The Eye Centre Leicester

  • Book an Eye Exam
  • glasses
  • Contact Lenses
    • Switch to us and save
    • Daily contact lenses
    • 2 weekly contact lenses
    • Monthly contact lenses
    • Order your contact lenses
    • Types of Contact Lenses
  • Eye Health
    • Book an Eye Exam
    • Explaining your eye exam
    • Help and advice
  • Contact us
    • About us
    • Book an Eye Exam
    • Finding us
    • Your Data
  • Book an Eye Exam
  • glasses
  • Contact Lenses
    • Switch to us and save
    • Daily contact lenses
    • 2 weekly contact lenses
    • Monthly contact lenses
    • Order your contact lenses
    • Types of Contact Lenses
  • Eye Health
    • Book an Eye Exam
    • Explaining your eye exam
    • Help and advice
  • Contact us
    • About us
    • Book an Eye Exam
    • Finding us
    • Your Data
Explaining Varifocal lenses

What are varifical lenses?
Varifocal lenses, also known as progressive lenses, contain two optical corrections. If you need glasses to see both at distance and for close work then varifocal lenses combine both prescriptions into one lens. This saves you from having to swap between two pairs of glasses to see at distance and to read.

The most common use of varifocals is for people who have become presbyopic and need a different prescription for close work. The upper part of the lens corrects distance vision and the lower part is for near vision. 

To anyone looking at you wearing your glasses, varifocal lenses look no different to normal glasses.

Are all varifocal lenses the same?
All varifocal lenses work to a design and there are many different designs available. Basic designs will offer you a more limited field of vision, particularly with close work, but more advanced, newer varifocal designs will offer a much wider field of vision making wearing your glasses a much more pleasurable experience. Now there are even varifocal lenses that are tailored to you individually. For these lenses we take more measurements from your face shape and prescription to craft a lens design that is unique to you.

Recently we have been able to offer lenses designed for specific uses. If you spend a lot of time driving, working in an office or playing sports, tell us when you're choosing your lenses and we'll recommend a lens design that is made for these applications.

Varifocal sunglasses
Sunglasses makers like Oakley and Maui Jim now offer the option to add varifocal lenses into many of their designs. These lenses are designed specifically to be optimised for sports and are even tailored for specific fields. So if you ski, play golf, cricket, sail, run or cycle in your leisure time there are specific lenses designed for for you.

If you would prefer varifocal sunglasses for everyday use then we can fit them to any of our glasses frames and nearly all of our Ray-Ban, Oakley, Prada, Tom Ford and other designer sunglasses.

Click here to book an eye exam or call 0116 2532788


Other help articles
Choosing the right glasses for you
Browse mens glasses
Browse womens glasses



Get your £20  ​off voucher
​and promotion updates
Send it

We're here to help...
Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays
​10:30am to 3:30pm
The Eye Centre, 56 High Street,  Leicester,  LE1 5YN 
​01162532788
enquiries@theeyecentre.co.uk​

Terms and conditions apply to offers on this page.  Please ask in store