To all the high myopes, have you ever experienced thick and heavy glasses that droop down your face all the time? If that experience sounds familiar to you, you know it’s not a pleasant one. Just because you have a high prescription, it doesn’t mean that you have to resign to heavy glasses that don’t make you feel or look good. 

Here’s some tips for choosing a frame that compliments not only your face, but your prescription too. 

1. Choose smaller frames 

When choosing a frame, size is everything. A high prescription is much LESS noticeable in a smaller frame. Imagine a concave lens, the thickness as the side increases as the horizontal length increases. Hence, the smaller the frame width, the thinner the processed lens as seen in the image below:  

Comparing frame A and frame B in this case, frame B will be a better choice for a higher prescription.

2.Choose Rounder frames

Avoid big rectangular frames and ones with sharp, angular edges because they don’t help with stronger prescription lenses. The further you get away from the focal point on a lens, the thicker the lens will be and more distortion will exist. 

A smaller oval frame can be a great choice because it reduces thickness and distortion that is typically seen at the edges in a larger width frame. Usually rounder frames come in smaller sizes too.

3.Avoid rimless or half frames

Rimless and half frames will expose the whole thickness of your lenses. 

Full-rim frames are typically thicker than rimless or semi-rimless frames. They can be beneficial in hiding the thickness of your lenses. 

Here are some examples of frames suitable for high myopia:

KameMannen- KMN 99

SayOh- The Minister

Kaneko- KC 30

Besides the frame, choosing the correct lens to use makes a huge difference in the thickness of the lens too. Stay tuned for part 2 on “How to choose the right lenses for high prescription.”

Article contributed by:
Caleen Koh
Dip Optometry (S’pore)