Fashion editor Zanna Roberts Rassi on UV exposure

A recent survey by The Vision Council, suggests that prolonged UV exposure can induce symptoms, such as trouble seeing, irritation in the eye, wrinkles around the eyes, and even cancer on or around the eye. Sunglasses are important for protecting eyes from harmful UV rays and piercing glare from windows and lighting. Sunglasses should be worn outdoors all year long, during daylight hour. A variety of styles are available and are equally trendy as they are protective, making sunglasses the most laidback health and fashion accessory to slip on when heading into the wild.

Zanna, you say sunglasses are a health necessity. Why is that?

So obviously sunglasses are an amazing fashion accessory, but it’s also so imperative to wear for eye health. A recent survey by Vision Council proved that our number one concern is vision loss when it comes to exposure, but still 27 percent of us are not wearing sunglasses outside. So, we’re on a mission to basically get that to 100 percent of people wearing sunglasses at all times outside in daylight hours.

So, you recommend wearing sunglasses everyday – regardless of the season?

When you think about it, we’re outside so much specifically between the hours of 2 and 4 when UV rays are at the most damaging. The damage can be really bad. Obviously can have ever tations wrinkles, but it can get really, really severe. And we’re talking about cancer. So, let’s wear our sunglasses. Let’s look cool as well as protecting ourselves for the future.

What are some of the styles trending this summer?

There were so many styles right now. I mean, I’m surrounded by some awesome sunglasses here. We’ve got Wiley, Shwoods, Spy, Polaroid for kids, you know, think about your face shape. I always advise people to have a bunch of sunglasses on rotation to suit your mood and suit your look. If you’re going for something feminine, then maybe a catseye, if you’re going for something a bit more tomboy, there is always Ray Ban classic. There is something for every price point too!

Are sunglasses equally important for kids?

Sunglasses are so important for kids. As a mother of two little ones, I spend my life running around after them, trying to get them to wear sunglasses. It’s astounding! Only five percent of us managed to have our kids wearing sunglasses outside. That is frightening when you consider that kids are three times more likely to be exposed to sun damage and UV rays in their little eyes. So, make it fun. We have some awesome lines from Disney’s “Disney and Tom’s” and Polaroid’s for kids and just make them look like little superheroes and then they can run around and have fun.

There are several common myths around UV protection. Which is the most relevant to point out?

A big myth around UV protection is that the darker the lens the more protected you are getting, which is absolute nonsense, because if you’ve not got a UV protection sticker on it, then you have zero protection.

For more information check out thevisioncouncil.org

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About the Author

David Morales is the Executive Editor of The Hype magazine. A graduate of Eastern Michigan University, David has a background as an artist manager, writer, blogger, drummer, and in the human services industry. He is passionate about helping others, learning and has a deep empathy for the creative process. You can follow his social media @dcypherstudios