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AUTUMN SALE: UP TO 30% OFF THE ENTIRE WEBSITE
AUTUMN SALE: UP TO 30% OFF THE ENTIRE WEBSITE
Wood sunglasses deliver five comfort and style benefits you simply don’t get from plastic or metal frames.
Sure, any premium pair can brag about polarised lenses and silky hinges—but only real wood shows its one-of-a-kind grain, stays pleasantly cool on your skin, and feels almost weightless on your nose.
This isn’t hype: as you’ll see below, lab tests and thousands of daily wearers back it up—proving wood brings comfort and character no synthetic material can copy.
Each plank of wood grows its own grain pattern—so every finished frame is a visual one-off that mass-moulded acetate can’t replicate.
Walnut ripples like satin while ebony streaks jet-black and caramel—just as individual as your style.
Most wood frames sit 6–25 g lighter than popular acetate or metal styles (that’s a 30–50 % drop), easing nose-bridge pressure all day long.
| Example model | Material | Listed weight |
|---|---|---|
| Zeitholz Lumen | Laminated ebony | 24 g |
| Ray-Ban Aviator Classic RB3025 | Metal | 31 g |
| Ray-Ban Original Wayfarer RB2140 | Acetate | 49 g |
| Oakley Sutro | O Matter™ (nylon) | 32 g |
| Material against skin | Heat-flow rate (k) | What it feels like |
|---|---|---|
| Wood temples | ≈ 0.16 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹ | Matches skin temp fast—feels neutral |
| Acetate plastic | 0.17 – 0.33 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹ | Transfers heat a bit faster—can feel warm or cool |
| Stainless steel | 16 – 24 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹ | Moves heat ~100× faster—hot in sun, icy in cold |
A lower k means heat moves more slowly through the material.
Why it matters: the Exploratorium’s “Cold Metal” demo shows metal pulls warmth from your hand almost instantly, while wood barely does—even though both start at room temp. That same physics keeps wood frames from scorching on a dashboard or biting your temples on a frosty morning.
Wood equalises with your skin so quickly it feels virtually invisible in any weather—something plastic and metal just can’t match.
| Common irritant | Where it hides | Typical reaction / prevalence |
|---|---|---|
| Nickel | Metal cores, hinges, nose pads | Red, itchy contact dermatitis in 8 – 18 % of adults (Nickel Institute, 2023) |
| Phthalate plasticisers | Acetate fronts & injected temples | Irritation or allergic flare-ups, especially on sensitive skin (PubMed, 2017) |
| Synthetic dyes & solvents | Colour-saturated acetate, coatings | Local redness & swelling; patch-test positives in wearers (PubMed, 2017) |
Natural hardwood contains no nickel, phthalates or harsh dyes, so nothing leaches out when sweat or sunscreen meet your skin. Sensitive wearers report fewer itches and red marks—one of the simplest comfort upgrades you can make.
Light scratches rarely spell the end for wood frames. A quick pass with 600-grit paper and a wipe of food-grade wax melts the mark back into the grain and revives the satin sheen—a 10-minute DIY borrowed from cabinetmakers (Los Angeles Times, 1990).
Prefer video? This 10-minute tutorial shows the full wax-and-buff routine: “How to Fix Wood Scratches”.
No solvents, no special tools—just a quick refresh instead of an expensive replacement.
| Highlight | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| 5-layer laminated ebony frame — 24 g | Roughly half the weight of a classic acetate Wayfarer (49 g). |
| 7-layer UV400 TAC lenses | Blocks 100 % UVA/UVB and > 99 % glare for crisp, strain-free vision. |
| Carry kit included | Fold-flat cork case, microfibre cloth + two fabric chains for easy style swaps. |
Slip on a pair of Lumen and feel how lightweight ebony, glare-free optics and a flexible fit can level-up your day. Explore Lumen now.
