Frame adjustment: what an optician really does in three minutes

Services, 5 min read, August 2026

Two people can buy exactly the same frame and end up with neither the same comfort nor the same vision. The difference comes down to three minutes of adjustment.

A frame leaves the workshop in an average geometry, calculated for a theoretical face. No real face is symmetrical: one ear is almost always higher than the other, and the nose is rarely centred to the millimetre. Adjustment means deliberately deforming that average geometry so it follows one particular face.

Why this is not just about comfort

A tilted frame drops one lens and lifts the other. Your gaze no longer passes through the optical centres, which adds a parasitic effect much like poor centring. On progressive lenses it is even more obvious: the reading zone is no longer where it should be, and the wearer keeps hunting for the right position.

Put simply, adjustment is not an optional extra. It is the final step of the correction, and without it a good prescription and good lenses never deliver their full result.

The five adjustments

Temple spread. It sets the pressure on the temples. Too tight, the frame leaves marks and gives you a headache above the ears. Too loose, it slides the moment you lean forward. The benchmark: the frame should stay put when you shake your head gently, without leaving a red mark after an hour.

Temple length and the curve behind the ear. This is the most frequently neglected point. The temple should follow the skull without pressing, then drop behind the ear. A curve that starts too early creates a pressure point, a curve that starts too late lets the frame slide forward.

The curve of the front, or wrap. The front is bent slightly to follow the curve of the face. This spreads the contact and stops the corners pressing into the cheeks.

The tilt, or pantoscopic angle. The bottom of the frame sits slightly closer to the face than the top. This angle directly influences near vision and where your gaze lands in the lens.

The fit on the nose. On a metal frame, it is adjusted by moving the nose pads in or out. On an acetate frame the bridge is fixed and worked with heat, which demands precision. This is the point that decides whether the frame slides or not.

"You do not adjust a frame by looking at it on a table. You adjust it on a face, having the wearer put it on and take it off three or four times."

Why not to do it yourself

Cold acetate is brittle. A temple bent by hand without heat cracks, often inside the material, and the crack only shows up weeks later. Heating is done at a precise temperature, with hot air or in a bead bath, for a few seconds only. Too hot and the surface goes white or bubbles.

Metal work hardens: every deformation stiffens it a little and weakens the bend point. A temple straightened several times will break one day, cleanly, with no warning.

Finally, an adjustment is judged head on, at eye level, from a metre back. In front of a bathroom mirror you always correct the wrong way.

How often

A frame worn every day shifts slowly. A check every six months is a good rhythm, and it is almost always free. Some signs should bring you in sooner: a frame that slides as soon as it gets hot, a persistent red mark on the nose or temples, a pair that visibly tilts in photos, or reading discomfort that appears without any change in correction.

One last practical point in the tropics: sweat and heat soften acetate slightly day to day. A frame adjusted perfectly in February can slide by August. That is not a fault in the frame, it is an adjustment to redo.

Get your pair adjusted: our in store workshops adjust frames free of charge, including frames bought elsewhere, details on Eyewear Services in Bali.