How To Adjust Glasses

Adjusting glasses can be a great way to save time and money, and fit your eyeglasses without the need for a visit to the eye doctor.  But, to adjust glasses to the proper fit and not ruin them, you need to be very careful.  Most glasses do not “need” an adjustment to fit; but in some cases an adjustment is helpful or can make the glasses more comfortable.   If you think that you could benefit from a glasses fit adjustment, then you need to learn how to do it without causing problems or even ruining your glasses.

How To Adjust Glasses At Home

Adjust glasses at home, but do it carefully! It requires care and patience, and we caution that you must be extremely careful. Eyeglass frames have temple arms, temple corners, nose-bridge and nose-pads and they are all designed for adjustment. Glasses are designed to be adjusted (bent) to fit if necessary, to accommodate most any facial structure. When you ask a local optical professional to adjust glasses for you, it is called a fitting. In most cases you will not need to fit eyeglasses, but if you do, you can take them to a local optical store for a fitting.  Most opticians will fit-adjust glasses for free.

The adjustable parts of eyeglasses are small and thin. If you adjust glasses in the wrong way, you can damage the eyeglasses and the manufacturer or retailer will not replace them. If you adjust your eyeglasses too often, the metal may fatigue and/ or break.

How To Make Your Glasses Tighter

If you have bought eyeglasses online, before you begin your eyeglasses fit adjustment, be sure you know exactly what it is you want to accomplish. The two most common goals are to tighten frames while keeping the optical center of the lens directly in front of your pupils, and to make wearing the glasses feel more comfortable on your face. There are two basic types of frame materials, memory plastic frames and wire frames.

How To Make Plastic Frames Tighter

Tightening plastic frames is normal because the plastic is designed to be adjustable, and over time the heat of your face will cause the shape of the plastic to change. Most plastic frames can be tightened at the temple arm, the part that goes over your ears. Get a hair dryer, or use hot water, and warm up the temple arm, and when it is warm, gently bend the temple arm closer to your head. Then work on the other side. Only make small adjustments; if you bend it too far it could break. With a small adjustment, you can always adjust it again.

This will fix your frame most of the time. But once in a while you may want to take it to your optician or eye doctor for a fit touch up. Finding the most comfortable pressure on the sides of your head and against your ear is a personal decision, and may take some time.

How to Make Metal Frames Tighter

Tightening metal frames is similar to tightening plastic frames, but it does not require heating with hot water or a hair dryer. However, if your frame is made of titanium, it may not be possible to tighten the frame at the temple arms. Most metal frames can be tightened at the temple arms, the parts that go over your ears. Gently bend the temple in closer to your head. Then work on the other side. Only make small adjustments; if you bend it too far it could break. With a small adjustment, you can always adjust it again.

How To Keep Glasses From Sliding Down Your Nose

Glasses often slide down the nose bridge for various reasons. Facial oil on the nose is the main culprit. The best way to prevent glasses from sliding down your nose is to bend the back of the temples tighter around your ears. Read the section above to learn how to tighten plastic frames or metal frames. You can also make a very slight adjustment of the pad arm, the small metal bits that hold the nose pad. But be extremely careful, because even a small adjustment of the nose pads will change the fit dramatically.

Either way, it is important to make sure that the optical center of the glasses lenses remains directly in front of your eyes. To do that, first stand in front of a mirror and look straight ahead, neither up nor down. Put on your eyeglasses and position the center of the lenses directly in front of your eyes. Be sure to look straight ahead when you do this. This shows you the place on your nose that you want the glasses frames on your face. Now, you need to adjust your eyeglasses frame so that it will always be correctly positioned.

My Frame Has Nose Pads

You can adjust the nose pads so that they keep the glasses frame in the right place. Widening the nose pads drops the glasses lower down on your nose. Bringing the nose pads closer together raises the glasses up on your nose. Nose pads are attached to nose pad arms, which are welded to the eyeglasses frame. You should make only tiny fit adjustments to the nose pad arms. If you make large adjustments, or frequent adjustments, the arms will break or the weld to the glasses frame will break.

My Frame Does Not Have Nosepads

If your glasses frame does not have nose pads, you only need to adjust the temple tips in order to accomplish your goal. The nose piece on plastic frames is designed to fit most nose bridges.

Lenscrafters Adjusts Glasses For Free

Lenscrafters advertises that they will adjust your glasses for free.

Author of this article: 

Mark Agnew
CEO of Eyeglasses.com, which he founded in 1999.  For over twenty years, he has educated consumers, improved their vision choices, and reduced costs in eyewear.  Mark authored The Eyeglasses Buying Guide, the most comprehensive and best-selling glasses buying guide in the world.
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