And of course, that perfect pair of shades can prevent a painful sunburn around the eyes. No one wants to experience this. It just plain hurts. So what do you need to know to find that perfect pair of shades?

First, the harsh facts of regulation. According to the American Optometric Association (AOA), finding appropriate shades can be tricky. That’s because there are currently no federal requirements when it comes to sunglasses and UV protection. This also applies to light transmission levels and lens quality. Really, the only federal regulation dictates lens impact resistance.

Standards of the voluntary nature are lax. While you’d think it would, uniform labeling regarding UV protection simply does not exist. And the AOA says that the amount of differing UV labels nearly equals the number of sunglasses manufacturers. Add that to the fact that studies show that these labels can greatly mislead consumers.

Further, price does not dictate quality. According to the AOA, researchers have found that some top-of-the-line finds offer poor quality lenses or inadequate UV protection.

However, many cheaper options just may measure up in a good way. This means reading between the lines to find sunglasses designed with the aforementioned circumstances in mind.

Shopping smart begins with reading UV labels thoroughly. Ideally, look for shades that block out at least 99 percent of both UV-A and UV-B radiation. Lenses should screen out 75 to 90 percent of visible light.