Buyer's guide: sizing eye glasses

Millions of people across the United States wear eye glasses to correct their vision, while others wear only contact lenses, or, a combination of the both. When you are picking out a frame for your new eye glasses, you probably look at the color and design first. After all, you'll want to choose a design that will flatter the shape and size of your face. You'll also want to choose a color that will go with your eye color, and flatter your facial skin tone as well.

The second factor that you will need to determine is the size of eye glasses that you will need. Choosing the proper size will not only make your new eyewear comfortable to wear, but it will also allow your glasses to fit properly and stay on your face securely. For example, if the frame of your glasses is not wide enough, the temples will press against your face. After time, the temple pieces can even wear grooves into your skin. To avoid this problem, make sure that the ends of your eye glass frames stick out slightly beyond your face. To make sure that your eye glasses are the proper size, check the temple pieces to make sure they barely touch your skin all the way back to your ears. And, gently tug on the frame of your new eye glasses to test the length of the temples. If the temples don't move, then they're too short. You should have a small amount of play between the rounded ends of the temples and your ears. Also, check to make sure that the temple pieces of your eye glasses aren't pressing down on your ears.

Now, go to the front of your eye glasses and check the nosepiece and the bridge of your nose for proper sizing. The nosepiece shouldn't pinch your nose or feel tight; it should feel comfortable. The nosepiece should, however, hold the eye glasses to your nose securely so they don't fall off when you bend your head down. To test this, move your head up and down, then to side to side. If your eye glasses stay in place, then the nose piece is doing its job.

There are also numerical measurements to consider when you're choosing a pair of eye glasses. You can tell what size your current eye glasses are just by reading the numbers on the inside of the temples. These numbers are stamped on your glasses frame so that your eye doctor can copy them down and reorder new glasses that will be that size.

To read your personal numbers, take your glasses off and check the inside of either temple piece. Locate a series of numbers that are stamped on one of the pieces. The first number will be the numerical size of the lenses. The second number will be the size of the bridge, and the third number will represent the length of the temples. These numbers are not permanent. That is, they will change as the shape of your face changes due to aging, weight loss, weight gain, et cetera.

Finally, there are two more sizes on a pair of eye glasses. They are the width, as well as the height, of each lens. These measurements are taken from edge to edge. These measurements are different than the others in that these are not mandatory. Instead, you can choose the width and the height of the lens of your glasses. Just keep in mind that lens that are larger usually look better on larger faces. On the flip side of the coin, most anyone can wear smaller lens.