Crooked glasses are a pain for many who wear them. Some have the frame tilted horizontally to one side. Others have one side of the glasses higher than the other. Some have one lens touching the eyelashes while the other is far from the eye. And some people have all of these crooked issues at once.
Crooked glasses look unusual. They also reduce the glasses’ ability to improve vision, causing blurry vision in both eyes or one eye. This can lead to dizziness, nausea, and double vision. Moreover, a pair of glasses is not cheap, so it’s quite a loss!
So, what’s the deal with these situations? And how should they be solved?
What kind of glasses are straight?
To figure out why glasses frames might be crooked, let’s first grasp how they’re put together
First, a pair of glasses frames is assembled from multiple parts. These include the lens frame that holds the lenses, the bridge connecting the two lens frames, the nose pads supporting the glasses on the nose, the temples that hook over the ears, and the hinge and rivet connecting the temples to the lens frames.
These structural aspects need to be in normal condition to prevent glasses from being crooked. For example, the front corners on both sides of the glasses should be consistent. The outward angle of the temples should be symmetrical. It’s essential to ensure that the temples do not lift when open or closed.
The glasses’ frame is small and delicate. It has multiple parts and high demands. Because of this, any deformation or displacement in any part can potentially lead to the frame becoming crooked. Looking at it this way, eyeglass frames are indeed prone to misalignment.
The Road to Slanted Glasses
After receiving a new batch of eyeglass frames, optical dispensaries typically conduct initial adjustments. Then, they put the frames up for sale. This ensures that the frame angles meet the standard fitting criteria. It makes it easy for customers to choose and ensures an appealing appearance.
Once a customer selects a frame, a dedicated professional adjusts it a second time based on the individual’s wearing conditions. After that, the eyeglasses undergo processing. Even after lens installation and completion, a third adjustment is made during customer pickup, considering their feedback.
However, as time passes, the once well-adjusted new eyeglasses gradually become crooked due to several reasons.
Incorrect Usage Posture
Individuals themselves are the most common culprits leading to frame deformation!
If you recognize the actions in the GIF below, congratulations! You’ve probably been bending your eyeglass frames.
Removing glasses with a single hand is genuinely the most prevalent technique causing frame deformation. Moreover, everyone seems to be self-taught, with uniformly executed movements.
For the majority of eyeglasses, there’s a hinge connecting the frame to the temples, often with screws or springs in between. When you single-handedly remove or put on glasses, one side gets pulled apart, and the temple on the other side might press against your face.
Similarly, when single-handedly putting on glasses, you need to secure one temple against your face for leverage, causing uneven stress on the temples. Over time, your stylish way of handling glasses subjects them to ruthless treatment. This includes uneven stress on the legs, potential deformation of metallic materials due to pulling, resulting in uneven width, deformation at the hinge and screw connection points, and abnormal height difference between the temples.
After reading this, you can forget all other content. But please remember: Use both hands to handle your glasses!
Glasses Unfit for Uneven Ears
When discovering crooked glasses, many people might think of two possibilities. Are my ears uneven?
As mentioned earlier, before handing over new glasses to customers, staff usually perform 2 to 3 adjustments. The second and third adjustments are specifically tailored to different facial features and wearing habits. Even in cases of uneven ears, adjustments are typically made during the second adjustment by skilled technicians to ensure balance on both sides.
So, uneven ears can indeed cause frame imbalance, but with proper adjustments, comfortable wearing is achievable.
However, if the optical dispensary’s frame adjustments lack precision or if glasses are purchased online, the absence of necessary adjustments may lead to the appearance of uneven ear heights.
Long-Term Neglect
Just like a car needs maintenance for smooth driving after a certain period or mileage, glasses require occasional care as well.
Glasses, being a daily corrective tool, endure exposure to the elements over time. Even if they were perfectly adjusted before, the constant opening and closing of the temples can lead to loosening screws and the accumulation of dust and oils. This can cause discomfort in the nose pads. Failure to maintain them promptly can gradually reduce wearing comfort, resulting in issues like the glasses slipping down easily, and changes in the position of the nose pads. The visible outcome on your face: Crooked glasses.
The Blame on the Glasses Themselves
Frames going crooked can also connect to the material they’re made from. The chosen frame material, if soft or lacking hardness, or with manufacturing issues, could create stress during processing. Thick lenses or differing prescriptions could also create stress. This stress could cause the frame to bend backward.
This situation is also common with some sports frames. Sports frames have a larger curvature. Regular non-spherical lenses with a regular base curve may deform the frames.
How to Straighten Crooked Glasses
When you visually notice significant deformation in your eyeglass frames, it indicates that it’s already quite noticeable. At this point, don’t attempt to bend it back into shape on your own casually. Some frames are challenging even for us, with an array of tools. Are you sure you can manually straighten them out? Take a look at the image below; some frames are tricky even with our tools. Can you be certain you can do it by hand?
Whatever You Do, Don’t Bend It Yourself
Attempting a DIY fix most commonly results in making one part straight but other parts even more crooked. Some folks, in their Herculean efforts, have even managed to snap their glasses in half. The best choice is to take the frames to an eyeglass store promptly. Let a professional adjust them. Not only are they experts, but in most cases, frame adjustments are free of charge. Relax and let them handle it.
After getting your frames adjusted, always remind yourself to use both hands to handle your glasses! It saves you money on new glasses. It also avoids the risk of jabbing your eyes with highly myopic frames.
If You Break Them, Get New Ones
If, by some miracle, you’ve managed to break your glasses, and you need a new pair, it’s best to choose frames in-store. This ensures that, before lens processing, the eyeglass store can adjust the frames according to your facial features. After lens processing, they can also make adjustments.
If you’ve bought frames online, visit a physical store for a secondary fitting after receiving them.
If you have uneven ears, a thicker side of the nose, or asymmetrical cheekbones, it’s strongly recommended to get your glasses fitted in a physical store. Choose frames with high adjustability. Ask the staff if the frames are adjustable. Make adjustments in various parts like the temple arms, nose pads, and hinges to achieve the best wearing angle.
If adjustable frames aren’t available, you can use external accessories. For example, nose pads or ear hooks help compensate for the height difference on both sides.
Lastly, when not wearing your glasses, fold them and store them in the case or place them in a secure environment. After all, sitting on your glasses and breaking them is never a novel experience.
