# Eye Black - Does it really help?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-black-does-it-really-help/498232>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 31, 2009, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-black-does-it-really-help/498232 "2009-05-31T03:29:23Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\
**Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-black-does-it-really-help/498232/1 "2009-05-31T03:29:23Z")

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Watching the NCAA softball and baseball tourneys, many players wear eye black underneath their eyes.

What is supposed to do? Reduce glare? Just how does it do it?

And would it help golfers and tennis players? I have never seen a golfer or tennis player wear eyeblack.

Mods, I couldn’t figure out which forum this belongs in. I can see it in either GQ, Games, or IMHO. Put it where you see fit.

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**Author:** ![Apocalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\
**Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-black-does-it-really-help/498232/2 "2009-05-31T03:36:40Z")

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I’ve wondered about this too. The only explanation that I can come up with is the eyeblack absorbs some of the light directed at your eyes (thus preventing it from reaching the eyeballs), which seems unlikely.

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**Author:** ![Casserole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b77776/32.png) [@Casserole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casserole)\
**Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-black-does-it-really-help/498232/3 "2009-05-31T03:49:06Z")

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The Mythbusters tested this, and came out with a **Plausible**

> **[MythBusters (2008 season) | Eye Black](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MythBusters_(season_6)#Eye_Black)**
>
> On the MythBusters fansite, the build team tested another short myth.

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**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\
**Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-black-does-it-really-help/498232/4 "2009-05-31T03:49:38Z")

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Mythbusters did an episode on this and found that it worked when combined with a baseball cap in reducing glare a little bit.

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**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\
**Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-black-does-it-really-help/498232/5 "2009-05-31T03:52:04Z")

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I’m pretty sure **Bricker** did a Staff Report on this topic a year or two ago, but I’ve not been able to find it.

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**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\
**Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-black-does-it-really-help/498232/6 "2009-05-31T05:32:31Z")

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It might only works a little, but it’s so ingrained into baseball culture, it’ll probably be around forever. Like high socks.

Heh, I was going to GIS for Will Clark to show how eye black can make a scary guy look even scarier and found [him getting blacked](http://www.flickr.com/photos/tunruh/1351175999/).