Choosing The Right Eyeglass Frames For Your Face

Choosing a new pair of eyeglasses can be a daunting task.

Making a decision on what style glasses you will be wearing for the next year until your vision is checked again can be stressful. This is one of the many reasons opticians are here for you. In many ways, this may be the most important task for the optician, because keeping you happy motivates you to wear your glasses daily.

Most people’s reaction is to play it safe with new glasses and stick with something relatively similar to what they are currently wearing.

While not necessarily a bad decision, this isn’t something opticians try to promote. Opticians often spend time meeting with frame representatives and browsing the Internet to keep up with the ever-changing trends in the world of eyeglass frames. And it’s a great feeling to successfully “update” your image with a new set of frames. Many patients are amazed at the difference a well-fit and -styled pair of glasses makes on their overall look.

There are many simple tips and tricks to consider when starting to browse for your next pair of frames.

The goal of this article is to improve your starting point when beginning to choose frames. That way, once the optician gets involved, the process is already well under way. Keep in mind that these are guidelines and “outside the box” thinking can be good as long as it fits within the required parameters of your prescription.

The first step is successfully identifying what face shape category you seem to fit into.

This image shows the most common face-shape categories. These are a great guidelines to help decide which frames will most likely appear to fit the best.

Oval - Oval faces are considered to be the “most versatile” because most frame styles and sizes fit well on this face type. As a general rule, and especially for oval faces, avoid choosing frames that extend past the widest part of your face. Stick with moderate-sized frames.

Upside Down Triangle - To even out the proportions of this face shape, choosing semi-rimless frames is always a positive. Less attention to the bottom half of the frame helps enhance the natural curves of this face shape. Frames that stay wide at the bottom and do not taper inward will also help even out this face.

Oblong - Being longer than it is wide, this face shape enjoys having larger frames on it. A lower bridge will help shorten the nose, and solid dark colors are a positive as well.

Square - A strong jaw line is the focus of this face shape, so to work with that, choosing smaller, narrow frames is a positive. Ovals and rounds work better than squares.

Diamond - Broad cheekbones are the focal point of this face shape. Being quite rare, the best style of frames to put on these faces are in the cat eye family. Following the face’s contours, flare-top frames, semi-rimless frames, and fun colors tend to work well with this shape.

Round - Rectangular frames work best on round faces. Wide bridges help separate the eyes and bring symmetry to the face. Make sure the frames are wider than they are deep.

Triangle - Cat eye frames work exceptionally well with this face shape also. Frames that have a lot of style and accents to the upper part of the frames and temples are a plus as this brings attention to the naturally narrow forehead.

Along with shapes and styles, some believe that certain colors work best with certain faces.

All people are considered to have either cool (blue) or warm (yellow) skin tones. Some people feel customers should stick within their family of coloring. Again this is only a recommendation since you should wear what you like. This is just strictly a guideline for those struggling to choose a frame for themselves. Based on experience, eye color can make a difference as well. People with lighter eyes tend to prefer lighter frame colors, and vice versa for people with darker eyes. Also, hair color can be considered. Patients with lighter or grey hair tend to shy away from darker frames unless looking to make a statement.

At the end of the day you have to choose what is most comfortable for you. Opticians’ suggestions and educated opinions can help steer you in the right direction. There is much to consider, but always keep in mind that comfort and functionality are the priorities.

Some people believe plastic or zyl frames are more comfortable than metal or semi-rimless. Having nose pads, metal frames feel “heavy” to some. Others cannot wear plastic due to oily skin. Plastic frames may slide as the day progresses so metal may be better suited.

Don’t be overwhelmed. Follow some simple guidelines, and remember to enjoy the process. There are infinite styles and options to get you seeing well and looking great. And while you’re considering lenses for your regular lenses, don’t forget to look for sunglasses frames!

Article contributed by Richard Striffolino Jr.

This blog provides general information and discussion about eye health and related subjects. The words and other content provided in this blog, and in any linked materials, are not intended and should not be construed as medical advice. If the reader or any other person has a medical concern, he or she should consult with an appropriately licensed physician. The content of this blog cannot be reproduced or duplicated without the express written consent of Eye IQ.

Oftentimes, contact lens wearers will skimp on their lens care because some of the solutions are costly and it seems like a good way to save some hard-earned cash. This is not a good idea.

Cutting corners can result in infections or irritations, and after one or two copays to your ophthalmologist or optometrist office you will probably spend more than what you saved in a year by cutting corners, plus your discomfort and inability to wear your contact lenses while you are being treated.

The reasons you clean your contacts is to give increased lens comfort, prolong lens oxygen permeability, and to protect your eyes from infection. The reason you have to disinfect your contact lenses is - as nasty as it may sound - your eyeball and eyelids are covered in essential bacteria that are kept in check by your body’s immune system. When you remove your contact lens at night it is covered in these essential bacteria. If you don't kill them overnight this will allow the bacteria to grow unchecked and then, instead of inserting a freshly cleaned lens, you are inserting a lens covered in more bacteria than your eye is used to and you end up getting an infection.

