A recent survey showed that wearing glasses can add up to three years of age to people’s perceptions of how old you are. If you wear an outdated style, bifocal lenses or thick lenses, then you can age yourself even before people are close enough to see your grey hairs or crow’s feet. The researchers took 10 pictures of people wearing specs, and then photographed the same group without glasses. When asked to guess the age of the models, the first group were estimated to be an average of 3.3 years older than the first. So how do we turn this worrying statistic around?

Firstly, you need to take a long hard look at your specs. How old is your frame? Is it damaged, held together with sticky tape, discoloured or bent? Then there are your lenses. Generally speaking, bifocals, tints, and chunky lenses can add years to you, so have a re-think on your optical needs. A funky pair of prescription sunnies is more glamorous and more comfortable on the eyes than a general purpose light tint. Varifocals are not as ageing as bifocals and are easier to wear for everyday use. A thinner lens looks better and is more comfortable than a heavy standard lens if you are quite short or long sighted.

Your frames are the really noticeable aspect of your specs. Have you changed your style within the last two, five, ten years? Are people reminded of Ronnie Barker or Deirdre Barlow when they see you?! If so, it might be time for a change! Check out the fashion pages and look at what younger people around you are wearing for inspiration. It’s not like choosing clothes – you don’t have to worry about being seen as mutton dressed as lamb with specs, anything goes for any age group. A new frame can change your face shape, your colouring and your whole image all in one go, so experiment with a new look and knock years off too!

Glasses Online

It’s a fact of life that chubby cherubic cheeks or even Kate Moss razor sharp cheekbones are not always a good thing if you wear specs. If your glasses sit close to the face and air cannot get behind them, then they will mist up at the slightest increase in temperature. This is especially a problem with plastic frames, as the moulded bridge sits right on the face with not as much air space behind it as a metal frame.

If you also happen to have a petite little nose with a flat bridge, your problem is compounded! So besides switching to contact lenses, what can you do? The first step is to make sure that your frame is a shallow as possible. So when you come to pick your new pair, look for a wide front that still looks big enough for you, but one where the depth from eyebrow to lower edge is as small as possible. Even varifocal lenses can go into small and shallow frames nowadays, so if you are a varifocal wearer don’t panic!

The shallow frame may be enough to solve the problem, if you have a nicely projecting bridge to your nose. If however you do have a flatter bridge, then you will need a metal frame. The nose pads lift the frame away from the cheeks, to allow a good flow of air behind the lenses. Thinner material lenses will also help if your lens power is strong, as this will decrease the weight and allow the frame to sit up higher. Don’t just put up with the problem – a funky trendy pair of shallow specs for spring will lift the fog for you!