Migraine Glasses: My Avulux® Experience UPDATED

UPDATE: I’ve been using Avulux® since 2019, and they’re still part of my migraine survival kit. Spoiler: I just got a new pair…keep reading! This review reflects both my personal experience and the latest info from Avulux® as of 2026 and is not medical advice.

I have my fair share of “migraine glasses” in my purse, in my drawer, and in my backpack. You will not find me without a pair on me or nearby. Special glasses made to block certain types of light known to trigger migraine have really been a game changer in my life, which is why I have several articles dedicated to them. I am a true believer and each pair I have serves its purpose.

In 2019, I was asked to trial a pair of Avulux® glasses. I had been eyeing them for some time and I was pleasantly surprised when the Association of Migraine Disorders asked if I wanted to give them a shot. How could I say no!!?? Product reviews are my favorite to write about because many of us never know what to trust or just want peace of mind knowing that “it” helped someone else. So hopefully this review will do that for you. With that said, the majority of this review was written in 2019, so please keep that in mind if some areas say “two months ago” or similar.

I am now partnered with Avulux® as an affiliate, if you click any link in this article using my affiliate links I will receive a small commission. If you use my coupon code ACHYSMILE you will also receive $25 off! I am a huge fan of Avulux® and hope this review will help you decide if they’re right for you too!

Who or WHAT is Avulux®?

Avulux® is a company that has created an approved Class I Medical Device in Canada and the European Union. According to their website:

Avulux® lenses are registered as a Class I Medical Device in Canada and the EU. In the U.S., they’re marketed as a general wellness product designed to help manage light sensitivity associated with migraine, but they’re not FDA-approved to treat or prevent migraine.

Avulux®, Health Canada – Medical Device Establishment License MDEL #7612. [https://avulux.com]

They also offer a 60-day return policy on non-prescription and non-custom glasses. So if you try them and they’re not working for you, you can send them back. That peace of mind matteres, especially at this price point. Let’s face it, most of us with chronic migraine are desperate for relief. I am. No if’s or and’s about it. I’ll try almost anything, especially if it might be something that will also benefit my kiddo’s migraine attacks. But how much money have we wasted in that search? Hopefully my experience will help!

Avulux® and Photophobia

Photophobia is one of the more debilitating parts of a migraine attack for me. My phone, laptop, and sometimes my TV has to be set towards the lower brightness settings. And don’t get me started on lamps… one light on in an otherwise dark room feels like staring directly into the sun. I do best in a completely dark room with blackout curtains. Survival mode.

So yea, light sensitivity is no joke. Researchers have found that certain wavelengths of light – blue, amber, and red – can actually increase migraine pain intensity, while a narrow band of green light has been shown to be soothing¹. Avulux® cites peer reviewed clinical-data showing that their lenses are designed around exactly that: filter the harmful stuff, let the good stuff in².

What’s So Different?

As a chronic migraine patient, I have tried many types of glasses and sunglasses that are made to hopefully alleviate or decrease the pain intensity of migraine. It is my honest opinion that Avulux® is my favorite. Not because of what the website has to say or what I read in other blogs or reviews. I say this based off my own personal experience since 2019.

The sleek, almost white glasses arrived on July 5, 2019 and they’ve been my go-to since that day. Putting on my Avulux® glasses, for me, feels like lathering aloe on a bright red, angry sunburn. It’s a strange sensation, one I welcome wholeheartedly.

Fast forward to 2026 and I”m still reaching for them…except now I have a new pair!! My original Lilu in light grey was eventually discontinued, and honestly I was devastated because I loved that color. When I had the chance to request q replacement pair to review, I jumped on it. This time I got to pick the style myself, and I did my homework. I went with Nala in Champagne because it runs smaller. The frame width, lens width, and bridge all line up much closer to what I wear in my prescription glasses. I have a very small face (we’re talking almost child-sized, ha!) and my original Lilu pair always slide down my nose. The Nala fits like it was made for me. No sliding, no adjusting, no problem.

I chose the standard Avulux lens rather than the Adapt or Atlas mostly because I work from home and I’m in doors the majority of the time. It made the most sense for my lifestyle. But if I’m being honest? I would have gone with Avulux Adapt. Next purchase I’m seriously considering the prescription Nala Champagne with Adapt lenses…and maybe readers in Havana while I’m at it. They can take all my money.

As for my original pair, it went to a good home. My son, Noah, also lives with migraine and photophobia, and he’s been asking to borrow them for years. When my new pair arrived, I just handed them over. They fit him perfectly. He’d personally request black frames, but hey, he’s not complaining.

They aren’t sunglasses, but I still wear them out in the sun if I am out and in the middle of a migraine attack. Sometimes, I only have eyeball symptoms and the glasses are the first thing I reach for before trying any acute medications. 

Mostly, I use these migraine glasses in two ways: as a preventative before even getting migraine symptoms or as soon as an attack happens. Why use them before an attack? Well, if I’m going to do something that usually triggers an attack, I figured this is a good time to try and avoid it in the first place if I can. Examples of this are: long-term computer use, going to a baseball game, and most importantly going to the movies.

Research shows some users experience comfort within 20–30 minutes of wearing Avulux®, but results vary.

Migraine Glasses, Are They a Cure?

Not for me, BUT it’s an amazing tool I’ve added to my emergency migraine kit. In my case, it is often true I do not reach for my acute migraine medication after wearing them preventatively (before migraine symptoms can begin). I also realized that if I wore them while on the computer or cell phone, I didn’t get triggered. Once I had that light bulb moment, I decided to test my theory.

