Glasses and hair don't get along

[irodaryne]

I've tried to find a thread about this but I've not seen any.... (I also really hope I put this in the right place)

I've been wearing glasses for many years now, and regardless of the type of glasses I'm wearing, regardless of the material, shape, etc., I've always had this huge problem where my hair snags in my glasses where the arm connects to the frame. It's not as bad when my hair is longer (though it still happens enough), but the shorter my hair the bigger this problem is. I do sometimes wear contacts, but sometimes I just can't, or I can't afford to get them (as is my case right now. I have special eyes :p (teeheeheehee I loved that commercial, it always made me giggle). And by that I mean I've got an astigmatism in one eye and need special contact lenses for it and that gets expensive.

I figured I'd make a thread for complaining about it as well as for sharing any advice for dealing with your hair and glasses fighting.

[cathair]

Hello, another astigmatism (and other things) person who can't afford contacts over here :waving:

Best thing I have found to help with with hair snagging in hinges of glasses is to make sure the screws are on the tight side. On my glasses at least if the screw is adjusted to the arms are quite stiff, the gap in the outside of the hinge is decreased and hair gets stuck in it a lot less.

[PsychoLoverly]

I have that problem as well :( However, I find keeping my hair prevents this quite a bit. If it does get caught, slowly release the hair and don't tug on it. At least that's what works for me. I digress it is very annoying and painful if you accidentally pull and you don't know it was caught. 0.o

[Kimberly]

This is one of the reasons I switched to contact lenses. But sometimes I wear reading glasses. My solution to the hair-caught-in-hinges problem is glasses without hinges. I wear pince nez, a pair of these http://www.debspecs.com/Vintage-Specs-wsoft-case-P2514.aspx I also keep an eye on antique shops for a pair of higher-quality used frames, but I have a difficult nose to fit. In the meantime, the inexpensive hoop-spring pair linked above work great. They're comfortable, never slide down my nose unless I'm having a terrible hot flash, and while they do leave little dents in my nose, glasses tend to do that on me anyway.

[spidermom]

I've developed the habit of taking glasses off very carefully. I bring my hands up to my temples and smooth back any hairs that may be there, especially around the hinges of my glasses. Then I put my fingers at the hinges and take my glasses off with two hands, unless I am in a hurry of course. I also make sure to buy the kind of glasses with arms that go back in one piece from front hinge to around the ear.

[neko_kawaii]

I usually have my hair contained so nothing is getting snagged in the henge. My old glasses were wire frame and had plastic covers on the ear pieces and the transition from cover to wire was positioned perfectly to snag hair. grrr. Avoiding that was my primary factor in choosing new frames.

[meteor]

Since my hair is always contained and kept away from my face (no bangs or face-framing layers), I don't have this issue anymore. But it was a constant problem when my hair was not very long, layered, and worn down. You might want to consider barrettes/bobby pins to keep hair away so it won't catch as much.
And it really depends on the kinds of frames your glasses have, as well.

[SunnyIC]

Oh yes to this. I've been wearing glasses since I was 7 and I have learned the hard way that glasses just think hair is tasty! It's also really painful when you take your glasses off in a hurry and snag a hair. I've been wearing my hair up more often since joining but sometimes it happens. I do wear contacts (to school, contacts are really expensive) but most of the time I find glasses more comfortable overall, to the small exception of losing a few hairs of course. Definitely need to learn some tips and be more careful with how I take my glasses off that's for sure. :)

[lilin]

I've tried to find a thread about this but I've not seen any.... (I also really hope I put this in the right place)

I've been wearing glasses for many years now, and regardless of the type of glasses I'm wearing, regardless of the material, shape, etc., I've always had this huge problem where my hair snags in my glasses where the arm connects to the frame. It's not as bad when my hair is longer (though it still happens enough), but the shorter my hair the bigger this problem is. I do sometimes wear contacts, but sometimes I just can't, or I can't afford to get them (as is my case right now. I have special eyes :p (teeheeheehee I loved that commercial, it always made me giggle). And by that I mean I've got an astigmatism in one eye and need special contact lenses for it and that gets expensive.

I figured I'd make a thread for complaining about it as well as for sharing any advice for dealing with your hair and glasses fighting.

YES. I had this problem for ages. Plastic frames helped a little, but not much. Even with my hair back, my hair is sufficiently fine that there's always a couple just kind of floating around the edges. I practically cut myself bangs with the number of hairs my glasses ripped out.

