Having the right color blind glasses help you a lot in vision. In the past, people with color blindness have a problem with their perception of color. Sadly, it is impossible to alter this genetic condition. Probably, you have to avoid some professions or tasks or jobs that need accurate color vision. Now, things get better.
Color blind glasses are eyeglasses that are specially designed with certain tinted lenses. Simply, it works to support people with color vision deficiency. When you are wearing this eyeglass, you could see colors in a better way; at least you could distinguish colors. In some cases, you could see a new color that you can’t see before.
Even though it does not cure the presence of color blindness, it gives you more opportunity to see colors more accurately. With the presence of color-blind glass, it makes your life easier than before. You could even choose and then match the patterns or colors of your clothes.
Even better, wearing color blind glass may support your carrier opportunities. Also, there are many different brands available with different features and price tags to pick.
Top 10 Color Blind Glasses Reviews in 2024
1. EnChroma Monterey Cx3 Sun Color Blind Glasses for Deuteranomaly & Protanomaly
Enchroma is one of the great companies that produce a complete series of color vision glasses to the market. One of their products is Enchroma Monterey Cx3 Sun. These are color correction glasses that are made to help people with both deuteranomaly and protanomaly. In addition, this series CX3 is designed for outdoor uses.
Tough for both deuteranomaly and protanomaly, it’s not recommended to use for severe red cone deficiency (protanomaly). But, for deuteranomaly (green cone deficiency), this one suits both for light, medium, and heavy green color deficiency.
Along with all of its advantages, you could purchase these glasses as a gift for someone you love. As it’s made for both red-green deficiency, your surprise will run smoothly because it would be suitable for typical color blindness.
Pros:
- Made for deuteranomaly and protanomaly
- Great to carry outdoors
Cons:
- Not for Tritanomaly
- This one is not for indoors
2. Pilestone TP-025 Wayfarer Classic Color Blind Glasses [Heavy Red-Green Blindness]
Pilestone is also another leading company that produces glasses for vision deficiency. One of the things we are sure that you would like from this company is their simple color-blind vision simulator. It helps normal people get the idea of how persons who are suffering from this uniqueness see the colors.
Aside from that, another nice thing about this company is the variety of lens options they provide. This option makes it possible for you to decide which lens is highly suitable for you. There are lens A, B, C, D, and E. Each lens is designed for different needs.
This Pilestone TP-025 is the lens B type which means for heavy deutan and protan (red-green) color deficiency. It has a darker tint, UV rays protected, and titanium coated. In terms of use, you could use this pair of glasses for outdoor and indoor.
Pros:
- For heavy deutan and protan
- Both for indoors and outdoors
Cons:
- Not for light and medium color vision blindness
3. Pilestone TP-012 Casual Color Blind Glasses (Light & Medium Red-Green Blindness)
Another Pilestone product is Pilestone TP-02 that is specified as lens A. This one has casual look and seems to be a great pick for formal and everyday use. The lens A means designed to work best for weak & medium deutan and protan color vision blindness.
You could add the prescription by asking them on their official site. Send your order number and explain your prescription details through an email. The shipment of the glasses with prescription can take 2 up to 4 weeks. So you need to be patient.
Pros:
- Casual style
- For weak and medium red-green blindness
Cons:
- Not for heavy color deficiency
4. Pilestone TP-006 Classic Aviator Color Blind Glasses (Light & Medium Red-Green Blindness)
You could look stylish even though using color vision glasses. This aviator classic style from Pilestone brand is a great choice for those suffering from typical red-green color blindness.
As the model ( TP-006) tells us, it’s for most deutan and protan deficiency. It would commonly be very helpful for light and medium red-green color deficiency. That said, the drawback comes to for those suffer severe blindness. This is not for them.
As people use the aviator style generally for outdoor use, this one is also great to use for outdoors. The UV ray protection feature also shields your eyes from the danger of health issues caused by sun rays. But it doesn’t mean it’s not suitable for indoor. This one is okay to use anywhere.
Pros:
- Great for weak & medium red-green blindness
- great to carry outdoor (classic aviator)
Cons:
- Not for severe blindness
5. Pilestone Golden Mermaid GM-2 Color Vision Glasses (Red Blindness)
Pilestone GM-2 is a stylish mermaid look color correction glasses model that is amazing to use for those undergoing protan color disorder. When your red cones are weak, you can’t sense the red color easily. However, this pair of glasses can help. This option GM-2 is recommended to use for heavy red blindness as it’s made for it.
The casual look adds more preference to use in any place. Both indoor and outdoor, you could enjoy wearing the Pilestone GM-2 lens D type without worrying about the UV ray.
Pros:
- Made for heavy protan (red color cone deficiency)
- Casual style, great for any occasion and formal suits.
