How to Adjust Glasses at Home

Eyeglasses are built to suit your vision needs, from the lens to the temples. In addition to aiding your sight, a pair of snazzy frames can help you make a fashion statement.

But… sometimes frames don’t fit on your face as well as you’d prefer. Not to worry though; Whether your glasses are a bit bent out of shape, pinching your nose or falling off your face altogether, there’s usually a quick fix.

Tightening your glasses at home can be done in a number of ways, depending on which part of them needs to be tightened (or loosened, for that matter). Check out the following ways to adjust your eyeglasses at home, and when you should probably leave it up to the professionals.

How to Tighten Glasses

If you feel as though your glasses are sliding off your nose, you probably need to tighten the screws. In order to do this, you’ll need the proper tools, so make sure you have a glasses repair kit handy. If you don’t have one, they are inexpensive and easy to find at most drugstores.

Look at the spot where your lens meets the arm of your frames and you will find a very small screw that allows for the arms to hinge. In your repair kit, you will find a screwdriver that is small enough to twist the screw in tight.

Can you tighten glasses without a screwdriver? Yes, if the frames are malleable.

• Metal frames can be tightened by pinching in the sides of the bridge or the nose pads until you have a more narrow, secure fit.
• Plastic frames can be adjusted by slightly bending the ends of the arms. You’ll need to warm them up before the plastic allows you to safely bend it, though. Run the frames under warm water for up to a minute or blast them with some warm air from a hairdryer. While the arms are warm, gently press the ends of the arms down and in. Doing so will give you a more snug fit behind the ear and prevent slipping.

The same processes used to tighten glasses can be used to tighten sunglasses. Remember not to use too much force or pressure on your frames — they’re more fragile than you may think.

How to Loosen Tight Glasses

Did you tighten your glasses a bit too much? Are the frames too tight on the side of your head or temples? If you answered “yes,” you need to loosen your frames. Here’s how:

• Use the screwdriver from your glasses repair kit to loosen the screws on the hinges of the arms. Do this slowly so that you don’t accidentally pull the screw all the way out.
• For metal frames, hold your glasses by the lenses and gently push the arms away from them. This can help relieve pressure on your temples.

It’s important to adjust glasses that hurt behind your ears or cause pain on your head. Too snug of a fit can cause uncomfortable pressure and headaches, which can be very distracting.

If your glasses do not cooperate with your adjustments, you may need to take them to an optician. Don’t force anything, because this can cause your glasses to break.

How to Adjust Glasses by Fixing Crooked Frames

If you notice your glasses sitting unevenly on your ears or pushed in on one eye, it’s likely that the arms on your frames are crooked. But don’t worry, it’s also easy to adjust glasses that are bent at home.

To fix crooked frames, try the following method:

• Right side higher than the left? Bend the left arm down gently at the hinge.
• Left side higher than the right? Bend the right arm down gently at the hinge.

You can also try bending the area where the arm meets your ear, but remember to be careful and work slowly. If the arms on your plastic frames won’t budge, you can run them under warm (not hot!) water to encourage flexibility.

But… why are my glasses crooked? Factors like improper storage, falling asleep in your glasses or handling them incorrectly can all contribute to the state of your frames. Be gentle with your glasses and sunglasses, and always keep them in a case when they’re not in use.

How to Adjust Nose Pads on Glasses

If your glasses are pinching your nose, sliding down your nose or simply feel unbalanced on your nose, it could mean you need to adjust the nose pads. Doing so is easy.

• Hold your glasses by gripping the nose bridge and one of the lenses
• Bend the nose pads outward or inward. An outward rotation can help glasses that sit too high on the nose. An inward rotation helps with frames that fall too low.
• Try your glasses on again and repeat the process until you’ve found a comfortable fit.

Balancing your nose pads can solve the glasses-pinching problem. It can also keep your frames steady if you find that they continuously slide down your face.

A Specialist Can Adjust Glasses Professionally

Glasses with materials such as titanium, memory titanium, aluminum alloy and memory plastic can be even more fragile. Rimless and semi-rimless styles can also be fussy when you try to move them around. It’s best to take these styles to a professional to avoid breaking them at home.

To find out where to get glasses adjusted for free, look for nearby optical centers or talk to your eye doctor. If you bought glasses at your doctor’s office, the optician on site should be able to help you out.