Steaming up is one of the biggest nuisances of wearing a face mask with spectacles. At the practice in which I work, those of us who wear glasses have got the Essilor Optifog spectacles lenses which I reviewed and wrote about last autumn in this article. Since then, my daughter Poppy has got them in her specs too. They are the best solution fogged-up glasses. However, not everybody needs or wants new spectacles or spectacle lenses and it’s likely we’ll need to wear a face mask in certain situations for some time yet. So what other anti-fog solutions are there?
Anti-Fog Lens Wipes
There is a plethora of spectacle lens wipes on the market. It’s hard to quantify how successful they are. The general consensus is that they reduce fogging by about 60% . That was until I tried Anti-Fog Lens Wipes by Heathfield. The director contacted me via Instagram to see if I’d like to try them. It’s a start-up business, so I was more than happy to do so, whilst being under no obligation to publish a review.
I was very pleasantly surprised by how well they work, compared to the other anti-fog lens wipes that I’ve tried. They are in fact absolutely brilliant. I used one before I went to the supermarket (on a pair of my glasses without the Optifog lenses), and it worked a treat. A 100% reduction in fogging- no steaming up whatsoever. I’m so impressed that I’m going to give some to the owner of our practice to try to see if she’d like to stock them. The rest I’ll keep for Ian and I to use when we’re out and about wearing a mask. They’re easy and very convenient to use; but the downside is that they’re a single-use, disposable product. However, Claire Brewster, the director is currently testing multi-use, more sustainable products, so watch this space.
Cost £4.99 for 30 wipes.
Anti-Fog Cloth
The team at The Body Doctor also got in touch via Instagram to ask if I’d like to try their AB Mask Anti-Fog Cloth. The reusable cloth is designed to prevent fogging of glasses during mask wear. Each use is said to provide 48 hours of anti-fog and protection from smearing and dust. I tried the anti-fog properties out on another supermarket shop. My specs fogged significantly less than they would do so ordinarily, (again, it’s hard to quantify but there was a qualitative improvement). There was some fogging at the bottom of each lens, but not so much that it impacted on my vision.
The big upside to this product is that it is re-usable and therefore more sustainable than anti-fog wipes.
Cost £6.
Sustainable Lens Cleaning Spray


This product isn’t an anti-fog solution, but a sustainable solution for cleaning spectacle lenses. It’s launching soon and I’ve been test-driving it for a few months. TheFrugal and Green lens cleaning kit consists of a refillable bottle and some tablets. (A lot of lens-cleaning sprays come in a plastic bottle; convenient and lightweight, but not eco-friendly). The Frugal and Green bottle is made from durable glass and aluminium with as little plastic as possible. Simply put the tablet into the bottle, fill with water and shake to mix. The resulting solution itself is eco-friendly and is free from harmful ingredients. The set includes 50 tablets for 50 refills, which should be enough for five years’ worth of cleaning. It’s suitable for use on anti-reflection coatings, hydrophobic lenses and can also be used on camera lenses.
It’s as good as any lens-cleaning other product I’ve tried so I wish Frugal and Green all the very best when they launch this excellent product.
Notes
Disclosure:
This isn’t a sponsored post.
All three products in this review were sent to me to try at no cost. I was under no obligation to write about any of them.
2 comments
This is excellent Intel Liz thank you so much! We will use the anti fog lens wipes you recommend with our ski goggles too.
Ah yes, that’s a very good point Michelle. They work on lots of lens types in lots of circumstances xxx