I wore the glasses for two weeks straight each time I worked on my laptop, even though I didn’t have symptoms. Extended laptop use always triggered mild symptoms, like eye fatigue and pain, and if I didn’t medicate by the end of the day, I’d have a full-blown migraine by the next day. So, for me, this little experiment was worth it. I’m excited to tell you that not one time in those two weeks did I have eye fatigue, nor pain due to laptop use.

I did have hemiplegic migraine attacks during this time, though they were due to hormonal and environmental factors, as well as from bad posture (I have herniated discs in my neck and back). The Avulux® glasses did not abort these attacks, but they did provide relief for eye pain, which I was very grateful for.

I have Hemiplegic Migraine and Migraine with Brain Stem Aura and with these attacks, my eyes always feel like there are cactus needles inside my eyelids. Usually, I’ll have this sensation in my eyes before the actual headache pain begins. I’m telling you; it’s using these specific glasses truly feels like aloe on a burn. 

According to Avulux®, putting the glasses on at the earliest sign of symptoms gives you the best shot at stopping an attack before it fully sets in. Once a migraine has already taken hold, it can take around 20-30 minutes of wearing them before you notice relief. And if you’re chronic, they suggest wearing them continuously throughout the day, day or night, except when driving at night.

When Might the Glasses NOT Work?

Instead of rewriting what Avulux® has already explained on their website, I’m going to quote it for you right here. Read about Migraine from the Mayo Clinic to help you understand the many ways migraine attacks might be triggered. The are several reasons why your headache may not improve and your headache may not be a classic migraine headache. Additionally, you may be in the minority of people that don’t respond to this treatment. The third reason may be that you have not kept them on long enough, or consistently enough throughout your daily activities.³ Like any tool, results vary and depend on your migraine type, consistency of use, and individual triggers.

Well, I Wear Prescription Glasses

Avulux® has prescription options available in most of their styles! You can choose from single vision or progressive lenses, so whether you’re a one-prescription person or need that graduated correction, they’ve got you covered. There’s also the bring-your-own-frame option if you already have frames you love. When you use my code ACHYSMILE, you’ll save $25.

But, Are They Cute?

I know my Nala in Champagne frames are cute! There are so many styles now and with the bring-your-own-frame option, you can have Avulux® lenses put into frames that already match your personal style.

For the feminine or smaller-faced crowd, I’d point you to the Nala and Bli. For something more masculine or gender neutral, the Oslo and Aeon are both clean, minimal frames available in black (my son would absolutely go for either of those).

If you need readers, good news… reader lenses are available across their styles too, so you don’t have to sacrifice the migraine protection just because you need a little magnification. I want a readers pair so bad!

And when it comes to lenses, you now have three options depending on your lifestyle. The standard Avulux lens is what I have and it’s great for mostly indoor use: screens, office lighting, that kind of thing. Avulux Adapt is a photochromic lens that automatically darkens outdoors, so it transitions with you through the day. And Avulux Atlas is a polarized outdoor lens for people who spend a lot of time outside or deal with glare from water, snow, or pavement. They use the same Avulux® filtration technology, just built for different environments.

Will My World Turn Red?

Many glasses advertised as “migraine glasses” have a reddish or orange tint to help mitigate the blue light that is known to aggravate migraine.⁴ I have several pair with a red/orange tint in different brands and I still use them. They are great quality, but they do not have the same level of relief as my new Avulux® glasses. What I absolute LOVE about them is that the lenses don’t turn my world red, nor do they distort my iPhone screen. According to Avulux®, their precision-tinted lenses absorb specific wavelengths linked to migraine discomfort while allowing soothing green light through. In practice, they feel more natural than typical rose-tinted lenses and don’t distort screens.

My Favorite Tool in my Emergency Migraine Kit

The most important item in my Emergency Migraine Kit is my Avulux® glasses outside of my medications and electrolyte mixes. They are always the first thing I reach for.

And now my son has his own pair too. For years he’d ask to borrow mine during his attacks, and I always handed them over without hesitation because I knew how much they helped. When my new Nala pair arrived, I told him he could keep the original Lilu… he was genuinely shocked. Like he couldn’t believe they were his to keep. I showed him my new pair and he just lit up. It meant a lot to both of us, honestly. Two humans living with migraine in the house, both taken care of.

If I could buy every person in my life who deals with migraine a pair, I would. That’s how much I trust them.

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I just want to say “thank you” to the Association of Migraine Disorders and Avulux® for giving me the opportunity to review these glasses back in 2019. I am very honored you both considered me, and my eyes and my weird brain are very grateful! Over six years later and they are still my go-to…and Noah’s now too. I use them to avoid a migraine attack altogether when doing something I know will trigger one, and I reach for them the second symptoms start. Some things never change.

To get your own pair(s) of Avulux® glasses, go to the link below, it already has the $25 ACHYSMILE code you will see once you checkout: https://avulux.com/discount/ACHYSMILE?ref=achysmile

Disclosure: I earn a small affiliate commission through the ACHYSMILE link, which helps support migraine advocacy content like this.

References

1. Choi, J.-Y., Oh, K., Kim, B.-J., Chung, C.-S., Koh, S.-B., & Park, K.-W. (2009). Usefulness of a Photophobia Questionnaire in Patients With Migraine. Cephalalgia, 29(9), 953–959. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2982.2008.01822.x
2. Understanding the Science Behind Avulux® Migraine Glasses. Avulux®. https://avulux.com/pages/understanding-the-science-behind-avulux-migraine-glasses
3. Migraine. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/migraine-headache/symptoms-causes/syc-20360201
4. Light and Headache Disorders: Understanding Light Triggers and Photophobia. National Headache Foundation. https://headaches.org/2017/03/27/light-headache-disorders-understanding-light-triggers-photophobia/
5. Migraine Disorders Foundation (2023). “Do Migraine Glasses Work?” migrainedisorders.org – discusses the 2020 study showing mixed results.