When posed with the question of which frame he would
recommend over another, one dispensing Optician declined to
answer, thinking it was a matter of subjective opinion. That
was a shame, because the patient wasn’t asking for an
opinion, they were really looking to someone for their
expertise.
When making cosmetic recommendations to patients, you may
find yourself in a similar situation. Here are a few
suggestions about how to deal with it.
Types
Consider your patient’s type of look. You may want to
come out and ask them or you may want to probe more gently,
but the idea is to refine the look the patient is trying to
achieve. Whether subtle, traditional, contemporary or bold,
chances are that you have something to help them achieve
that particular look.
Comfort Level
Why not be direct? It’s important to understand that
some patients will love talking about themselves and their
appearance. It’s only natural for them to be interested in
how they look. Others will be less comfortable carrying on
about themselves. With this type of patient, the idea is to
speak a little more about value, optics, and appropriateness
of frame size, shape, and color.
Same or Different
As you get started, it’s a good idea to determine if a
given patient is looking to maintain or change their look.
Is the patient wearing a subtle design and looking to
continue that? Or are they sporting a conservative frame and
now wanting something more expressive?
Previous Pair
The patient’s last pair of glasses can often be an
easily overlooked way of determining how to satisfy them
this time around. Remember that patient who was reticent to
talk about himself? Chances are they will have no trouble
telling you exactly what they liked about their last
eyeglasses. Be prepared to hear what they didn’t like too,
and be sure you have your lens toolbox ready mentally.
Taking points from the previous pair will often put you on
the path to recommending. It also puts you in the role of
the expert, someone to listen to previous problems and offer
solutions for improvements.
Cosmetic or Technical
There’s something else valuable about discussing the
previous pair. It gives you an opportunity to consider the
intersection of cosmetic and technical factors. Examples of
this are limitless.
Examples of Cosmetic Meeting Technical
Were the patient’s last glasses thick or thin? Did a
high index material adequately reduce lens thickness? Were
aspheric lenses noticeably slim? How about lens decentration
in the last pair? Is this something of concern for the new
pair? How much did frame size contribute to thick lenses at
the edge? Which shape might work better this time? Were the
temporal edges of those long rectangular lenses of concern?
Several Factors
Take a look at the lens thickness of a rectangular frame
with prescription lenses, and you can easily judge the level
of success with the use of high index, aspheric lenses, and
minimal decentration (the amount to which a lens needs to
have its optical center moved to coincide with the patient’s
inter-pupillary distance). With the lenses in the frame, it’s
possible to see how these factors work together to determine
the thickness of the finished lenses. You may see
opportunities for improvement.
Frame Shape
With so much material already available about matching
frame shape to the shape of the patient’s face, I’ll
leave that to others. Still, there are a few points about
particular frame shapes you may find valuable. Long, narrow
rectangular lens shapes - popular in many frames right now -
may leave you with thick edges for minus lenses at the
patient’s temples (or thick edges of plus lenses at the
nasal).
Round frames are your best choice to combine with the
thinnest available lens material, when aggressively taking
steps to reduce thickness of high power prescriptions where
lens thickness is a significant issue. Round shapes may be a
little severe, so in some instances an oval may be your
second choice. A better solution with the high power Rx
might be to retain the round shape and use a very light
color to keep the frames nondescript.
Aviator shape frames are another illustration of the fact
that cosmetic and technical recommending can go hand in
hand. While some might assume that frame shape is a cosmetic
matter, experienced dispensers are aware that aviators may
be troublesome for progressive addition lenses (PALs),
because this shape frame may interfere with natural vision
in the near zone.
Building Attractive Eyeglasses
Remain the expert, and start with lenses first. Once you
have an idea of lenses to go into the frame, it is time for
you to consider how the patient’s prescription will look.
As an eye care professional, the patient needs you to
interpret the fact that decentered minus lenses become
thicker at the temple, and decentered plus lenses become
thicker at the nasal. Don’t blow it. This is the time for
recommendations, not technical dialogue between you and the
patient.
Easy Does It
Patients don’t look at thousands of eyeglass frames
like ECPs do. So the best thing you can do is use your
experience and knowledge to help them come up with the best
lenses and frames, something you can do for them much more
quickly than they can do for themselves. In general, the
choices you can make are simply more refined than those of
the patient, which means they will respond enthusiastically
when you show them something extraordinary.
So help the patient refine those fuzzy ideas into
something tangible – and wearable. When it comes to color,
easy does it. Too much color is usually overpowering. For
example, suppose a patient has an inkling for a demi-amber
or tortoise metal or zyl frame. The patient may respond to
the fact that these frames have a depth of colors. They may
find the frames have a “natural” color palette. Your
role is to demonstrate some good examples. The patient may
have thought all tortoise was alike, for example, and walked
out of the office with much too dark of a frame.
