Adjusting Your Glasses

When you receive your glasses, they may need a little adjustment. Maybe the nosepieces are a little loose or tight. Maybe the ears are not bent right and they fall down your nose. Sometimes the arms on plastic frames seem a little "bowed". These are all natural because, even though we choose "average" sizes for you, everyone is a little different when it comes to fitting.

Know this...

It’s very easy to adjust glasses. It may not be spot-on right away, but over a few days you will get them right. If you always bought glasses from your Optician before, then that person adjusts them and, for the most part, they probably get it right, but often times you have to go back or you just bend them as you see fit (pardon the pun) They use their fingers and sometimes a small pair of needle-nose pliers to work on metal frames, and a container full of warm, glass beads to heat up plastic so its flexible.

Adjusting Metal Frames

If you have metal glasses, the nosepieces can be opened or closed by using your hand. There is really no need to use a pair of pliers or anything kind of hard tool. The same applies to the part that goes over your ears. Just bend them with your fingers and try them until its comfortable. It’s probably obvious, but you want to make sure the nosepiece is wide enough so the glasses sit on the place on your nose that you like. Then you can adjust the arms so that they don't fall off of your face if you lean forward. Don't try and get them to sit on your nose in the right place by adjusting the arms. It’s really hard to get it right if you do it that way. Remember...nose first and arms second!

Adjusting Plastic Frames

With plastic frames you need a hair dryer or warm water to warm them up (do not use hot water as it can mess up the Anti-Reflection Coating if you have it).

The same approach applies, as you would use to adjust metal frames. You want to bring the nosepieces together or apart until they sit on your nose at just the right place. Then you can adjust the earpieces.

So...

Sit down with a hair dryer held between your knees and have it facing away from you. (Duh! You will figure out why pretty fast if it's pointing towards you!)

Now warm up the bridge of the glasses a bit by putting the bridge (the piece between the lenses that sits on your nose) right up against the hair dryer, maybe for about 20 seconds at first. Then feel it and see if it feels warm to hot. If not, then do it for another 10 sec or so. Now pull them away and hold them with both hands as though you are looking at them on someone else's face. Put your index fingers on the top of the frame and your thumb on the bottom like you were picking up something off of a table. Then bend them so that the bottom tips of the nosepiece part of the frame start to come together.

NOTE: You do NOT need very much adjustment to make a HUGE difference in how they feel, so just do it a little bit - not so that you can even see a difference. (Although you cant see anyway because you don't have your glasses on!)

WARNING!! – The glasses will be HOT – so be careful when you put them on your face. (Remember.... We did warn you and are not responsible if you sear your beak by not testing them first to see how hot they are)

Now just do it a bit at a time. In front of the dryer for a little heat, a little flex, and then try it on.

BIG NOTE: You do NOT want to flex the frame very much because you could pop the lens out.

When the glasses feel like they are sitting comfortably on your face, you can work on the arms.

Do the same thing with the arms – one at a time. If you set the glasses upside-down on a flat surface, so that the bent part of the arms are on the surface, you can see if the arms are hitting the surface in the same way. One may be raised a bit compared to the other. It could be OK as not all people's ears are the same height on both sides – but its a good way to check anyway if they feel like they are off but you can't tell why.

You can even bend the arms so that they bow in or out from your head depending upon whether you have a round head or not.

We also suggest trying an optical shop; in most places they will be happy to assist you free of charge. Your doctor is a good source as well because that office will want to retain you as a patient and making sure you see well should be their main focus (pardon the pun) and not just selling you glasses.

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