The best way to tighten your glasses at home
In most cases, an optician will adjust your eyewear to fit your unique features when you purchase eyewear through a brick and mortar retailer. Eyeglasses are not a one-size-fits-all accessory. The responsibility of tightening and adjusting your glasses at home is often your responsibility when you purchase glasses online.
In addition to getting your glasses adjusted at an optician, there are some common problems you might experience if your glasses are not fitting correctly. Below are some tips on how to adjust your glasses at home.
What To Do If Your Glasses Slide Down Your Nose
If your glasses slide down your nose, it can be an inconvenience as well as a serious issue, especially if you have multifocal lenses. Slippery glasses generally result from the nosepiece not fitting tightly across your nose bridge.
Adjusting a metal nose piece
Using your thumbs, press the nose pads inward to adjust the nosepiece of metal frames. It is best to apply gentle pressure when adjusting the nosepieces. Once the adjustment has been made, try the glasses on to determine if the adjustment was sufficient. By using this “guess and check” method, the nose pads will not be overcorrected, which can result in them pinching the nose.
How To Adjust a Plastic Nose Piece
Due to their different nose pads, plastic frames are more difficult to adjust than metal frames. Rather than adjusting the nosepiece itself, you must adjust the arms of the frame.
As a rule of thumb, soak one arm of the frames at a time in warm water for 30-60 seconds – this will lubricate the frames and assist them in bending more readily (and safely). Be sure not to soak the lenses in the water when soaking.
The glasses should be removed from the water and held so that the front of the lenses is facing you. In order to apply downward and inward pressure to the frame arm, hold the part of the arm that runs along your temple with one hand and the curved end of the frame arm with your other hand. This should be done on both arms.
If you use the guess and check method to ensure you are not overadjusting, this will help to ensure the frame arms fit more tightly behind the ears, preventing them from sliding down the nose.
TIP: If tightening your frames does not resolve the issue, try placing glasses wax on the nose pads to minimize slippage during warmer months.
What To Do If Your Glasses Pinch Your Nose
In addition to the general discomfort that tightly fitting glasses cause, they can also cause headaches or migraines. To avoid this, you can adjust the glasses using the following methods.
Adjusting a metal nose piece
If you wear metal frames, you can adjust their nosepiece by widening their nose pads with your thumbs. It is important that you make only little adjustments at a time. Try wearing the glasses and see if you notice any difference.
How To Adjust a Plastic Nose Piece
After soaking the arms for 30-60 seconds in warm water, remove the arms from the water while keeping the lenses dry.
The glasses should be held with the front facing you; one hand should be used to hold the temple portion; the other hand should be used to hold the curved ends of the frame arms. Repeat these steps on the other arm.
If you are not able to relieve the pinching by doing this to the frame arms, see an optical professional. If you find that doing this is not successful, take your glasses to a professional for assistance.
What To Do If Your Glasses Are Crooked
Your glasses usually appear higher on one side than on the other when they are on your face because the arms of your glasses need to be adjusted. In order to determine which side of your frames is too high or too low, you should first look in the mirror to determine if your glasses are crooked.
How To Adjust if the Right Side Is Too High
Your left arm should be bent gently downward near the hinge (where the arm folds in), or perhaps bend it at the point where it hooks behind your ear if your right side of the frame is higher than your left side.
How To Adjust if the Left Side Is Too High
It is necessary to bend the right arm downward near the hinge if the left side of the frame is higher than the right side. Be sure to secure the hinge itself while bending the arm of the frame. Bending the arm at the hinge may result in the arm breaking or loosening.
The method can be applied to plastic and metal frames. You may find it easier to bend plastic frames after soaking them for 30-60 seconds in warm water.
What To Do If Your Glasses Don’t Fit Your Temples
When glasses are too tight or too loose on the temples, it can be difficult to wear them. With metal frames, adjusting the temple width is a relatively simple and straightforward process.
You should seek the assistance of an optician for this adjustment if you own plastic, rimless or semi-rimless frames.
The best way to fix glasses that are too tight at the temples
The first step is to secure the lens by holding the corner of the frame along the upper edge of the lens where the hinge meets the upper edge of the lens. Next, bend the frame arm upward and outward using your dominant hand.
Fixing glasses that are too loose at the temples
As you grip the edges of the lens with your non-dominant hand, bend the frame arm gently inward and downward using your dominant hand. This should aid in tightening the frames at the temples.
How To Tighten Glasses With A Screwdriver
A couple of tiny screws are usually located at the hinges, which are where the arms are connected to the frames’ fronts. If one of these screws becomes loose or falls out, your glasses may feel crooked or wobbly.
You should make sure that the screws are tightened properly before making any additional adjustments to your frames. This may solve the problem you are having. You can purchase an eyeglasses repair kit from your local drugstore if you do not have a screwdriver small enough to fit into the frame screws.
You should carefully tighten the frame screws by turning them clockwise with a screwdriver. If you lose a screw, your glasses may fall off within a short period of time. If this occurs, make sure your glasses are repaired by an optician.
Adjust your glasses by a professional
It is possible to scratch, damage, or break your glasses whenever you adjust them at home. Certain frame types, such as rimless and semi-rimless, are especially prone to complications when adjusted from home. As well, titanium and aluminum alloy frames are more difficult to adjust than other materials.
To avoid any potential damage to your glasses, it is always recommended that you have your glasses adjusted by a licensed optician. This greatly reduces the risk of damage and ensures that the frame is properly fitted.
