How To Keep Your Glasses From Fogging Up While Wearing a Mask

Most of us are happy to get a break from quarantine and step out to run essential errands, but when you wear glasses, having to wear a mask is not fun. Eyeglasses fog up due to the humidity of our breath, which flows up from the top of the mask. Not only is it annoying, but it also leaves eyeglass-wearers no choice but to remove their glasses to wipe them. And, right now, touching your glasses is a breach against health recommendations to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Wearing protective (surgical or cloth) masks in public will soon become a part of our day to day lives for the foreseeable future. But fortunately, there are ways to prevent your breath from coming into contact with your glasses. Here they are:

Using a tissue

One way to deal with the humidity is to just absorb it. Putting a folded tissue between the mask and your skin will stop the fog from reaching your glasses. (You can thank the Royal College of Surgeons of England for this genius idea.)

Invest in anti-fog spray

You can buy it at most eye doctors' offices or online. This gel prevents fog from forming on your eyeglass lenses. First, clean your lenses, then apply the anti-fog gel with a microfiber cloth

Use soap or shaving cream

To avoid fogging, simply dab a small amount of soap on your lenses and spread it with a soft tissue or microfiber cloth. You can also swap out the soap for shaving cream. Rinse your lenses with hot water afterward. Regardless of whether you use soap or shaving cream, you'll only need to spread a thin layer of the product of your choice over your lenses to avoid fogging.

Wear your mask correctly

Our last tip: just learn how to put your mask on correctly. Most of those sold in stores have a small wire that runs through the top. Pinching the wire allows for the mask to be more fitted, reducing the amount of space through which outside air or your breath can pass. If you have a homemade mask, you can just slip a small 10 cm wire into the lining. And boom -- you're good to go!