How To Adjust Acetate Frames?

A Helpful Guide

If you've worn glasses before, you've probably experienced times when it feels like your frames are not sitting right on your face, are too loose or tight, or aren't aligned correctly. This could happen not only if you accidentally drop your frames or have them in the heat for too long, but also if you ordered a pair online and haven't had them fitted by a professional. Learning to adjust your frames on your own will help save you time, money, and energy.

Can my frames be adjusted?

There are differences in adjusting frames when it comes to the material used. For example, adjusting metal frames is a different process from the process typically used for plastic or acetate frames. Fortunately, if you just bought a pair of acetate frames from Eyewear CA, you're in the right spot! Read on to learn more about your frames and how to adjust them to fit your face comfortably.

What are acetate frames?

Before we discuss making adjustments, it would be good for you to know more about your new acetate frames. Acetate is a hypoallergenic, plant-based plastic made from natural cotton and wood fibers as a way to work around the early issues caused by plastic eyeglass frames. Flexible, lightweight, and strong, acetate frames have the widest range of transparency, color, and finishes to give you endless choices for your perfect pair.

Where can I adjust my acetate frames?

You might be wondering what kind of adjustments need to be made to your glasses to make them fit—it's easy to tell when they don't feel right, but it isn't always easy to identify the reason why. Here are a few ways to determine what's “off” with your frames and what you need to do to fix it.

Frames sit too high or too low: If it feels like your glasses sit too high or low on your face, you might need to adjust the nose piece. Lower the placement of the frames by spreading the nose pieces apart or raise the placement of the frames by bringing the nose pieces together.

Frames feel tight or loose: Adjust the arms of your frames if they feel too tight or too loose. You can bend the arms outward to alleviate the tightness against the side of your head or inward to tighten them and lower the risk of them falling off.

Frames feel off-centered: If your frames seem to tilt to one side, it may be because the sides of the frames aren't aligned, your temples aren't necessarily parallel to one another, or your ears are at different levels (this is normal!). To adjust, gently bend the hinge in the direction that will fix the misalignment.

How To Adjust Your Frames

Now that you know what you need to do to fix your acetate frames, here's how you do it: Since acetate frames aren't pliable at room temperature, you need to add heat. To do this, you can either run your frames under hot water or heat with a hairdryer for 20 seconds. Once they are warm, use light pressure to adjust your frames. Be careful, though—if you press on plastic too hard, the frames are likely to snap. You also need to make sure you don't overheat the frames, as this leads to deformation.

Find Your Next Pair of Acetate Frames

At Eyewear CA, we make finding your next pair of glasses an easy and affordable process. Find a pair of acetate frames that suit your lifestyle, aesthetic, and tastes online today from our large selection of eyeglass frames for women, eyeglass frames for men, and kids' prescription glasses. We're glad to help you save some money without compromising quality!