Types of Lines
The shape of an Ophthalmic frame may be thought of as a
line (as opposed to color or texture), lending the frame
character. Types of character might be soft, subtle,
uncluttered, refined, busy, or bold.
Round or square frames may be too severe for some tastes.
The idea is to think not so much about frames as things, but
to consider the qualities of the frames.
The author once updated a patient’s eyeglasses by
suggesting she change from a large zyl rounded oval frame to
a smaller, bright red, angular design. The smaller frame
thinned out and lightened the patient’s modest
prescription. The brighter color was more appropriate to the
patient’s age (the previous glasses made her look older),
and the busy angles of the frame contrasted nicely with
curve of the patient’s face.
Play Up Colors
A technique to get you well on your way to making
informed cosmetic recommendations is to take a good look at
a patient’s hair color and see if you can notice any
highlights or variation in color, then recommend Ophthalmic
frames to them one shade lighter than the lightest color of
their hair.
Picking frames this way allows you to quickly identify a
frame that will “disappear” on the patient’s face.
Combine this with a premium anti-reflective lens, and you
will have done that patient a favor. You will have found a
frame they will not tire of wearing.
Lighter is usually better than darker, when it comes to
frames. There are a few reasons for this. Too-dark of a
frame means you see too much of the frame before observing
the person, also most people lighten their hair color
because it softens their appearance, and finally, hair color
usually darkens over time (look at pictures of yourself as a
child), so a lighter appearance may register as more
youthful.
Silver
For the grey, white, or silver haired patient, you need
not fret. Offer them similarly colored fames, or else
something to harmonize with their skin tone or eye color.
If you do recommend silver frames for grey haired
patients, be sure to favor muted tones over a harsh chrome.
Blonde patients may instinctively gravitate toward silver
frames as more interesting than their own hair color. It
would be well worth the patient’s while for you to show a
blonde patient a yellow, green, or gold frame in a muted
tone, lighter than their hair color.
Types of Looks
While each pair of eyeglasses is in fact a custom made
item, presenting you with an opportunity to best interpret
that patient’s needs and tastes in a cosmetic and
technical manner, looks come in a few distinct categories.
It is not necessary for you to verbalize the categories
described here, just keep them in mind as you interact with
the patient.
As you go about combining lenses and frames, features and
functions, you will be most successful proceeding by reading
the patient’s tastes and furnishing eyeglasses fitting
that image. Often, you will be better able to do this than
the patient himself. Through active listening and
observation, you will help your customers find a look that
appeals to them, and just feels right.
A patient may respond to a more traditional look. Such a
look may convey a sense of permanence, an established look
saying “I am not frivolous.” In light of the present
economic climate, it would not be surprising for more
patients to find value with a more timeless look.
On the other hand, a patient’s tastes may lean in a
more contemporary direction, less rooted in the past. This
look is up to date without being overly modern or
traditional.
For tastes running in other directions, you have frames
at your disposal. When providing your patients more trendy
or bold options, pay close attention to how these options
look. Often, vivid color and bold designs look more
appropriate than conventional wisdom would suggest.
Harmony and Contrast
Spend some time looking at a color wheel and you may make
a few observations that will be a big help when recommending
to patients. Complimentary colors are colors opposite one
another on the color wheel. Blue and orange come to mind,
explaining why a gentleman with red hair might look good in
a blue plaid shirt. This principle can also be applied to
his eyeglasses, and might help you decide how to obtain a
look that stands out or one that fades away.
Red and green and yellow and purple are other examples of
complimentary colors, but you can also find harmonizing or
complimentary colors for any color on the wheel. Red hair
and green or turquoise clothing are another classic example,
applying these same principles to other colors will allow
you to hone your skills.
Putting it Together
At first blush, technical and cosmetic recommending may
seem mutually exclusive, but once you determine the patient’s
needs, a process begins, involving technical and cosmetic
factors.
Don’t be intimidated by the intersection of technical
and cosmetic recommending. The result is a pair of
eyeglasses to improve vision, to be enjoyed, and to be seen.
Sometimes you’ll want to make the eyeglasses “disappear,”
other times, you’ll make them stand out.
The lens materials and frames you recommend should be
thought of as elements of a finished product. Each choice
that gets made, each property (like high index and aspheric
lenses) contributes to an outcome. Be sure to combine these
factors with one another, and present the best cosmetic and
technical choices to the patient. It’s a sophisticated
process, but when done well, it is rewarding for dispenser
and patient alike.
