Are cheap sunglasses bad for your eyes?

If you have a habit of losing sunglasses – or maybe even sitting on them – you probably don’t want to spend a lot of money to keep replacing them.

But do those $10 sunglasses protect your eyes like pricey Gucci, Prada or Ray-Ban lenses?

Read more: Nearly half of sunscreens don’t meet the SPF claim on the label

Different prices, same UV protection

Clark has said before that it’s all a matter of fashion, but NBC News decided to put cheap and expensive sunglasses through a sophisticated test.

The result: 100% UV protection no matter what the price point.

The key to protecting your eyes is to look for a sticker on those cheap sunglasses that says “100 percent UV protection” or “UV 400.”

Something else to consider…

Even though the inexpensive glasses effectively protect against the sun’s harmful rays, they might not be the best sunglasses for everyone. 

One report says they can cause warping of images or headaches for some people.

Can you tell the difference?

As part of its experiment, NBC News asked people on the street if they could tell the difference between a $6.99 pair of sunglasses and expensive ones.

Guess what? Most people actually thought the cheap ones were the fancy pair!

Finding a fashionable frame

Stylists say modern cat eye, round, black and pastel frames are all trendy for 2016.

If you’re looking for inexpensive sunglasses, you can find fashionable options at stores like H&M for under $10 – and drugstores as well. The Huffington Post put together a nice list. 

You might also want to spend time searching online retailers, such as Amazon.

Read more: How to know if your eye doctor is breaking the law (and costing you a lot of extra money)