I never found a pair of contacts that was consistently comfortable, so when it became a choice of having hurting eyes or ripped out hair, I picked ripped out hair.

I never found a solution to it, until I got my eyes lasered. Throwing those hair-eaters in the trash felt good. Yay technology!

[irodaryne]

Hello, another astigmatism (and other things) person who can't afford contacts over here :waving:

Best thing I have found to help with with hair snagging in hinges of glasses is to make sure the screws are on the tight side. On my glasses at least if the screw is adjusted to the arms are quite stiff, the gap in the outside of the hinge is decreased and hair gets stuck in it a lot less.

Oooooo that makes sense. Usually I have to be very, VERY careful about taking off my glasses. i don't slide them off, I lift them and twist it so the arms are up so I can close them a tad and let my hair go free. They never seem to get caught in the hing, just between the arms and the body.

Go figure, the hair can get in the space no problem but getting out is just too difficult for it.

[LauraLongLocks]

This was more of a problem when I had bangs that had grown just a little too long. Now that I'm growing them out again, I'm keeping them pinned back and don't have the problem as frequently, but as was mentioned above, when your hair is fine, sometimes a few hairs will float out and get caught.

[irodaryne]

This is one of the reasons I switched to contact lenses. But sometimes I wear reading glasses. My solution to the hair-caught-in-hinges problem is glasses without hinges. I wear pince nez, a pair of these http://www.debspecs.com/Vintage-Specs-wsoft-case-P2514.aspx I also keep an eye on antique shops for a pair of higher-quality used frames, but I have a difficult nose to fit. In the meantime, the inexpensive hoop-spring pair linked above work great. They're comfortable, never slide down my nose unless I'm having a terrible hot flash, and while they do leave little dents in my nose, glasses tend to do that on me anyway.

I need my glasses to function in day to day life and I can just see pince nez type glasses not staying on my face. :(


YES. I had this problem for ages. Plastic frames helped a little, but not much. Even with my hair back, my hair is sufficiently fine that there's always a couple just kind of floating around the edges. I practically cut myself bangs with the number of hairs my glasses ripped out.

I never found a pair of contacts that was consistently comfortable, so when it became a choice of having hurting eyes or ripped out hair, I picked ripped out hair.

I never found a solution to it, until I got my eyes lasered. Throwing those hair-eaters in the trash felt good. Yay technology!

Plastic frames tend to let my hair out easier. I absolutely can not have metal frames, I break off the nose things (the metal part, too. meaning they can't get fixed D:) and they become unwearable.

Contact lenses are great. They just cost a lot when you have an astigmatism and not everyone can wear them.

[irodaryne]

This was more of a problem when I had bangs that had grown just a little too long. Now that I'm growing them out again, I'm keeping them pinned back and don't have the problem as frequently, but as was mentioned above, when your hair is fine, sometimes a few hairs will float out and get caught.

My biggest problem is I have these two spots at both temples where the hair is still as fine as baby hair and it never gets very long but it does happen to get just long enough get stuck in my glasses from time to time.

[YGDW]

I get that too. Really annoying! It sometimes helps if I take the glasses off carefully (doesn't always happen though :)) and bend the hinges whenever my hair gets stuck. I do lose a few hairs now and then though...

[lilin]

Plastic frames tend to let my hair out easier. I absolutely can not have metal frames, I break off the nose things (the metal part, too. meaning they can't get fixed D:) and they become unwearable.

Contact lenses are great. They just cost a lot when you have an astigmatism and not everyone can wear them.

Yup, exactly. The only contacts that were even tolerable for me for an 8-hour day were, at the time, also the most expensive non-astigmatic contacts on the market -- 30 days overnights. And I couldn't even wear them overnight! So I was spending hundreds of dollars to have my eyes hurting and not get my money's worth. I can only imagine how much more you'd have to spend on similar astigmatic contacts (I had a very small astigmatism, too low to get contacts for, so I had to get regular -- maybe that's why they were never comfortable).

So I just slowly worked backwards through my glasses collection, using the next oldest pair whenever they broke, saving up to get it fixed. I was wearing my glasses from when I was 14 by the time I did. They were metal, and serious hair eaters, but I refused to spend any more money except to fix it for good, or at least until I get presbyopia with age. I was so done with it!

