Shopping for eyeglasses or sunglasses online adds a challenge for you to try judge if the glasses will fit your face or not.
At BON CHARGE we have a handy, online tool for you to easily be able see what the frames you are looking at buying will look like on your face with the virtual testing tool.
You will find the virtual testing tool on the screen of each product page when you are looking at a specific pair of glasses.
However, there are ways for you to be able to manually measure your face to help you know if a pair of glasses will fit on your face comfortably.
A handy tip if you have a pair of glasses that already feel comfortable to wear is to look at what are the glasses measurements on those frames and then to buy your new glasses using those numbers.
How Should the Frames of Glasses Sit on Your Face?
You will know if the frames you are trying on are a good size for your face when:
- The top of the frames do not sit above your eyebrows
- The lower edge of the frames do not rest on your cheeks
- The width of the frames do not sit wider than your face at the temples
The Basic Face Measurements Needed for Glasses
How to Measure the Width Between Your Temples
The temple to temple width measurement will help you understand how wide your glasses frames should be for your face.
In order to measure the width between your temples you will need: a mirror, a ruler and a calculator.
- Stand in front of a mirror with the ruler
- Hold the ruler horizontally across your face inline with the bridge of your nose
- Place the 0 inch or mm reading of the ruler at the edge of one side of your temple (side of your head)
- Measure the distance from the one side fo your head to the other
- Record the temple width measure in millimetres. To be able to convert inches readings to millimetres ones you will need to multiple the inches number by 25.4 to get the millimetres measurement number
How to Measure Your Nose Bridge Width
The nose bridge measurement is needed to know that the nose bridge width on the frames is not too wide or narrow for your face.
In order to measure your nose bridge you will need the camera on your cellphone.
- Take a selfie picture of your face looking at the camera and see if you have a narrow or wide bridge area on your nose where the glasses will sit
- Take a selfie picture from the side to see where the bridge of your nose is in relation to pupils of your eyes.
- If the bridge of your nose is inline or below the pupils of your eyes then you will probably need a smaller nose bridge size on the frames
- If the bridge of your nose is above the pupils of your eyes then you will probably need a larger nose bridge size on the frames
Manually measuring the nose bridge width is one of the hardest of the measurements needed for glasses to get right.
This is because it is not pinpoint accurate. So when you are buying frames with different thickness the bridge nose width number might need to be slightly different.
As a basic guide an adult with a low bridge measurement will need frames with a nose bridge width in the 16 - 18 range. For adults with a wider or higher nose bridge measurement they will need frames with a nose bridge width in the 19-21 range.
How to Measure Your Temple Length
The temple length is the measurement of the length of the temples (a.k.a arms) on your glasses. This number will help you understand how long you need the arms on your glasses frames so that they sit comfortable on the side of your head and behind your ears.
In order to measure the temple length what you will need is an existing pair of glasses that fit well on you already and a ruler.
- Open up one of the arms on the glasses that already fit well on your face
- Take the ruler and measure from where the glasses arm connects the front rim of the frame at the hinge to where the arm bends
- Measure from where the arm bends on the frames to the tip of the arms.
- Add these two numbers together to and record the final measurement in millimetres.
When you are looking to buy a certain style of frame look at the glasses measurements supplied to make sure the temple length available in those frames will fit you.
Final Thoughts
The easiest way to to know what measurements you need when buying a new pair of glasses is to look at the glasses measurements on a pair of glasses that already feel comfortable for you to wear.
You can manually measure different parts of your face to help you determine if a pair of eyeglasses or sunglasses might be too big, too small or just right for your face.
We recommend also seeing our Face Shape Guide for Men and Women.
