Since earlier in the year, when wearing a face mask in public became a thing, we at Retropeepers have been concerned about the problem of glasses steaming up when worn with protective face coverings. Finally we believe we have found a technical solution with our new anti-fog lenses. We can provide either single vision or varifocal lenses with a special coating that is pretty effective against the problem. Prices start at £75 for single vision and although this is not a low cost lens, it will remove much of the aggravation of frame and mask wearing. Please email us with your prescription to find out more.
If you do not feel ready to invest in new lenses now, then luckily, there are some steps you can take to try and minimise the steaming problem – starting with the fit. Some of the best masks are the ones that have a wire over the bridge of the nose or have adjustable straps, as these can be smoothed out so there are no gaps, which helps stop the hot breath escaping. Some fabrics are also better than others such as tightly woven cotton as they allow breath to escape more easily.
Of course, for those who work in the NHS, wearing masks and glasses is a familiar part of their routine. I asked some of our fantastic nurse and doctor customers for their three top tips and here they are:
Keep it secure
To form a seal around the top of your mask, pull it up and place your glasses on top, or try a small bit of surgical tape to keep it secure and in place. You could also try a nose wire to stop the breath escaping out of the top.
Stop the slippage
Glasses that constantly slip down the nose can make your mask get all rucked up and create gaps that air can then escape from. Our customers told us that they have wrapped the string from the masks round the arms of their glasses to keep them secure.
Give them a wash
It may sound a bit strange, but some swear by washing their glasses lenses with washing up liquid without water and wiping it off, then leaving them to dry. Another nurse suggested shaving foam works in a similar way and stops the lenses from fogging.
As we are all going to now be donning a mask for the foreseeable future, we may as well look fierce while doing it!
For those of us who love the vintage or retro aesthetic, the plain masks available on the high street just aren’t going to cut the mustard! Retropeepers offers two designs of William Morris masks at £9 each which might fit the bill, choose from Brother Rabbit (left) or Strawberry Thief.
Here at Retropeepers, we of course have frames in a range of vibrant colours, and you could match your mask with your glasses to create a co-ordinated look. For a fun look, why not clash prints, like I so with my tiger print mask and leopard print cat-eyes. You could also style your glasses with a cute or kitsch print like cherries or polka dots to give it that retro feel, like our fabulous customer Emma in her mask from The Masketeer Boutique on Etsy.
Have you styled your specs with your facemask and are still rocking your cool retro look? Share a selfie with us with the #retropeepers – we would love to share and celebrate your look.
And keep your eyes peeled as we are working on some stylish masks ourselves!
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