For most of our childhood lives, we have always been told to never look directly at the sun. This is obviously good advice. No matter our age, looking directly at the sun can be extremely dangerous for your eyes. It can even lead to permanent blindness.

Because of this, there are few reasons why you should be looking at the sun. That said, one specific reason is viewing a solar eclipse.

If you don’t already know, solar eclipses occur when a portion of the earth is engulfed in a shadow by the moon. Since the moon is between the sun and earth, the moon fully or partially blocks sunlight from reaching earth. When a solar eclipse occurs, you may experience partial or total darkness—even though you are seeing the solar eclipse in the middle of the day. The solar eclipse typically only lasts for a few minutes until the sun, moon, and earth fall out of perfect alignment.

Solar eclipses are some of the most astounding natural wonders that we see on earth today. If you haven’t already seen a solar eclipse, you’ll likely want to go outside and view the next solar eclipse (it is scheduled to occur on April 8, 2024).

But when going outside to view the solar eclipse, there is one extremely important fact that you’ll have to keep in mind. That is that you must wear solar eclipse glasses to safely view the sun. Even if you feel like your eyes aren’t suffering any damage from looking at the sun, the simple reality is that you are placing yourself at extreme risk for eye damage.

At Phillips-Safety, we understand the risks that we’re taking when viewing solar eclipses without the proper eyewear. Because of this, we are proud to offer the highest quality and most protective solar eclipse glasses on the market today. By purchasing any model in our solar eclipse glasses collection, you will be able to safely view the next solar eclipse.

Solar Eclipse Glasses: The Basics

Solar eclipse glasses must ultimately meet two requirements. First, they must sufficiently block out the sun’s dangerous light when you are viewing a solar eclipse. Along with this, solar eclipse glasses must provide enough structural support so that they won’t fall apart when you are actually looking at the solar eclipse.

As for the first requirement, your solar eclipse glasses must need to block out all of the wavelengths of the sun’s light. This is why normal sunglasses won’t provide you sufficient protection. If you were to use your favorite pair of sunglasses to look at a solar eclipse, your sunglasses may be blocking out a particular wavelength of light. That said, they may not be blocking out the others, meaning that you are putting yourself at serious risk for eye damage. Your solar eclipse glasses, therefore, must be specifically designed to block out all wavelengths of the sun’s light.

Along with this, your solar eclipse glasses need to be sturdy enough to maintain their shape when you are wearing them. You may see several different pairs of cardboard solar eclipse glasses for purchase. While they may do enough to block out the sun’s harmful rays, they may not be sturdy enough for your purposes. Therefore, when shopping around for solar eclipse glasses, keep this point in mind.

At this point in the discussion, however, we must note something extremely critical. At a minimum, you must obtain solar eclipse glasses to view any solar eclipse. That is a given. But having said this, you must ensure that your solar eclipse glasses are not fake. For the past several solar eclipses, there have been reports of fake solar eclipse glasses flooding the market. These solar eclipse glasses falsely claim to provide enough protection for your eyes. Specifically, they do not comply with the international standard for safe solar viewing, which is called ISO 12312-2.

This is where things can get really dangerous. You may think that you are protecting yourself and your family by purchasing solar eclipse glasses that claim to provide enough protection for your eyes. That said, by failing to conform with this standard, there is a real risk that you could experience some eye damage.

When shopping, therefore, keep this key caveat in mind. If you have any concerns about whether your selected solar eclipse glasses meet this standard, don’t hesitate to ask a sales associate. Asking these questions now may help you avoid a particularly dangerous situation down the road.

Our Collection of Solar Eclipse Glasses

Our experts at Phillips-Safety have carefully curated our solar eclipse glasses collection. Whichever model you choose, you can be confident that you will not suffer any eye damage when viewing an astounding solar eclipse.

For instance, in our collection, you will find our Solar Eclipse Glasses Shade 14 Welding Glass Lenses, #WLD-S14-ETG. This pair of solar eclipse glasses, like others, contains extremely dark lenses. These glasses are solely intended for viewing solar eclipses or for welding. They are not intended to be used as normal sunglasses—even if they take on the appearance.

Ultimately, this pair of solar eclipse glasses can block over 99 percent of ultraviolet (“UV”) radiation and 97 percent of infrared (“IR”) radiation. What does this mean for you? It means that if you go outside during a solar eclipse and wear these glasses, your eyes will be sufficiently protected. You can spend less time worrying about the quality of your solar eclipse glasses or whether your eyes are suffering any damage. Instead, you can dedicate all of your focus to appreciating one of nature’s most magical events occurring in front of you.

Along with the Solar Eclipse Glasses Shade 14 Welding Glass Lenses, #WLD-S14-ETG, we at Phillips Safety also offer the Solar Eclipse Glasses Shade 14 Welding Glass Lenses, #WLD-S14-55. These solar eclipse glasses, like the prior model, protect your eyes from 99 percent of UV light and 97 percent of IR radiation. They have exceptionally dark lenses and are only meant for viewing solar eclipses or for welding. To reiterate, these glasses should not be used as regular sunglasses or for any other purpose. They would be far too dark to use for those purposes and you would be placing yourself in even more danger than simply foregoing eyewear in the first place.

These two solar eclipse glasses can go a long way in helping you safely view solar eclipses. Whichever you choose, you can be confident that your eyes are sufficiently protected.

Preparing for the Next Solar Eclipse

Solar eclipse glasses are a necessity when viewing the next solar eclipse. Even though the next eclipse may be years away, it is worth doing the research now to ensure that you are well prepared. 

At Phillips Safety, we sell extremely high-quality solar eclipse glasses. Whether you are searching for solar eclipse glasses for yourself or for the whole family, we have you covered. Our solar eclipse glasses provide maximal protection and are sold at the most competitive prices. Ultimately, we are sure that you will be satisfied.

To learn more about our solar eclipse glasses collection, click here. If you have any further questions about our collection or solar eclipse glasses in general, don’t hesitate to contact us.