Vision Mission

A local optometrist helps educate parents and protect their children’s eyes with OC-based GlamBaby.

When Dr. Arian Fartash became a new mom, one of her favorite pastimes became shopping for her baby girl. But the local optometrist soon found out there was one accessory that was severely lacking for young children — eyewear. 

“It was a surprise, given my passion and commitment to eye care, that there wasn’t a company committed to protective, stylish and quality frames that were also reasonably priced,” said Fartash. “I knew that if I was having this problem, then other moms and dads were too.”

To help fill this important need — not only for her daughter, Isabella, who is now almost 3 — but for parents and children everywhere, she launched GlamBaby on National Sunglasses Day in 2018, offering stylish, durable and functional eyewear for children. 

“With GlamBaby, I am trying to educate parents and caretakers not only about the importance of yearly eye exams, but about preventative care that is easy, like with UV protection and blue-light blocking glasses,” she said. 

Fartash, of Yorba Linda, said GlamBaby’s Instagram is full of educational information with quick and easy tips for eye health. She also offers a blog on GlamBaby’s website addressing specific topics that parents can read up on when they have questions or concerns.

“Education shouldn’t be boring,” she said. “It should be fun and exciting, and that is what I am trying to do with GlamBaby.”

She said because of the pandemic, risks to children’s eyes have become an issue. 

“When the pandemic hit last year, over 10 million kids were learning remotely on digital devices,” she said. “It was crazy the amount of calls, appointments, emails and DMs I would get from parents telling me their children’s eyes were hurting, red or they were getting frontal headaches.  That’s when I knew I really wanted to help with a trusted product to make learning less stressful and painful.”

She developed GlamBaby blue-light protect glasses to help block harmful blue light emitted from digital devices like phones, tablets and computers.  

“Our eyes cannot naturally filter this high-frequency light and can cause symptoms,” she said. “GlamBaby blue-light protect glasses can help relax the eyes while on screens as well as help with sleep deprivation, as too much blue light can make the brain think it’s daylight. Research is also being done on the effects of blue light and retinal damage, so why not start protecting our children’s eyes from an early start? We know they’re going to be using digital devices for a lifetime.” 

Her desire to help the community is rooted back to her own childhood and her mom, who is also a practicing optometrist. 

“She was one of 10 women in her graduating class of 100 and she has inspired me to be my own woman, follow my dreams, and always taught me that no one can take your education away from you,” said Fartash. “Watching her help people over the years and become so close with her patients made me want to have a connection with others like that too.”

And Fartash’s connections with the community are only growing. In addition to Orange County-based GlamBaby, she runs her optometry practice, Corona Vision Center, in Corona. She also formed a company in 2016, GlamOptometrist, to help other optometrists grow their social media presence. (GlamBaby’s Instagram account has 16.7K followers.)

“Through the years, the lack of information on the importance of preventative and protective eye care for children really bothered me,” she said. “I have made it my mission to reach as many parents and caretakers as I can to help them get the information they need to protect their children’s eyes and vision.”

With back-to-school season in full swing, Fartash offers a few tips for parents to keep in mind as kids head back to the classroom: 

• Children should get a comprehensive eye exam before the start of the school year and continue annually (starting at 6 months old). “Many times learning disabilities can be misdiagnosed and a pair of glasses or vision therapy is what is needed,” she said. 
• Have your kids take frequent breaks from digital devices. “I would say every 20-30 minutes to give their eyes a break and keep them from overstraining,” she said. 
• Children should wear 100% UV protection whenever they play outside — whether at home, the park or during recess. “Early cataracts, eye growths, macular degeneration and cancers can be easily prevented by wearing protective and trusted sunglasses,” she said.

GlamBaby’s protective glasses are available on officialglambaby.com, at Nordstrom stores/online, Maisonette.com, children’s boutiques and eye doctor’s offices.  

by Jessica Peralta