Cons:
- Its lens color may be weird to wear for men
6. Pilestone TP-008 Blue Color Blind Glasses (Tritanomaly/Tritanopia)
Tritanomaly is the condition in which the s-cone cells of the retina undergo deficiency. It makes your eyes struggle to sense blue color. While tritanopia is the condition in which the s-cone cells of the retina are lost at all.
People with tritanomaly will struggle hard to distinguish between blue and green objects as well as yellow and red objects. Things getting worse for people with tritanopia since it makes color distinguishing between blue-green, yellow-pink, and purple-red colors are harder. To overcome this issue, one of the efforts that you could pursue to improve your vision is by using this pair of Pilestone TP-008 glasses.
Pros:
- For tritanopia and tritanomaly
Cons:
- Not always working
7. Pilestone TP-009 Yellow Color Blind Glasses (Tritanomaly/Tritanopia)
Tritan blindness means your blue cone doesn’t work as it should be. This causes you to be a blue color deficiency. As they are several degrees of tritan blindness, however, we are not sure which one is this. There is no sufficient information to decide whether this one is suitable for mild or medium or heavy protan blindness. Since the glasses refundable and you could get back your money if it doesn’t work, it should be very convenient to buy.
Pros:
- Made for Tritanomaly and Tritanopia
- You could ask for a refund if the glasses don’t work
Cons:
- Not specified which protan degree this one is designed for
8. Vino Optics Color Blindness Glasses, Sport Frame
Everyone loves sport. But they may get an obstacle due to their vision. Vino Optics comes to listen to their need. They are no longer just sit and watch people play the ball but they could join together even they look more confident with this sport frame Vino color vision glasses. Designed for the most common of blindness, red-green, this item helps them distinguish colors.
To support your outdoor activity, this one is featured some technologies such as anti-fog and anti-scratch coatings. This is to let your vision enjoy all the time without worry about wiping the lens due to the fog. The UV protective acts as eye protection against the sun rays.
Pros:
- The impaired red-green color vision will take some benefits from these glasses
Cons:
- Expensive
9. Pilestone TP-022 Kids Color Blind Glasses (Light & Medium Red Green Blindness)
Are you suffering from protan (protanomaly/protanopia) and deutan (deutranomaly/deutranopia) and requiring the smaller frame size? This is Pilestone TP-022 color blind glasses with titanium coated that come for kids.
According to the model that it shows (TP-022), this one has lens A type which means meant for universally most color deficiency, even whether it’s used both indoor and outdoor. It is also designed to protect you from UV rays.
To save you time deciding, this is not recommended to try for heavy blindness. If you suffer from light to medium blindness, this is the recommended model for you. You could get this item through the following link.
Pros:
- Great for 10-year-old kids
- For light and medium red-green deficiency.
Cons:
- Not for heavy deutan and protan color blindness
10. Onke Color Blind Glasses for Men (Red-Green Blindness)
The more options available the better for you to check before deciding to purchase. The last one is from Onke. This is a red-green color disorder glasses that will help you distinguish color more easily. Moreover, in terms of style, its unique style is a nice idea to carry around.
Pros:
- For red-green blindness
Cons:
- Not for blue color blindness
What to Consider When Buying Color Blind Glasses
Color blindness would not affect the capability to read or see objects. It is more about how you could differentiate red from green, for example. Finding the best color blind glasses also mean that you should choose one that works for the type of impairment.
By using this shopping guide, you could gather some information you need for vision issues. Here are some considerations to choose the best ones:
1. Type
When buying a pair of color blind glasses, the most important thing to do is selecting the right type of glasses for your eyes vision problem. It’s wise to realize that none of the people suffer from the same color-blind problem. Some of you may suffer from red-green, and others may suffer from blue-yellow color blindness. That said, make sure that the type of color blind glasses corrects your problem.
If you have red-green color blindness, it affects the way you see green and red shades. It is very common to find the best color blind glasses. On the other hand, blue-yellow color blindness is uncommon. It means that you have more limited choice compared to red-green color blindness.
2. Indoor Vs. Outdoor
Most of the color-blind glasses are available for indoors. Simply, these products are designed to correct your perception of color, especially in artificial lighting. Some others are outdoors. The outdoor color blind glasses have higher tinted lenses. The function is to support counteract the sunlight. Even better, you could find functional color blind glasses for both indoors and outdoors.
3. Features
If you are looking for comfortable eyeglasses for color blindness, it is important to choose the lightweight design. For example, lightweight frames made of plastic or metal could be your ideal choice. Other than that, some products come with adjustable frames to give you a perfect fit.
Sporty corrective glasses are also available to support corrective lens wearers to do their active lifestyle. This type of color blind glasses is more durable for sports and outdoor activities.
Anytime you want to have color blind glasses that can reduce the glare, make sure that the chosen products have an anti-reflective coating.
4. Size
Size also highly matter. If you are an adult but wearing a pair of glasses for kids, it would be not suitable. Therefore, considering the size when selecting the best color blind glasses for you is critical. Things that you could consider are the lens width, frame width, temple length, lengs height, frame weight, etc.
