Face Shields, Visors & Accessories

Protect your people against workplace hazards and choose from our wide range of protective face shields.

Available in various materials and styles, we stock face shields that are carefully chosen from top brands such as Bollé®, 3M™ and Honeywell North® to ensure best practice when managing on site safety.

What are protective face shields?

A protective face shield or safety visor, as they're sometimes known, aims to protect the face in a variety of mechanical hazards in applications like welding, laboratory work and healthcare. The lens, made from materials like acetate, polycarbonate, and nylon, is attached to a head mount or safety helmet.

Most open-ended face shields extend below the chin, but this type is considered a form of secondary protection that should be worn in conjunction with safety goggles and face masks.

Why protective face shields?

Designed to protect the face from impact, incidents of chemical splash and particulate, face shields offer a protective barrier against injury.

Protective face shield types

Protective face shields come in a variety of styles and shapes, but it's the hazards that they protect against that help to identify the right one for the job. All protective eyewear features markings in compliance with EN 166:2002. These help to identify the levels of protection a shield will give, and the environment it should be used in.

All protective face shields must comply to EN 166 standards and be CE marked.

Mechanical strength - Face shields deliver mechanical strength based on ratings outlined in EN 166.
• S - increased robustness
• F - Low energy impact
• B - Medium energy impact
• A - High energy impact

Optical Class - This defines the refractive power of the shield and must be marked on the lens.
• 1 - +/- 0.06
• 2 - +/- 0.12
• 3 - +0.12 / -0.25 (is covered safety goggles and safety spectacles, but not by face shields)

Field of use - This marking defines the environment in which the shield will give effective protection.
• 3 - Liquid splash (including droplets)
• 8 - Short circuit electric arc
• 9 - Molten metal and hot debris

Features - These are marked on the lens and highlight the coatings that have been applied.
• N - Fog-resistance
• K - Scratch-resistance

Considerations when choosing protective face shields

• Fitting - the shield should feature an adjustable head piece to ensure the correct fitting for comfort and maximum protection.

• Hazards - the shield you choose should protect against the specific hazard you face.

• Constraints - a face shield should allow for free movement and unrestricted vision, without inhibiting the use or function of other PPE equipment.

• Durability - choose a good quality visor that can be cleaned and maintained easily.

Protective face shield jargon buster

We want to make it easy for you, so we've outlined a key standard to help you browse the range and understand the applications a little better.

What does the personal eye protection standard EN 170:2002 mean?

Part of the personal protective equipment regulation, EN 170:2002 outlines the numbers scale of ultraviolet filters and the correct use of them on face shields, goggles and safety spectacles to ensure maximum protection against ultraviolet radiation.

Let's break it down...

• EN - This is the current European standard

• 170 - This is the assigned legislation number

• 2002 - This is the year the safety standard was updated and supersedes the 1992 version

FAQs

Is there anything face shields don't protect from?

Most protective face shields or visors are B rated for impact strength. However, there are types of face shields and visors which have no impact rating and won't offer full protection to the eyes.

Can face shields be worn instead of safety glasses?

No. If anything, face shields should be worn in conjunction with safety glasses to ensure the correct protection against impact and particulate.

What's the difference between acetate and polycarbonate face shields?

Acetate is the stronger of the two materials, featuring scratch and chemical splash resistance, and provides better visual clarity than polycarbonate. For these reasons, Acetate is also the more expensive of the two materials.

For more information on face shields see our Safety Eyewear Guide... https://www.cromwell.co.uk/info/safety-technical-eye-and-face-protection