How To Adjust Glasses Frames

Learning how to adjust glasses frames requires just a few important steps. Your glasses somehow no longer fit correctly on your face. You're looking out to see things and the frames make it look like your head isn't on straight. The best fix is to take the frames to a professional. If you're in a hurry and need a quick fix, grab a few things to put the frames right. You can carry on until you can make a stop at the professionals.

You'll need the following.

  • hairdryer
  • face-sized mirror
  • small bath towel
  • small glasses screwdriver and replacement frame screws
  • eyeglass cleaner and a soft cleaning cloth designed for glasses
  1. Put down the small bath towel. This is to keep all the frame parts in one place. If a screw needs to be removed from the frame, the towel prevents stuff from falling on the floor. The screws in most glasses frames are so small that they disappear in a nanosecond when removed from the frames.
  2. Set up the equipment.  If you have plastic frames, you'll need the hairdryer. Test the hairdryer to see how hot the low, medium and high settings feel. The hot air should be warm enough to bend the glasses, but not so hot that the plastic or glasses material melts. Test the air by feeling the heat. If you have a spare piece of plastic, such as a plastic twist tie or bottle cap will work. Turn the air on to see how the plastic heats up. It's better to ruin a plastic bottle top than your glasses, so try the test first.
  3. Look in the mirror and determine what is wrong with the glasses. This is probably the most difficult part of the process. The hardest part on how to adjust glasses frames is determining just what part of the glasses is not operating right. Use your hands to hold up either side of the glasses. Don't let the glasses rest on your ears, simply hold up the frames to the face to see what the frames should look like. Determine the best place to adjust on the glasses. The temples, the parts that go behind the ears, are usually the problem, although the bridge, the part that goes over your nose might also be bent. Don't forget to look at the nose pads, the two small things that lift the glasses up off your face. Some glasses have the pads built into the frames and others have the pads attached with small screw inserts. 
  4. Start adjusting. Start with small changes. Don't just crank on the frames. Adjust only one thing at a time. Tweaking everything means a big mess. Adjust the screws first to make sure nothing is loose. Move to the nose pads and adjust those next. If the glasses still just aren't right, then adjust the temples. Metal-frame glasses bend easily, but plastics might need the hairdryer to heat things up a bit. Bending plastic can break the frames, especially if the plastic is old or brittle, so go slow when bending. 
  5. Don't expect perfection. How to adjust glasses frames means looking at the frames and not focusing on your face. Every face has imperfections, especially when a mirror is pushed up so your nose is magnified. Most eyes do not line up perfectly, so determine when you've reached a happy compromise. 
  6. Ask for an opinion or two. Once the frames look reasonably even and feel good on your face, ask for some opinions. Pick people who are honest and will tell you the truth. It may be that you've picked glasses that simply don't look good and don't fit your face. If folks keep telling you politely that the glasses aren't quite right, man or woman up and go get a new frame. Listen to the advise of the frame professionals. when you buy the glasses. They know how to adjust glasses frames as a professional and know what frames look best on various face shapes. The frames might be hip, but the frames might not fit your face. 
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