First, the two minute test
Before you bend anything, find out whether the glasses are crooked or you are.
The table test. Set the glasses upside down on a flat table, resting on the top edge of the frame and the two temple tips. A straight frame touches at all three points and sits still; a bent one rocks, or one temple tip lifts. If it rocks, the fault is in the glasses. If it sits flat, go to the mirror.
The mirror test. Put the glasses on and look straight ahead at eye level. If a frame that passed the table test still sits crooked, the fault is in the fit: one ear sits higher than the other, which is true of almost everyone, or the nose carries the frame unevenly. Nobody's face is symmetrical, and that is not a defect; it is the reason temples are adjustable.
The how should glasses fit guide covers what level looks like.
Cause one: one ear is higher than the other
The commonest cause, and the one most people never suspect. Hold the glasses level by hand in front of the mirror and look at where the temples meet the ears: on most faces one temple sits on the ear and the other floats a fraction above it, and when you let go the frame settles onto the low ear and tilts. The fix: bend the temple on the high side of the frame (the side where the lens sits higher) downward at the tip, so it reaches its ear sooner; a small change goes a long way. On acetate, warm the tip in warm water for a minute until it gives, bend it a little and hold it while it cools; on a flexible frame, bend it cold and gently; on titanium or beta-titanium, take it to a shop. The method for each material is in the how to adjust glasses arms guide. Do one side only, and check in the mirror after each small adjustment.
Cause two: one temple is bent
If the table test failed with one temple tip in the air, that temple has been bent, usually by taking the glasses off with one hand or sleeping in them. The fix: bend the raised temple back down until both tips touch the table, with the method from cause one for your material, then run the mirror test again, because a frame that was crooked for a while often carries a second compensating bend.
Cause three: the front is twisted
If the table test failed with the frame rocking rather than one tip lifting, the front itself is twisted, so one lens tilts toward the face and the other away. This is what sitting on a pair does. The fix: a shop job in any material, because the front has to be warmed evenly and twisted back at the bridge, which is the weakest point and the part a kitchen attempt cracks. The how to fix bent glasses section of the adjustment guide covers the bent and twisted frame step by step.
Cause four: a nose pad has moved
On a frame with adjustable pads, one pad bent in or out puts that side of the bridge higher or lower on the nose, and the frame tilts even though the temples are straight. How to tell: with the frame off, the pads should mirror each other in distance and angle. The fix: holding the frame by the bridge, move the stray pad back to match its partner, a small movement at a time. The nose pads for glasses guide covers the whole adjustment, and the same guide covers replacing a pad that has been lost, which produces the same tilt.
Cause five: a hinge screw is loose
A loose screw lets one temple open wider than the other, so that side sits further back on the head and lower on the ear. How to tell: the loose temple swings freely where the other has resistance. The fix: a small screwdriver and a quarter turn; the how to tighten glasses guide covers the rest. A spring hinge that has lost its spring has the same effect and is a shop repair; the spring hinge glasses guide explains the mechanism.
Cause six: the frame slides and settles crooked
If the frame is straight, the temples even and the pads matched, and it still ends up crooked an hour after you straighten it, the frame is sliding down the nose and settling at an angle each time, because the bridge is not resting on the nose. People with a lower nose bridge see this most, because most frames perch on them instead of resting, and a frame that slides lands crooked. The fix: a frame whose bridge is cut to sit lower and closer to the face, which is what a low bridge fit is; many of our frames are cut that way and the low bridge fit eyeglasses collection gathers them, with the adjustable nose pad glasses collection for the metal frames. The glasses keep sliding down nose guide is the full diagnosis, and the glasses touching cheeks guide the cheek contact that goes with it.
What belongs in a shop
Titanium, beta-titanium and memory metal; rimless frames; a twisted front in any material; a second attempt at anything you have tried once at home. Any optician will straighten a frame they did not sell, usually free or for a small charge. MUJOSH does not adjust frames by post, but every frame ships with a 30 day return window and a one year warranty, so a frame that arrived crooked goes back; a frame that will not stay level after a shop visit is probably the wrong size, and the glasses measurements guide explains how to read the size inside the arm before choosing the next one.
Keeping a straightened frame straight
Take the glasses off with both hands; the one handed pull bends most temples. Keep them in a case, set them down folded and lenses up, and clean them with a proper cloth rather than a shirt tail, which twists the front as it scratches the lens; the how to clean eyeglasses guide and the scratched glasses guide cover both.
MUJOSH frames that are easiest to keep level
Each is ready for your own lenses.
Halo, $119. A lightweight acetate frame in a rounded retro shape with adjustable nose pads: the one acetate frame in the range where a crooked fit is corrected at the nose rather than the temple, the easier and safer adjustment. Halo
Alio XZ, $99. A crown panto in an ultra-light material with spring hinges and a low bridge fit; the spring hinge forgives the one handed pull, and the bridge sits on the nose so the frame does not slide and settle crooked. Alio XZ
Ultem, $99. A geometric frame in lightweight Ultem, a flexible material that is bent cold and returns, with a mortise and tenon hinge that does not loosen like a screw. Ultem
Beta Pitot, $135. A square-round with beta-titanium temples and a low bridge fit; beta-titanium springs back rather than holding a bend, so it rarely goes crooked, and when it does the adjustment is a shop job. Beta Pitot
Trendy Diamond, $99. A diamond-cut cat eye in acetate with a low bridge fit; a lifted corner shows a tilt more than a round frame does. Trendy Diamond
The lightweight glasses guide ranks these by material, the titanium glasses guide covers the metal, and the full range is in the eyeglasses collection.
The bottom line
Run the table test first: a frame that rocks is bent or twisted, a frame that sits flat and still looks crooked on you is meeting an uneven face, which is everyone's. Then check the six causes in order. Bend acetate warm and flexible frames cold, one side and a little at a time; send titanium, rimless frames and twisted fronts to a shop; and if the frame slides, fix the bridge, not the tilt. In the MUJOSH range Halo, Alio XZ, Ultem, Beta Pitot and Trendy Diamond are the frames built to stay level, from $99.
Frequently asked questions
Why are my glasses crooked?
Either the frame is bent, which the table test shows (set them upside down on a flat surface and see if they rock), or the frame is straight and your face is not, which is true of almost everyone: one ear sits higher than the other. The fix is a small bend to one temple.
How do I fix crooked glasses at home?
Find the cause first. For a high ear or a bent temple, bend the temple tip on the high side down a little (acetate warmed in warm water, flexible frames cold); match a moved nose pad to its partner; give a loose hinge a quarter turn. A twisted front, titanium or a rimless frame goes to a shop.
Why do my glasses keep going crooked after I straighten them?
Usually because the frame slides down the nose and settles at an angle each time, which means the bridge is not resting on your nose. A low bridge fit frame or adjustable nose pads fix the slide, and the tilt goes with it. Taking the glasses off one handed is the other cause.
Which MUJOSH glasses are easiest to keep straight?
Halo ($119, adjustable nose pads), Alio XZ ($99, spring hinges and a low bridge fit), Ultem ($99, a flexible material with a hinge that does not loosen), Beta Pitot ($135, beta-titanium temples that spring back) and Trendy Diamond ($99, low bridge fit).