Let’s talk about the most widely used type of solution - the multipurpose solution. While this is often the most incorrectly used solution, multipurpose solutions are a very safe and effective disinfection method when used properly.

Many multipurpose solutions advertise themselves as “No Rub.” Just put it in the case and you are done. This is OK to do, but a quick rub with the no-rub solution in the palm of your hand and the opposite hand’s middle or ring finger provide and even better cleaning option. Just the slight roughness of your fingerprint adds a light scrubbing effect that helps improve the removal of surface debris, protein and mucous better than just letting the lens soak overnight. This rubbing of the lens is especially important for women to remove any cosmetics that are rarely removed by just soaking alone. This few seconds of extra cleaning will make your lenses stay more comfortable longer during their wearing cycle, and help to keep the pores of the lenses open, allowing more oxygen to contact your cornea to keep them healthier for your eyes.

Many name brands and store/warehouse brands of multipurpose solutions exist. All are FDA approved to do the same thing: clean/disinfect/rinse/store your contact lenses. You can't really mess them up unless you try. Remove the lenses, lightly rub them with the multipurpose solution, place your lens into a CLEAN and DRY lens case, and cover the lens with solution to disinfect it. Then let it sit for the amount of hours recommended by the manufacturer, generally between 4 to 8 hours, or overnight. Remove the lenses in the morning, rinse with the same multipurpose solution and rinse the lens case out and leave it open to air dry in an area away from your sink and toilet to prevent airborne contaminants from getting into your case as it dries.

The biggest misuse of the multipurpose solution is not changing your case’s solution nightly and just adding more solution to the case each night. We call this “topping off the case.” This is NOT safe because it will lose disinfection power since the old/used solution was busy killing the bacteria and organisms from the night before. Just adding a little fresh solution will eventually allow for the bacteria to take over and you may be adding more bacteria into your eyes than if you never disinfected the lenses to begin with.

Multipurpose solution companies oftentimes will give you a new case when you buy bigger bottles of solution. This is meant for you to START with the NEW CASE with the NEW BOTTLE of solution. Not to stash the case away and have a drawer full of new cases. There are fungi and other organisms that have been demonstrated to grow from very old lens cases so USE the new case and don't keep it for when you break the old one.

There are many different multipurpose solutions on the market. They aren't cheap and it is tempting to purchase “what is on sale” to save a few dollars. If it does the same thing as the expensive one, then why bother spending the extra? But remember, your contacts are like little sponges that soak up your lens solution. The lens companies don't care if brand A’s solution is compatible with brand B’s or C’s. So over time you can develop a sensitivity to one particular brand of solution, or mixing solutions with the same lens can cause a chemical reaction that occurs because the solutions are not compatible. If you are using the same brand regularly and start having issues your doctor may recommend a solution change to another company that you haven't tried and this may potentially solve your problem. But if you have used several different ones in a few weeks prior to your visit it makes it much harder to determine the cause of your irritation.

The generic/store brands are fine products but a grocery store or discount chain doesn’t have a factory that makes their solution for them; they purchase it from a larger supplier. These third-party suppliers can alter their recipe for their multipurpose lens solution and you as the consumer never know. You could just start finding your contacts are not as comfortable as they used to be and it is actually the unknown generic solution change that is bothering you. Brand name companies like Bausch and Lomb, AMO, and Alcon will rarely make product changes without making consumers aware that they've reformulated the product so if something changes with the reformulated product you have a better chance of knowing it than with a generic solution manufacturer.

Finally, there is a product called saline solution. Saline is extremely inexpensive, generally half to a third the price of multipurpose solutions. This is a product made by many different companies and was the first lens solution ever used. Saline solution was initially used in a heat disinfection system where the lenses were boiled nightly. The boiling of the lens provided the disinfection, not the saline solution. The solution was to just to prevent the lens from drying out while you cooked it. You should NEVER use saline solution as a replacement for multipurpose solution. Saline solution is NOT a disinfectant for your lenses. It doesn’t contain an agent that will prevent bacteria and organisms from growing in the case overnight and potentially can set you up for infections. However, it’s totally acceptable if you want to rinse your lenses in the morning with saline prior to inserting them after they were disinfected with your multipurpose.

Oftentimes, a practitioner will recommend a certain type of solution to help with things like dryness, environmental allergy-sensitive patients, or patients who are allergic to multipurpose solutions. I always recommend to check with your practitioner before making any changes to your lens care solution or lens care routine. The best advice for saving money on your preferred solution is buy extra when it is on sale, buy in bulk, and buy what is most comfortable in a multipurpose solution for you. Then stick with it and use it correctly for many years of happy lens wear.