I Keep Breaking or Losing My Sunglasses! Help!

It won’t keep you from sitting on them, but to keep your glasses as pristine and scratch-free as long as possible, opticians recommend a dedicated eyeglass spray cleaner and lens cloth for cleaning your glasses—not your shirt, a towel, or a napkin.

“We’re all guilty of quickly rubbing our glasses on our shirts or using paper towels to clean the lenses,” said an article on Zenni Optical, one of our picks for the best places to buy glasses online. “While these habits may seem harmless, they don’t actually ‘clean’ your glasses and ultimately can end up damaging your frames.”

Some styles, like our longtime favorites, the Goodr OG sunglasses, and one of our new favorites, the Sunski Shoreline, come with a nice microfiber bag that doubles as a lens cloth, which makes for convenient double duty. Another one of our picks, the Sungait Vintage Round, also comes with a lens cloth and a bag, so you really have no excuse to use your spit and your sleeve.

Unfortunately, in our testing of scratch-repair kits, we found that once you’ve messed up a pair of sunglasses, they’re nearly impossible to fix.

Senior staff writer Elissa Sanci tested three scratch repair tools—a scratch remover spray, a scratch removing pencil, and a scratch removing liquid—and found them all to be duds.

She also tested scratch-removing hacks circling the internet that claim that certain household sundries, such as toothpaste or a baking soda and water slurry, can buff out scratches from plastic lenses. These DIY methods were a bust, too.

You may be more likely to hold onto your glasses if you stow them in a dedicated case, as opposed to simply setting them down and forgetting them.

“I buy Caddis reader sunglasses, and I purchased the Caddis Origami Case to keep them in,” says Christine Ryan, senior editor of outdoors coverage. “It’s sturdy enough to protect my sunglasses and easy to identify by feel when I’m rummaging in my handbag.”

The case converts from completely flat when not in use to a triangular design closed with a magnet that holds your specs in most low-impact environments.

For more athletic endeavors, the Croakies Sunglasses Case with Carabiner zips shut and can be clipped in place with the carabiner, so you’re never digging around your bag to find them.

If your sunglasses are falling off your head or collar and dropping multiple feet to the ground on a regular basis, get them on a leash.

Granny chains have gotten a lot cuter over the years. I’ve even seen ones in the style of friendship bracelets, which are easy enough to make yourself if you have the right supplies (you can even buy the little rubber retainer connectors in a 50-pack for cheap if you want to start a little granny-chain side hustle).

If you’re sportier and you need something more securely tethered to your head (for, say, rafting), “look for a retainer that secures to your sunglasses sidearms. Choosing a bright color and material that floats will help if you end up fishing for your sunglasses.” says Trey French, a staff writer now testing sports sunglasses.

The Cablz Zips Adjustable retainers are compatible with most sunglasses and are sold with an optional float. Unlike most retainers, the Cablz retainers are stainless steel and don’t hold sweat.

Christine, who’s a cyclist, uses her helmet to hold her sunglasses when she’s not actually using them. “If I go into a café or convenience store, I take them off and stick their arms into my helmet’s air vents—which on a lot of models are designed to let you do that. Without them, I’d have left a trail of sunglasses throughout the state of California,” she says.

And if you’re more sartorial in spirit, do what senior style editor Jen Hunter does. “Sometimes I hang mine on a silk scarf around my neck for a little flair,” she says.

Once you step through the door, you may not have the presence of mind to put your sunglasses safely back in their case, but you could hang them on a wall-mounted key holder—such as our pick, the Yamazaki Rin Magnetic Key Holder—like senior staff writer Zoe Vanderweide.

“As soon as I step inside, my sunnies go on a hook. It keeps them easily accessible and out of harm’s way, and it takes the guesswork out of remembering where I last stashed them,” she says. “The system works—even for my 6-year-old daughter and my messy man-child of a partner.”

Although you might be treating your shades roughly, sometimes breakage is a quality issue. The majority of Wirecutter’s cheap sunglasses picks come with some level of guarantee, but two have lifetime warranties.

The Sunski Shoreline, a style that looks great on people who wear wool beanies in the summer (is that you?), has a lifetime warranty that covers “all manufacturing defects in materials and workmanship during the lifetime of the product,” according to the company’s website.

Editorial director Christine Cyr Clisset has used the warranty several times for her husband’s broken Sunski sunglasses. “They’ve always sent him a replacement pair without hassle,” she says.

But note that superficial scratches or wear and tear are not covered.

The Sungait Vintage Round sunglasses also have a lifetime warranty. It isn’t listed on their website but was confirmed in both the insert that comes with the sunglasses and a comment by the company on Amazon (plus reviews from satisfied customers).

“A warranty this good is practically unheard of at this price point,” says Zoe.

One more tip: If you purchased your sunglasses recently and used a credit card, look to see if that card gives you a purchase protection benefit, which can provide insurance against theft or accidental damage or can extend an existing warranty.

Our staff-favorite Babiators Aviator sunglasses for kids also comes with one free replacement—no questions asked—within a year if you register them within 30 days of purchase. All you pay for is shipping.

Babiators cost more than cheapie kids sunglasses, but the company says its items are made with impact- and shatter-resistant lenses that protect the wearer’s eyes from 100% of UVA and UVB rays. That, and the potential for a free replacement pair, may give many parents peace of mind.

“Although the lenses can scratch (my then-2-year-old accomplished this by scraping the lenses along a cement wall), they don’t shatter, and the frames are virtually unbreakable,” says senior staff writer Lauren Dragan in our guide to kids beachwear.

Expensive designer sunglasses can have their place on your face, but only if you’re able to keep an eye on them. Trey employs what he calls “the sports car incentive.”

“I take care of my sunglasses because I buy pairs that are expensive to the point that I am stressed about losing or damaging them because replacing them would ruin my day,” he says.

But if you have exhausted all of the prevention tips above, maybe it’s time to just be kind to yourself and admit that sometimes cheaper is better. Many people on the Wirecutter staff prefer to go cheap. Having sunglasses you’re not super precious about takes some of the pressure off having to baby them. It may also help you feel less guilty if you lose or break them.

“The solution is to find sunglasses that are high quality yet super affordable, then buy multiples and stash them everywhere,” says senior staff writer Rose Maura Lorre, who wrote a love letter to her Sungait pair. “I have four or five pairs—in my car, various bags, the drawer near the door where I keep my wallet and keys. I never worry anymore about where my sunglasses are, because they’re everywhere.”

You can buy the Sungait Vintage Round glasses on Amazon in a pack of three, which can drop the price as low as $6 a pair.

When researching our guide to cheap sunglasses, Zoe found that cheap doesn’t necessarily equal poor quality, and seven styles made the cut.

“We tested sunglasses costing up to $70, but most of our picks ring up for under $35. Even though they’re inexpensive, all of them offer full UV protection, polarized lenses, and style to spare,” says Zoe. “Plus, they’re surprisingly durable: I scraped my keys across all the lenses, and they all held up!”

This article was edited by Jason Chen and Ben Frumin.