As our population ages, more and more of us will need Varifocal or Progressive lenses, which help us to see near and far in one lens. Once you pass the age forty mark there’s no escape from needing this help for close work, and obviously we all lead busy, healthy active lives for much longer! So a Varifocal lens is an important part of everyday life for many wearers. It lets you see to thread a needle, look at your computer, and see into infinity – all with a thin sliver of plastic or glass!

Since they first appeared on the market around fifty years ago, Varifocals have evolved into complex new designs that make life easier for wearers. The manufacturers have also created different lens types for specific lifestyles, careers and hobbies.

Common problems with the earliest Varifocals were pretty drastic for some patients, who complained of headaches, and feelings of sea-sickness! For many it was a long struggle to adjust, with a high failure rate long-term. The single design did not suit everybody – for instance someone who drives for a living needs a different lens design from someone with a static desk job. The main problem with these early lenses was the distortion at the edge of the lens, which gave rise to all the odd effects and a very narrow clear area to look through. You also needed a huge frame to make the lenses work, which made specs heavy and thick for higher powers.

As designs changed, life became easier for wearers – and opticians! We could provide different solutions for patients who were struggling, and lenses that could be fitted into smaller and more fashionable frames. We have a range of lenses that suit every prescription and every budget. There are even tailor made lenses that fit wrap around frames, and help patients with specific optical needs. If you’ve tried them in the past, don’t be afraid to give Varifocals another chance, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how much things have changed.

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of a lens which many customers think is some new fangled idea that will be difficult to wear and is expensive. History speaks for itself though, this is a tried and tested product which has made millions of lives easier, using technology which has constantly evolved.

The varifocal lens was launched in 1959, the first true innovation in optics for many years. These early lenses were hard to adapt to, but in 1972 the product made great leaps forward and the usable areas of the lens increased. As time went on the lenses were improved further by adapting the lens design for different prescriptions, and reducing the distortion on the edges of the lens that made it difficult to wear.

These lenses are now available for most prescriptions, in different materials to make them thinner and lighter, go dark in the sun, or for tinted sunglasses. They fit in most fashionable frames, and there are different lenses for specific jobs, hobbies and professions. If you need help for reading and distance, then varifocals are the state of the art solution. They’ve grown up at the age of fifty, along with the Baby Boomers who now use them to make the most of their busy lives.