Magnifying Mirrors

It's worth indulging yourself when it comes to bathroom and personal care accessories, whether you're talking about magnifying mirrors or a towel warmer or 400-count sheets. Your eyes are especially important. You treat them well and heed eye care admonitions for a good reason. No matter how quickly medical technology and laser eye surgery advances, you only get one set of eyes.

Magnifying Mirrors FAQ

Understanding magnification is important to making a wise buy in magnifying mirrors. Think about your last visit to your optician or ophthalmologist. Your doctor swings that contraption in front of your face and tries different correction lenses so that you can read four or six lines down on the wall chart. Too much magnification is as bad as too little.

The normal range you'll see as you shop magnifying mirrors is from 1x to 10x. If your eyesight needs only minor correction, a 2x or 3x magnification is probably enough. If you (like I) need bottle top lenses to make your way across the room but are fine once they're on, you probably want a 5x or 7x mirror. It's worth the time to test a few magnifications before you buy, especially if you're investing in a salon-quality mirror.

Another consideration is adequate lighting. All the magnification in the world doesn't matter if there's no light, after all. Your best bet--whether you're planning on a wall-mount or a vanity mirror (or mirrors)--is to opt for an integrated model with lighting and magnification. Other features you'll hope to find are optical glass, fog and glare free qualities, and that designer quality. Happy hunting!