5. Refundable
It can be a great option if you purchase the ones refundable. This is great when it comes to buying this as a gift. When you don’t know exactly the blindness of someone you are going to surprise, purchase two and see which one that works. After which one is recognized working out, you could return the second one.
How Eyes Interpret Wavelengths into Colors?
Among all the waves in the electromagnetic spectrum, our eyes are designed to be sensitive to visible light spectrum. When the electromagnetic waves reflect on an object surface and then the waves travel to our eyes, our eyes only recognize the visible light. UV rays, Infrared, etc are filtered out by our retinas, result invisible.
If all wavelengths are reflected, the color that appears is white. If all wavelengths are absorbed, the color that appears is black. It depends on the surface of the object being seen.
Further, our eyes have a way to detect or distinguish colors. Thank God for the three cones in our retina that work interpreting the wavelengths into colors. These three photoreceptors cells (cones) react differently to the wavelengths.
When a group of visible light hits the eye, it means they hit the large million number of nerve cells in the back of the eye (retina). Some of the cells are light-sensitive, they are rods and cones. Though rods are sensitive to light, cones are responsible for why we distinguish color. The cones itself contains pigments or molecules that are sensitive to a particular range of wavelength and are divided into three types.
For normal people, the three cones are S-cone, M-cone, and L-cone that correspond to these wavelengths [Source]:
- S-cone or Blue Sensitive Cone. This S-cone reacts to wavelengths approximately from 380 nm to 550 nm (peaking at 420 nm). The colors are violet, blue, and cyan light.
- M-cone or Green Sensitive Cone. This M-cone reacts to wavelengths approximately from 400 nm to 670 nm (peaking at 530 nm). The colors are cyan, green, yellow, and orange light.
- L-cone or Red Sensitive Cone. This L-cone reacts to wavelengths approximately from 400 nm to 760 nm (peaking at 560 nm). The colors are green, yellow, orange, and red light.
That said, when a certain light with 480 nm wavelength enters into your eyes, it will activate the three types of cone cells. Then, the color that appears in the visual cortex is determined by the ratio of the activated cones. In this case, the wavelength is interpreted to be cyan color.
Another example is 575 nm wavelength. This wavelength only activates the green and red cones. Since the blue cone is not activated (the ratio of blue is none), then the visual cortex visualizes it as the yellow color.
How Eyes Become Color Blinded
Simply, color blindness happens because the cone has “the range of wavelength response that is different” from the normal people do. The color blindness also can happen because one of the cones is impaired, it totally doesn’t react to any wavelength. In a rare event, all cones don’t work. This happens commonly because of genetic reasons.
How eyes become color blinded can be explained through the three types of color blindness: monochromacy, dichromacy, and anomalous trichromacy.
- Monochromacy. This is when all the cones are totally impaired. People with this only sees in black and white.
- Dichromacy. One of the cones is impaired. Further, it can be classified into three types based on what cone that is impaired.
- Protanopia. The red cone cells are totally impaired.
- Deuteranopia. The green cone cells are totally impaired.
- Tritanopia. The blue cone cells are totally impaired.
- Trichromacy. One of the cones has a range of wavelength response (spectral sensitivity) that is different from normal people.
- Protanomaly. Altered red cone spectral sensitivity.
- Deuteranomaly. Altered green cone spectral sensitivity.
- Tritanomaly. Altered blue cone spectral sensitivity.
As there are several types of color blindness, deuteranomaly is the most common type of color blindness.
How Color Blind Glasses Work
A color-blind glasses will not totally cure your color blindness. But it helps you. Though it helps, it doesn’t always work the same for all people, the results do vary.
To get the best result, it’s always recommended to see the specialist in this field in order to diagnose your eye problem precisely. Then they will create a lens that suits your eyes.
So far, color correction glasses only work for trichromacy. If one of your cones is damaged, the glasses may not work for you. However, if the spectral sensitivity of one of your cones is altered or shifted, the glasses could help.
When there is a shift in spectral sensitivity, the proportion of the three colors is changed. In this case, the glasses could help restore the proportion in order to create a color view as accurately as normal people do. A video visual explanation of how color blind glasses work can be seen in the following video.
Another way of how color deficiency glasses work is by filtering out a certain amount of wavelengths. The wavelength that is meant to block out is the wavelengths that eyes are hard to distinguish. By means of this, the color is more vibrant and easy to distinguish.
The key to blocking the wavelength lies on the layer of the lens. It consists of a hundred layers of dielectric material in which each layer is designed to filter out a specific wavelength. A better explanation can be watched in this video from 1:59 to 2:59.
Last Words
It’s highly recommended to see your doctors or eye specialist to decide your best color blind glasses. However, it’s also possible to pick your own glasses. In this case, you could take a look at our selection of 10 color blind glasses reviews above. Before you make a purchase, make sure you have recognized your blindness type. Buying this kind of glasses online is also a great idea for a gift.