[Kimberly]

I need my glasses to function in day to day life and I can just see pince nez type glasses not staying on my face. :(

The style of pince nez I wear stay on for things I do around the house, but because they are reading glasses, I haven't done anything really strenuous in them. They do stay on when I shake my head. Another style, the fingerpiece (or hard bridge) style, was invented for soldiers to wear in World War I, staying on just fine in combat and better than glasses with earpieces because they could be worn under a gas mask. I have the hoop spring kind because the fingerpiece are harder to get -- no one makes them anymore and the fit has to be good. I'll find the right pair eventually, though.

[Nadine <3]

This was always a problem for me with my wire framed glasses, but I just got a new pair with plastic frames. Haven't had a problem yet, but...we will see!

[SnowbirdRose]

I'm having the same problem with my hair getting caught in the hinges. I've been thinking about getting new frames, maybe plastic this time.

[Larki]

Hm, I have had glasses for like eight years and have never had any issues with hair catching in the hinges. I didn't even know it was possible.

[vulgarshudder]

I have plastic frames and only rarely have this problem, but then I do wear my hair back all the time.

[Shibe]

I'm currently waiting for contacts for this exact reason!

Each of my eyes has it's own prescription and degree of astigmatism. Toric lens are so so expensive!!

[irodaryne]

I'm currently waiting for contacts for this exact reason!

Each of my eyes has it's own prescription and degree of astigmatism. Toric lens are so so expensive!!

Really they are. I'm so glad I only need them in the one eye! D:

[Beezle]

I had completely forgotten how this painful procedure happened many times a day before my hair got long enough to put up. I wear two pairs of glasses daily - one for driving and one for the rest of the time and I am not a candidate for contact lens or laser so I just had to tolerate it. The best solution I found was the type of glasses with a hinge that bends backwards. I believe they are called spring-hinge. So as you remove them, with both hands, you can ease the arms out away from your face and so let loose any trapped hair from either the hinge or between the arm and your face.

[JustPam]

I get this occasionally with the stray wispy hairs around my face, but I mostly keep my front section clipped/tied back when my hair is down so it doesn't happen often

[trolleypup]

Spring hinges are an improvement as they tend to not get the gap that catches hair. Very rare for my beater 39dollarglasses to catch a hair.

However, and this isn't the budget solution...my Silhouette (www.silhouette.com/us/en/eyewear/) frames do NOT have a hinge. So nothing to catch hair.

[CrazyGrace]

I almost always wear my pulled back. It occasionally catches where the plastic cover bit meets the metal, but that is easily released, and I rarely have any trouble with the hinges. What drives me nuts is when I hug someone and my glasses somehow grab their hair or vice versa. I had one pair that had a decorative thingy that extended over the hinge and did not lie flush on the right side; I learned to hold my head very carefully when being hugged.

[irodaryne]

Spring hinges are an improvement as they tend to not get the gap that catches hair. Very rare for my beater 39dollarglasses to catch a hair.

However, and this isn't the budget solution...my Silhouette (www.silhouette.com/us/en/eyewear/) frames do NOT have a hinge. So nothing to catch hair.

Hingless glasses? Now that is something I need in my life

[Beezle]

However, and this isn't the budget solution...my Silhouette (www.silhouette.com/us/en/eyewear/) frames do NOT have a hinge. So nothing to catch hair.

I was imagining these would need a very strangely shaped glasses case til I looked at the site. Very posh. Great solution.

[Anje]

Hingless glasses? Now that is something I need in my life

I picked up a rimless pair of them at Zenni a year or two ago. Very nice things to have. That said, with my hair pulled back and the lousy bangs finally grown long enough to stay back, it's rarely a problem for me even with spring hinges.

ETA: Just a little enablination.... ;) (http://www.zennioptical.com/eyeglasses?Ntk=all&Ntt=hingeless)

[cathair]

I picked up a rimless pair of them at Zenni a year or two ago. Very nice things to have. That said, with my hair pulled back and the lousy bangs finally grown long enough to stay back, it's rarely a problem for me even with spring hinges.

ETA: Just a little enablination.... ;) (http://www.zennioptical.com/eyeglasses?Ntk=all&Ntt=hingeless)

That's horribly enabling! :D They're great and not expensive. I wish buying glasses online worked out for me.