it readable. For driving, water and long days outside, the filter matters more than the depth, and the what are polarized sunglasses guide and the polarized sunglasses under $100 guide cover it. Both together is the beach pair, and seven of the nine below are both.
When a very dark lens is right
Open water and snow. The brightest places a person spends a day, because light comes from above and below; a very dark lens, ideally polarized, is the right pair and a medium lens is not enough.
A white beach or a pale city at midday. Sand, concrete and stone throw light back up, and a dark lens brings the brightness down to a level the eyes can hold for hours.
A migraine, a hangover or light sensitivity. A dark lens is the pair for a day when ordinary light is too much, and a fair reason to own one.
Privacy. The honest reason many people buy very dark sunglasses: the eyes do not show, and the black sunglasses guide covers the frame half of that look.
When a very dark lens is wrong
Driving at dusk or in rain. A dark lens that was right at noon is dangerous at six, because it takes light from a scene with none to spare. Driving sunglasses should be medium, polarized and grey or brown, which the driving sunglasses guide explains, and no sunglass is the pair for night; the night driving glasses guide has the straight answer.
Overcast days and shade. A dark lens under cloud or trees makes the day gloomy; a light tint or a gradient is the pair for a grey day.
Indoors. Dark sunglasses worn inside are a costume. A light tint reads as a choice; a black lens reads as hiding.
Anywhere you need to read faces. A conversation through a black lens is one-sided; a gradient or a medium tint lets the eyes be read.
The dark lens colours
A dark lens is usually one of four colours, and the colour changes the view more than the depth does. Dark grey is the neutral: it dims everything equally and keeps colours true, which makes it the all-round dark lens and the one for driving in bright sun. Dark brown warms the view and adds contrast, so edges and depth read more clearly in flat light; it is the dark lens for golf, for a hazy day and for anyone who finds grey cold, and the brown sunglasses guide covers it. Dark green sits between the two, a touch of contrast without the warmth, and is the classic lens in the classic aviator; the green sunglasses guide has it. Black, the darkest grey, is the privacy lens, and it is the one to use sparingly. The tinted sunglasses guide sets the four dark colours beside the fashion tints.
The frame is chosen separately: a dark lens in a dark frame is the classic and suits dark hair and strong features, and a dark lens in a crystal, tortoise or white frame is the version for lighter colouring, where the lens does its job and the frame keeps the face from disappearing.
Fit matters more in a dark lens
A dark lens that sits wrong is worse than a light one that sits right, because a dark lens that has slipped down the nose shows a bright gap above it, and the eye adjusts to the dark half and is dazzled by the light one. The frame should sit level, reach the temples and clear the cheeks, and on a lower nose bridge that means a frame cut for it or a pair with adjustable pads; the how should sunglasses fit guide has the checks, and the low bridge fit sunglasses collection lists the MUJOSH frames with the cut. A big lens also matters more with a dark tint, because a small dark lens lets light in around its edges; the oversized sunglasses guide covers the shapes with the most coverage.
MUJOSH dark sunglasses
Nine pairs from the sunglasses collection with a dark lens, by price. Polarized where the product page says so, which is seven of the nine; lens colour named where the page names it.
- Cinnamon in BGG, $69: an oversized flush-mount acetate square with a dark lens, polarized, cut for a lower nose bridge; also in HTGB dark tortoise. The all-black classic and the lowest priced dark pair in the range.
- Vintage Narrow in BB, $89: a narrow black acetate cat eye with a dark lens, polarized, low bridge fit. The sixties dark pair.
- Dixrea in OBBB, $99: a polished black acetate square with polarized grey lenses and small rivets, cut for a lower nose bridge; also in RPG burgundy with the same grey lens. The dark grey driving pair.
- Lix in OGBG, $99: an oversized olive green acetate square with a dark lens, polarized, low bridge fit; in OTPG the frame is translucent light grey with a grey polarized lens. The coverage pair for the beach.
- LYF Cat Eye in OBB, $99: a soft cat eye in polished black acetate with grey lenses, rounded along the bottom and lifted at the corner. Non-polarized; the dark cat eye for a day in town.
- Numer in BB, $109: a narrow black rectangle in polished acetate with a dark lens, polarized. The office dark pair.
- Comte Oversized, $119: an oversized acetate square cut for a lower nose bridge, non-polarized. The biggest lens in the range, for coverage.
- Species BL in BGD, $135: an oversized black square-round in acetate with spring hinges and a low bridge fit, non-polarized. The softer big dark pair.
- Zest in OBPG, $169: a narrow oval in polished gloss black acetate, polarized; in LRPG a translucent cognac frame with a grey lens. The nineties dark pair.
The seven polarized pairs are also in the polarized sunglasses collection, and the square sunglasses guide covers the shape that six of the nine share.
The bottom line
A dark lens is a deep tint, separate from protection and from the polarized filter; right for water, snow, a white beach and a day when light is too much, wrong for dusk, rain, cloud and indoors. Choose dark grey for true colour, dark brown for contrast and green for the classic, and make sure the pair sits level, because a dark lens that slips lets the light in above it. In the MUJOSH range that is nine pairs from Cinnamon at $69 to Zest at $169, seven of them polarized.
The darkest look in the range is a black square with a grey lens; the black square sunglasses guide covers gloss, matte and size.
Frequently asked questions
Are dark sunglasses better for your eyes?
Not on their own. Sun protection comes from the lens material and its treatment, not from how dark the tint is, so a very dark lens with no protection wording on its product page is worse than a lighter lens with it. Buy on the protection wording first and the darkness second.
Are dark sunglasses good for driving?
In bright sun, a medium to dark grey or brown lens with a polarized filter is the driving pair. A very dark lens is wrong at dusk, in rain or under cloud, because it takes light from a scene that has none to spare, and no sunglass is right at night.
What is the darkest lens colour?
Black, which is the deepest grey. Dark grey keeps colours true, dark brown adds contrast and warmth, and dark green sits between the two; black is the privacy lens and the one to use only in the brightest conditions.
Which MUJOSH sunglasses have a dark lens?
Cinnamon in BGG ($69), Vintage Narrow in BB ($89), Dixrea in OBBB ($99), Lix in OGBG ($99), LYF Cat Eye in OBB ($99), Numer in BB ($109), Comte Oversized ($119), Species BL in BGD ($135) and Zest in OBPG ($169), seven of them polarized per their product pages.
