When you wear glasses on a daily basis, fit is key to both comfort and function. But what if your glasses don’t feel like they fit quite right?
Glasses can get slightly misaligned for a variety of reasons. They may be a new pair that hasn’t conformed to your face quite yet. Or, they might be nudged out of place from frequent use.
Our busy lives can make it difficult to get professional help when you need to tighten, loosen, or straighten your glasses. Though it’s always ideal to have an optician take a look, you can learn how to tighten glasses at home by using the tips below.
First, Get To Know Your Eyeglasses
Before adjusting your frames, it’s helpful to learn the basic anatomy of your glasses.
Consult our guide on the different parts of glasses to learn key terms. Knowing where to find components such as the temple corners, temple end pieces, and nose pads will allow you to troubleshoot simple issues with your frames.
How To Tighten Glasses With a Screwdriver
When adjusting glasses at home, check for loose screws first. Most frames have screws at the temple corners—often referred to as hinges—of the frames.
Sometimes, these screws can become loose or even fall out, causing your frames to feel wobbly or uncomfortable. (In fact, It’s a good idea to check on the screws regularly so you don’t lose one.) Learning how to make glasses tighter will help avoid this scenario!
You’ll need an eyeglasses repair kit containing a small screwdriver (or any screwdriver that fits the screwhead). Carefully tighten the screws at the temple corners by using the screwdriver to turn the screws counterclockwise.
If a screw falls out or an arm is detached, don’t try to fix your glasses at home. Instead, have an optician adjust your glasses professionally.
Need your glasses adjusted?
Bring your Warby Parker frames to one of our opticians for an expert fine-tuning.
Glasses that are too loose are prone to sliding down (or even falling off) your face, whereas glasses that are too tight may cause discomfort and headaches. Crooked glasses don’t sit quite right and might look uneven.
If you’re experiencing any of these issues, adjusting your glasses should help you feel more comfortable. Luckily, you can learn how to adjust your glasses at home.
For a visual walkthrough, check out our video below.
Adjusting the temples of your glasses–also known as the glasses arms–is a common way to troubleshoot tight or loose glasses. A slight change in their position can keep glasses from sliding forward or feeling uncomfortable behind your ears.
To start adjusting acetate frames, you’ll need your glasses, a bowl of hot tap water, and a towel. Here are five steps for adjusting glasses arms at home:
1. Soak the ends of the temples
Place your bowl of hot water on a towel, then place one temple end piece (the bit that goes over your ear) into the water for 30 seconds. Make sure to keep the lenses out of the water to avoid damage.
Carefully remove the temple from the water and touch the end to make sure it’s not too hot.
2. Adjust the temple ends
Hold the glasses face-up with the lenses facing you. Then place the four fingers of your left hand under the temple, with your index finger resting at the natural temple bend to support the frames.
Use your right hand to slowly and gently push the temple end down. You should feel it bend against your index finger. No need to push too far! All of these adjustments should be slight.
When one side is complete, repeat with the other temple end. Try to ensure that both sides look equal. You can always adjust them again later if you find they’re uneven.
3. Cool and test your glasses
Place the glasses on a flat surface to let them cool. Then, put them on to test the fit and make sure they’re secure. You can repeat the above steps until your glasses are comfortable.
4. Loosen the temple ends
You can use this same method to loosen your glasses. After soaking the temple ends, use your fingers to gently push the temple end up instead of down. It should look more flat to achieve a looser fit. Adjust both sides and cool them, then test and repeat as needed.
Adjusting Crooked Acetate Frames
What if your glasses feel uneven on your face? Good news: Hot water can also be used to adjust crooked frames.
1. Check for crooked frames
Look in a mirror to determine if one side of your glasses is too high or too low.
2. Soak and test your frames
Soak the temple corner that looks or feels uneven in the hot water for 30 seconds. Remember to keep your lenses out of the water.
Remove the frames from the water and test their temperature carefully with your finger tip.
3. Adjust glasses at the temple corner
Hold the glasses face-up with the lenses facing you. Wrap one hand around the center of the frame to support your glasses.
Place your thumb on top and your pointer finger below the heated temple corner. From there, you can adjust the temple up or down.
If the side you’re adjusting sits too low on your face, gently bend the temple corner down by pushing downward with your thumb and anchoring with your pointer finger.
If the side you’re adjusting sits too high, bend the corner up by pushing upward with your pointer finger, anchoring with your thumb.
4. Cool and test your glasses
After allowing your glasses to cool, you can try them on and see how they fit. Look in a mirror to see if they appear even.
Even if your glasses seem level on a flat surface, they might look uneven when you’re wearing them. (It’s common for people’s ears to be slightly different heights.)
Repeat these steps until the glasses rest evenly on your face.
Adjusting metal glasses at home is a slightly different process than adjusting acetate ones. Metal glasses tend to have nose pads that can be repositioned, and their arms can vary quite a lot in terms of flexibility.
How To Adjust Nose Pads
Adjusting the nose pads on your glasses can solve common problems with fit, such as your glasses slipping down your nose, pinching your nose, or sitting too high or too low.
To adjust your nose pads, firmly grasp the bridge of the frame. Hold your glasses so the temples are facing you and the lenses are facing away. Use the index finger and thumb of your opposite hand to clasp the nose pad.
If the glasses feel too loose or your glasses are sitting too low on your face, you can gently bend the nose pad inwards, tilting its top portion away from the lens (toward your nose).
If the glasses feel too tight or sit too high on your face, you can use the same method to bend the nose pad outwards, tilting its top portion toward the lens (away from your nose).
Try to adjust the left and right side evenly, then test the fit by trying on your glasses. You can readjust the pads as necessary until the glasses rest comfortably on your face.
How To Adjust Metal Glasses Arms
The steps for adjusting temple ends are similar for both acetate and metal frames. However, you don’t need to heat most metal frames with water.
1. Position your frames
Hold the glasses face up with the lenses facing you. Place the four fingers of your left hand under the temple, with your index finger resting at the natural temple bend to support the frames.
2. Tighten or loosen temple ends
Gently bend the temple end up or down in relation to your index finger. Bending the temple end down will tighten your glasses. Bending it up will loosen your glasses. Use this method to adjust both temple ends.
3. Stop if you feel resistance
If the metal is not pliable or you feel too much resistance, stop to avoid breaking your glasses. If you are unsure of the flexibility of your metal frames, we recommend having an optician adjust them for you.
4. Test and repeat
Test for comfort and repeat this process as necessary.
An Optician Knows How To Adjust Glasses Best
There are some glasses types—like semi-rimless styles—that can be more challenging to adjust than others or apt to break more easily. You can also scratch, damage, or break your lenses and frames while trying to adjust your glasses.
That’s why our parting piece of advice is to always see an optician, if possible, when your glasses are causing you discomfort. Many of them will adjust your glasses for free! (We’ll even reimburse you up to $50 if a local optical shop charges you for adjustments to Warby Parker frames.)
Glasses starting at $95
Each pair includes prescription lenses with scratch-resistant, anti-reflective, and superhydrophobic treatments—and they block 100% of UVA and UVB rays.
