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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Letters

Practical hacks for our slippery specs

A model wearing large spectacles
‘Adrian Chiles … should shop around for an optical practice that does the job properly,’ says Joe Oldaker. Photograph: Keystone/Getty Images

Adrian Chiles needs to know that there are people who can help with his slipping spectacles problem (We can go to the moon – so why can’t we stop my glasses sliding down my nose?, 27 October).

I worked for 25 years as a qualified dispensing optician, and my job, once the optometrist had finished “faffing with the red or green bit”, was to assist a client to choose a frame suitable for the lenses prescribed, which fitted their nose, head width and length to the ears properly, and which matched their cosmetic choice.

Grabbing anything off a display was frequently not the best solution. Once made, I fitted the finished spectacles to the client. If Adrian Chiles didn’t get that service when he had his spectacles, he should shop around for an optical practice that does the job properly.
Joe Oldaker
Nuneaton, Warwickshire

• I, too, suffered terribly with slipping glasses. I have found that small, fluffy, elasticated hair scrunchies, wrapped around the ear pieces, provide an almost perfect solution.

The fabric of the scrunchies seems to grip very well behind the ears, even when I am sweaty and my nose is especially greasy. I prefer black or brown but, in emergencies, even fluorescent pink is better than nothing.
Dr Keith Seddon
Wigginton, North Yorkshire

• The solution to Adrian Chiles’s problem with slipping glasses is not on the nose but behind the ears: he should get a pair with curly ends.
Harold Somers
Chorlton, Manchester

• Could I recommend a glasses strap to Adrian Chiles? Fits over the spectacle arms and can be tightened at the back. Certainly not glamorous, but effective.
Stephen Bradley
London

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