Aviator sunglasses that don't snag in hair?

May 18, 2012 12:56 PM

Please school me in the mysteries of wearing aviator sunglasses.

Sunglasses spend a good amount of time on top of my head. I'd love to wear a classic aviator style but always wind up OOOH! OUCH! with the nose pieces snagging and tangling in my (fine, thick) hair. Getting sick of solid, molded nosepiece plastic frames, but for the life of me can't figure out how non-buzz-cut types wear these glasses.

(Have seen girls wearing metal-framed aviators as headbands, but am too embarrassed to walk up to strangers and request a lesson.)

Techniques or frame suggestions, please!

posted by 2soxy4mypuppet to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (12 answers total)

Ah. I am going to interpret this as getting the nosepieces stuck in your hair when you are wearing your sunglasses on top of your head, as opposed to on your face, no?

To be honest....I only push them up to the top of my head when A) I know they're going to be up there for a while and B) I've straightened my hair, because they are invariably going to get snagged. If my hair is straightened, though, they don't really get tangled or cause any damage...they're just a bit awkward to dislodge.
posted by vivid postcard at 1:12 PM on May 18, 2012

Note: I'm differentiating here because I've also gotten aviators tangled in my hair when just wearing them normally (the hair gets stuck at the temples or something), but that is usually alleviated by buying slightly more expensive pairs (i.e. $5 shades as opposed to the dollar store ones...)
posted by vivid postcard at 1:14 PM on May 18, 2012

Response by poster: Yes, they get snagged on top of my head. Even when I'm careful (which I'm often not, pushing them up and down on autopilot), they seem to tangle.
posted by 2soxy4mypuppet at 1:18 PM on May 18, 2012

Best answer: If anything: try to place them on your head, as opposed to pushing them into your hair. I also seem to have better luck when I lift them up, straight off my head, as opposed to pushing them back down on my face, or pulling them even further back. Maybe that will help...?
posted by vivid postcard at 1:30 PM on May 18, 2012 [3 favorites]

Basically what vivid postcard said - I never slide them back into my hair like I do with plastic frames, I always take them off my face then put them straight down on top of my head. This reduces the amount of tangling. Reverse to take them off, straight up then onto my face. Then I smooth my hair back in place. Honestly though I usually avoid doing this at all and just hang them from my shirt collar whenever I can.
posted by brilliantine at 1:35 PM on May 18, 2012

I have very thick curly hair, AND i wear aviators. When i take them off, i just slip one of the earpieces into the collar of my shirt so it hangs there, or let it hang off my pockets or something.

So, the only real solution is: don't put it in your hair.
(If you MUST put it in your hair, PLACE them on your hair, don't SLIDE. And when you want to lift them off your head, don't slide them forward, lift them straight up from your head. (Not foolproof, but it helps.)
posted by Kololo at 1:46 PM on May 18, 2012

Right, so basically i just complete repeated what vivid postcard and brilliantine said. Oops!
posted by Kololo at 1:46 PM on May 18, 2012

I am watching this space with interest, because I will be curious to know if anyone has a better solution. I just push them back into my hair and remove them very, very gently when the time comes. Removing them to the back (ie, push them over the top of your head so they sort of fall off towards your neck/back) instead of trying to put them back on your face) sometimes helps?
posted by Snarl Furillo at 1:48 PM on May 18, 2012

I never put my sunglasses on top of my head. I always hang them by one earpiece from the collar of my shirt. It works.
posted by Ery at 1:55 PM on May 18, 2012

Take your glasses off and place them on top of your head and carefully lift them off don't slide them up and down. Wearing your hair tied back can help too.
posted by wwax at 1:57 PM on May 18, 2012

I've found just the opposite as wwax - I can only wear glasses with plastic nose pieces as a headband if my hear is NOT tied up, since then I can just pull it straight through without the nose piece getting snagged into a ponytail holder. So there's that.
posted by Addlepated at 2:20 PM on May 18, 2012

Yep, hang 'em in/from your collar. (I am a girl who has multiple pairs of sunglasses with the nosepieces). And apparently putting glasses of any kind up on your head is not really something you should be doing anyway--the lady that recently sold me my new reading glasses watched me do this as soon as she handed them to me and chided me for it. Apparently it's just bad for the glasses; it's 'stretches' them out or something and they break sooner (or something). Maybe she just thought I had a big head. Anyway, if you invest in a nice pair of shades (and I've found with aviators that the cheaper ones tend to look a little out of proportion and goofy) they'll give you a nice case. Take glasses off --> put in case. That's the habit I forced myself into--my glasses and hair are both thanking me.
posted by lovableiago at 2:34 PM on May 18, 2012