Glasses that slip and slide are as unsafe as they are uncomfortable. Continually adjusting your glasses can be frustrating and take you off task numerous times during your day. Not to mention, ill-fitting glasses just aren’t attractive.
The Stoggles team understands the importance of great eyewear. We know that great eyewear starts with a great fit. Here, you’ll find out why proper fit is important and pick up seven handy tips to ensure your sunglasses and safety glasses fit perfectly.
Why Fit Is Important
It’s critical that your glasses fit properly to keep you safe and work effectively. If your current frame size doesn't fit, it could constantly distract you. Then, you place yourself at serious risk of injury. Consider this: sunglasses that don’t fit properly could distract you while you’re behind the wheel and cause an accident.
Sunglass and safety glass fit is critical for three specific reasons.
- Comfort. Glasses that aren’t comfortable will enjoy taking up space on a shelf somewhere. In other words, you won’t wear them. If you don’t wear them, your eyes aren’t protected.
- Safety. It’s unsafe to wear sunglasses or safety glasses that are the wrong size. Glasses that don’t fit beg to be continually adjusted, pushed around, or repositioned. All of these seemingly innocent maneuvers take you off task and place your eyes (and arguably your body) at risk of injury.
- Protection. Sunglasses protect you from damaging UV rays, while safety glasses protect you from an entire gamut of potential eye hazards. However, if your glasses don’t fit properly, they don’t offer solid protection. Ill-fitting glasses could leave your eyes vulnerable and increase your risk of vision-related injury.
If fit is so important, how can you be sure the sunglasses you picked up at the gas station actually fit your face properly? Hint: they probably don’t. Our fit guide can help you decide.
How To Check Your Fit
Optometrists and lens makers use a fitting technique called the fitting triangle to ensure your glasses fit properly.
The fitting triangle ensures your glasses come into physical contact with your face only at three points:
- The bridge at the center of your nose. Whether your glasses use attached nose pads or detached, adjustable pads, they should fit securely on either side of your nose without slipping or pinching.
- Over the left ear. The arm (or temple) of the left side of the glasses should lay flat. The inside of the left temple should come in contact with your head just above your ear.
- Over the right ear. Same as the left, but on the right side of your head (the right temples).
Safety glasses may fit slightly differently because they have additional pieces that can come in contact with your face. Side and top shields protect vulnerable areas of your face and may touch your face in those positions.
Seven Tips To Find The Perfect Fit
Even if your glasses meet the triangle fit guidelines, it doesn’t guarantee they fit you perfectly.
No need to pull out your ruler:
Here are seven tips to ensure your glasses fit better than your favorite skinny jeans:
1. No Pressure
Both sunglasses and safety glasses should rest comfortably on your face without creating pressure on either side of the head. Polycarbonate frames help Stoggles and SunStoggles feel lightweight, eliminating pressure.
2. No Pinching On the Nose
The nose bridge should be secure and not slip downward, but it also shouldn’t squeeze or pinch on either size. This can be difficult to adjust if your current frames don’t have adjustable nose pads.
To ensure comfortability with glasses that do not have adjustable nose pads, look for options with different bridge width measurements. For instance, Stoggles glasses are available in two bridge measurements: 20mm medium and a bridge measurement of 19mm mini. (mm is millimeter, FYI.)
3. Unobstructed Vision
Your glasses should never create a blind spot or interfere with your field of vision in any way. Even safety glasses that have the addition of side and top shields shouldn’t disrupt your view.
4. Secure, All Around Protection
For safety glasses, you’ll want to ensure the top and side shields meet your brow and cover your temples completely without creating discomfort. The shields must meet your face to ensure protection against debris, but that connection should be comfortable and wearable.
5. Even Weight Distribution
The entire weight of your glasses should be (and feel) evenly distributed.. Although the bridge technically bears the majority of the weight of your glasses, there shouldn’t be a noticeable difference in the amount of weight you feel on your nose compared to what you feel on your temples.
Additionally, you shouldn’t feel that one side of your glasses is heavier than the other. If this happens, it means the arms need adjustment.
6. No Eyelash Interference
Sunglasses and safety glasses should sit far enough away from your eyes that your eyelashes don’t hit the lenses when you blink.
The only caveat here is false lashes or lash extensions; if you’re wearing those, it can be impossible to ensure your glasses fit securely around your face without your uber-long lashes fluttering against the lens.
7. Stay In Place
Once your glasses are securely seated on the bridge of your nose and around your ears, they shouldn’t move. Turn your head from side to side, look up and down, and make sure your glasses stay in relatively the same spot.
Some movement is unavoidable, but if your old glasses fall from your eyes right down to your jawline the moment you begin to look down, they don’t fit.
This seven-point check can mean the difference between the perfect sunglasses and properly fitting and glasses that you want to toss in the trash. It’s essential that all of these specs are met to make sure your eyes are protected and your face is comfortable. The right fit is an absolute necessity.
Customize Your Frames, With Stoggles
Drop the dollar bin safety glasses and the convenient store shades and grab a pair of Stoggles. Our glasses fit differently because they’re made differently. Both our SunStoggles and regular Stoggles are available in two different sizes to ensure your fit is perfect (and safe).
Small size? Large size? Goldilocks wishes she had these options.
Our mini Stoggles fit face shapes that are more narrow, ensuring your fit is secure and never bulky. Our medium frames will fit most, but it’s a great idea to measure your face (temple to temple) to determine which size will fit you best.
Suppose you find yourself between sizes, (i.e., your temple width measurement is larger than the mini but smaller than the medium), size up. Sizing down could result in glasses that are too tight and uncomfortable. Make sure to consider both bridge size and temple size when considering your size measurement.
Once you’ve got your frame size, you can choose from different shapes and colors to get the look that best suits your style. Stoggles never makes you choose between style and safety; we combine both so you can retain your dignity while you work and play.
With Stoggles, you have the freedom to play it cool (and stay safe) whether inside at home or on the job with eyeglasses so ridiculously comfortable they’ll quickly become your favorites.
Sources:
Fitting of Eyeglasses and Forming Relationships | 2020mag.com
How should glasses fit? | All About Vision
Safety Glasses and Protective Eyewear | American Academy of Ophthalmology
How to Safely Adjust Your Own Glasses | Healthline
How to pick the right glasses for your face | Business Insider
