How do I stop my sunglasses sliding down my nose?

On metal frames, pinch the nose pads very slightly inwards — that is what they are for. On plastic frames the frame is too wide for your face, and the fixes are silicone grips, a temple adjustment by an optician, or a smaller frame.

Sliding is almost always a fit problem rather than a quality one, and which fix applies depends entirely on the frame type.

Metal frames are adjustable and most people never realize. The small pads either side of the bridge sit on arms that bend. Pinching them a millimeter or two closer together raises the frame and grips better; easing them apart lowers it. Do it gently, with the glasses held by the bridge rather than the lenses, and in very small increments.

Plastic frames usually are not. The bridge is molded, so if it is too wide for your nose there is nothing to adjust. The genuine fixes are stick-on silicone nose pads, which cost almost nothing, or having an optician warm and bend the temple arms so they grip behind the ears. Both are better than living with it.

The underlying cause. If a frame slides, the total frame width is probably too large for your face. Check the lens width printed inside the arm against a pair that does stay put — a few millimeters makes a real difference.

Heat makes it worse, which is why sunglasses slide most in summer: skin oil and sweat reduce friction at the bridge. Wiping the nose pads matters more than it sounds.

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