How to Keep Your Glasses from Falling Off During Sports?

Would you be interested to learn how to keep your glasses from falling off during sports or any activity? I know how frustrating it is to have your spectacles sliding down your nose bridge, affecting your sports and making it less meaningful and less enjoyable.

There are many ways you can keep your eyewear on your face, regardless of how active you move. In this article, I will share with you at least ten steps to keep your glasses from falling off, like adjusting your frame or using hair bands.

Things You Need for This Tutorial

Keeping your glasses from falling off during any activity does not require any special tools or materials, depending on how you want to hack the issue.

In most cases, simple personal items such as rubber bands and elastic hair ties are sufficient to solve slipping glasses.

If you want to be more sophisticated, you can purchase sports glasses because these are perfect for action-packed activities. Their unique design helps keep these pieces of eyewear in place, regardless of movement.

One thing you need is an understanding of the basic parts of your glasses.

The frame holds the lens that protects the eyes against extreme light, intense heat, debris, and other impact forces.

The temples are the arms that hold the frame in front of your eyes. These parts anchor behind the ears at an angle, forming a clamp-like design to keep the glasses from sliding off.

Between the two lenses are the nose pads that secure the frame on the nasal bridge. They also help anchor the frame in place.

These eyewear parts work together to keep the glasses from falling off. If there is a loss of friction in any of these elements, it would be impossible to retain the glasses when moving.

10 Effective Ways to Keep Your Glasses from Falling Off During Sports

1. Get the correct size of eyewear frame for your head.

Glasses keep sliding down nose is due to an ill-fitting frame. The frame holds the lenses in front of the eyes and secures the eyewear around the temples.

If it is too large, you cannot expect the eyeglasses to stay in their place. That is why it is always a good idea to try different frames before buying.

The frame should also not be too tight; otherwise, it will be uncomfortable and affect your sports performance.

Pro Tip: Ask your optician if he/she can customize a frame for your face.

2. Buy sports eyewear.

If you want to stop glasses from sliding down your nose, I strongly recommend buying sports eyewear. These spectacles are not your ordinary eyewear. They have impact-resistant lenses and lightweight frames.

Some products also have photochromic capabilities, shielding your eyes from intense light when needed. Check this list to find the right photochromic safety glasses that can be most suitable for sport.

The best part about sports glasses is that their temples hug the face like a clamp. Manufacturers design these spectacles to never fall off because of their unique angled form.

Some sports spectacles also come with built-in straps or bands. This element is another valuable tool for keeping your glasses in place.

You might want to check AMO Sports Sunglasses’ video if you are interested to know how to choose the correct sports glasses.

3. Wrap hair ties or rubber bands on the temple tips.

If you do not want to spend on new glasses, you might want to try this simple hack. All you need for this trick is a few rubber bands or elastic hair ties.

Grab your glasses and hold one temple or arm. Wound a rubber band on the temple’s outer third, the section that goes behind your ear. You can wrap as many rubber bands or elastic hair ties as you want.

The material thickens the temple tips, pushing them against the skin. Moreover, it also increases friction against the skin to eliminate temple sliding.

Here is a fascinating video from ArayaLia on how to execute this straightforward hack.

4. Apply wax on the temples, frame, and nose pads.

One reason why your glasses keep sliding off your face when playing sports is sweat. Moisture reduces friction between the pads or temples and the skin. That is why the rubber band hack works. You also can refer to the following the best way to remove sweat stains from your glasses frames. 

If you are not a fan of the rubber band trick, you can apply any wax on your eyeglasses frame, temples, and nose pads.

While wax is quite slippery, it is also a bit tacky. It increases friction, allowing you to retain your glasses on your face no matter how much you move.

Doctor Eye Health has an interesting video about glasses life hacks, one of which is using NerdWax.

You do not need this product because any skin-friendly wax will suffice. You only need to apply the wax along the glass surfaces that come in contact with your skin.

5. Cover the tip with a sleeve retainer.

Looking at your glasses’ design, you will notice that the temple tip only forms a partial hook behind the ears. It can still slip off easily, especially if you bend your head down.

A sleeve retainer works like an artificial temple tip extension, forming a hook around your ear’s back. The only way you can remove your glasses is by sliding them upward and forward.

Here is a list of excellent eyewear retainers you can get at an affordable price. They are easy to use, too.

6. Wrap a friction sleeve or heat shrink tube on the temples.

Covering the temples with a heat shrink tube or friction sleeve is similar to wrapping an elastic hair tie or rubber band at the tips. It also creates friction while pushing the temples against the skin better.

You can ask your DIY brother or electrician friend for extra heat shrink tubes. You can also buy these from your electronics or hardware store. Insert the temples through the heat shrink tube.

Get a heat gun or a hairdryer and heat the shrink tube until it compresses against the temple.

If you do not have heat shrink tubes or friction sleeves, you can wrap rubber bands around the temples. Elastic hair ties also work.

7. Replace the pads with silicone materials.

Most glasses come with small nose pads that do not create enough friction against the skin. That is why they cannot stop glasses from slipping.

One way to address this is by replacing the OEM nose pads with larger silicone products. You have two options, depending on the style of your eyeglasses’ nose pads.

You can either replace the nose pad or stick a silicone nose pad over the current one. An excellent example of this product is the Askilt Eyeglass Nose Pads. It has a 3M adhesive to make application a breeze.

8. Connect a strap or band to your glasses.

Playing sports with glasses is more enjoyable if you can retain it on your face. The best way to do this is by connecting the two temple tips with an elastic or adjustable strap.

You can buy a good-quality adjustable strap. These straps have sleeves on both ends, allowing you to insert your temple tips through them.

If you do not like this design, you can get an eyeglass chain you can mount on the temples. I would caution you that a chain is trickier to install than an adjustable strap at the tips.

I find this video from Gearbest exceptional in teaching you how to put on an ear-stems strap on your glasses.

9. Get an optician to tighten your frame.

Most of the hacks I shared with you reduce the frame width around your face, clamping it against the skin to prevent the glasses from falling off.

Another solution you might want to try is to have your optician tighten your glass frame. The goal is the same as adding rubber bands or friction sleeves on the temples and temple tips.

The only issue I see with this method is that it does not last long. Repeated use will still loosen the frame, making it likely to fall or slide off with movement.

10. Wear contact lenses instead of glasses.

If none of the steps I shared with you works in keeping your glasses from falling off during sports, I suggest wearing contact lenses.

However, it would be wise not to use contact lenses in intense physical activities and contact sports. You do not want the lens to tear because of impact forces.

Additionally, not everyone is keen on using contacts because they can be inconvenient to put on and remove. They can also be uncomfortable for some people.

Conclusion

There are many ways you can keep your glasses from slipping off your nose or face. Some hacks are simple enough, requiring a few items you may already have. Others may need you to purchase something.

Now that you know how to keep your glasses from falling off during sports or any activity, would you share this article with your family, friends, and acquaintances? I would also appreciate any feedback or comment you may have about this tutorial.