How to Keep Glasses from Slipping

Quick Fixes

Wash your face to remove natural oil buildup. Oily skin can cause your glasses to slip down your nose. Look for a natural skincare product that removes oils, and wash your face once or twice per day for the most effective results. Rub the cleanser into your skin and rinse it off completely before putting your glasses on to see if they slip. Your body may produce more oil throughout the day, so keep cleaning wipes with you to help remove any excess oil. Frequently using a facial cleanser to remove oil from your skin may make your skin dry out.

Wrap hair ties around the arms to increase their grip strength. Get 2 small hair ties that match the color of your frames so they blend in and don’t stick out. Slide one of the hair ties about a third of the way down the arm and twist it to make a loop. Pull the loop tight before putting the arm through it again. Continue looping the hair tie around the arm until it’s tight and then do the same on the other arm. Make sure the hair ties lie flat against the arms so they aren’t uncomfortable when you’re wearing them. Try different thicknesses of hair ties to see what fits on your arms the best and feels the most comfortable when you wear them.

Put wax on the bridge of your glasses to prevent slips. Glasses wax comes in a lip balm-like tube and provides friction between your frames and your nose. Remove the cap from the wax and rub a small amount on the bridge of your frames. Put your glasses on to test if they still slip around. If they still move, apply a little more wax to your glasses. You can buy glasses wax online or from local pharmacies.Warning: Glasses wax won’t work as well if your glasses don’t properly fit on your head. Visit your optometrist or an eyeglass store so they can measure your face for frames.

Put heat-shrink tubing on the arms to make them tighter. Heat-shrink tubing gets conforms to the shape of the object it’s on once it’s heated. Slide the tubing over each arm of your glasses so it covers the part that wraps around your ear. Hold a heat gun about 4–5 inches (10–13 cm) away from the tubing and turn it on low for 30 seconds so the tubing shrinks. You can buy heat-shrink tubing from your local hardware store. Look for tubing that matches the color of your frames so it doesn’t stand out too much. If you don’t have a heat gun, you can also use a blow dryer on the highest heat setting. Don’t hold the heat gun near your glasses for too long since you could damage or melt the frames. Some frames may have gripping rubber strips on the arms.

Adjusting the Frames

Replace the nose pads if your glasses slide down your nose. Use a small screwdriver from a glasses repair kit to loosen the screw on the nose pad to remove. Pull out the old nose pad and slide a new one into place on your frames. Secure the screw back in place before replacing the second nose pad. You can buy replacement nose pads online or from stores that sell glasses. Your optometrist may be able to replace the nose pads on your glasses for a small charge.Tip: If your eyeglass frame doesn't have nose pads, then you can buy adhesive-backed pads to stick on the bridge so your glasses stay in place.

Make the nose pads narrower if they’re adjustable on your frames. Some frames have nose pads on a thin metal piece so you can make adjustments yourself. Grip the outer edges of the nose pads with your index finger and thumb and carefully squeeze them closer together. Make sure the nose pads both move the same distance or else the glasses may be crooked on your face. If you accidentally make the nose pads too narrow, push them out again to widen the space between them. Be careful not to bend the nose pads too much since you could accidentally break them off of your frames. You may also take your frames into your optometrist or an eyeglass shop to make the adjustment for you if you don’t feel comfortable doing it yourself.

Adjust the temple angles so your glasses hold tightly against your head. The temple angles refer to how the arms fit against the side of your head to provide the best grip. If you have metal frames, hold the base of the arm with your non-dominant hand and grab the end of the arm with a pair of needlenose pliers. Carefully bend the ends of the arms toward the inside of the frame to tighten them. If you have plastic frames, heat them with a hair dryer on high for 1-2 minutes before bending them by hand. You can also take your frames to your optometrist to make the adjustments for you.

Put ear hooks on the arms so they don’t move away from your ears. Ear hooks are small rubber pieces that slide onto the arms and prevent your glasses from falling off your ears. Slide an ear hook onto the end of the arm and position it far enough up so it’s tight against your ear when you wear the glasses. Put the other ear hook on the other arm so your glasses stay straight. You can buy ear hooks online or from a store that sells glasses.

Choosing Frames

Have your face measured to determine what size frames you need. Visit an optometrist or a glasses store and ask them to measure your face. The optometrist or employee will accurately find the length you need for the lenses, nose bridge, and arms for your glasses in millimeters. For example, your eyeglass measurement may look like 55-18-140, where 55 mm is the lens width, 18 mm is the bridge width, and 140 mm is the length of each arm. If you already have a pair of glasses that fit well, look for 3 numbers on one of the arms to find their size. Some apps for buying glasses may have a measurement tool that uses your phone camera estimate the perfect fit for you.Tip: Avoid “one size fits all” frames since they could be too large or small for your face and slip more often.

Get glasses that have grip strips on the ends of the arms so they’re less likely to slip. Grips strips are rubber pieces wrapped around the frames that increase the amount of friction so they’re less likely to slip. Look for frames in your size that have rubber pieces on the end and try them on so you can see how they feel on your head. If your frames are too tight, you may start to feel more uncomfortable the longer you wear them. You can buy grip strips to add onto frames if you can’t find a pair that already has strips on them.

Try with adjustable nose pads so you can tighten them. Many glasses have nose pads attached to moveable metal pieces so you can make adjustments on the go. Look for frames in your size that have adjustable nose pads at your local glasses store or online. If the nose pads are too loose and don’t grip your nose bridge well, then squeeze them closer together so they hold on your face better. If the frames you like don’t have adjustable nose pads, you may be able to stick on adhesive nose pads to help keep your glasses up.