Having a lazy eye (technically called strabismus) can present a lot of problems with the way vision functions. But, usually, this isn’t the biggest concern of people whose eyes cross in or drift out. Usually, we just want our eyes to look “normal” so we can feel “normal.”
Having an eye turn can make it difficult to connect in conversations and learning a few techniques to disguise it will allow you to focus on more important things.
Most of this website is directed towards training the brain to use both eyes so that they can be straight, but unfortunately, that is not going to happen overnight, no matter what solution you choose, be it surgery or vision therapy or both.
(Want to know if your eyes are working together? Take this FREE quiz to find out or schedule a consult with me)
So while you work towards straight eyes, just make a couple quick adjustments and then put your brain to work worrying about more important things than an eye turn
Note and disclaimer: If this offends you, I apologize. I personally believe in having all the confidence in the world and loving yourself including the parts that aren’t your favorite. I also believe in having a life where my eye turn doesn’t distract from the focus of conversation, pictures and work. If I can make it less obvious, I am all in. Moving on…
So how can I disguise or make an eye turn (strabismus or lazy eye) less obvious?
- Turn your head slightly in the same direction that your “uncooperative,” eye goes. So if your right eye goes out to the right, twist your head slightly to the right. If the right eye goes in (to the left). move your head slightly to the left.
- If your uncooperative eye turns to the left, stand on the right half of group photos, if the eye turns too far to the right, stand on the left side of group photos. This goes with #1 and just makes it so you are naturally tilting your head in the right direction.
- For head on photos where you can’t turn your head, just look slightly to the right of the camera if your eye points to the left (either the right eye turning in or the left eye turning out) or to the left if your eye points to the right.
- Look at the eye opposite of your eye turn. If your eye goes too far left, look at the person’s right eye, if your eye goes too far right, look at their right eye. This is balancing out the eye turn.
- Relax your eyes and blink often. When you stare, it strains your eyes and often makes the eye turn worse.
Will this make your eye turn go away? Of course not.
But it will de-accentuate it, which makes a huge difference.
Recently after discovering this concept, we had family pictures and I experimented with turning my head and looking to the side of the camera and the pictures speak for themselves…it made a HUGE difference!
This selfie was taken just before the pictures as I tried to hone my head tilting skills. You can see I have a severe exotropia. Since it’s in my right eye, I would need to tilt my head to the right and try to stand on the left in pictures…
Rookie mistake, I placed myself on the wrong side of the group photo and ended up tilting in a way that accentuated my eye turn. Because my eye goes too far to the right (think mirror image), I should have put myself on the left.
Here I tried to tilt my head to make the eye turn less obvious, an unfortunate overcorrection because I turned so far, but still not too bad. A little bit goes a long way.
I put myself on the left and it was just enough to under-emphasize the eye turn. It is still there, but it isn’t screaming and taking all the focus of the picture and putting it on my eye turn. Win.
Since having surgery, my eye turns in just slightly and I don’t really need these techniques anymore, but just after surgery, before my surgeon adjusted my sutures (read more about my surgery experience over here) I had a pretty severe inward eye turn.
Here I am looking just to the left side of the camera, which was what I was used to doing when my eye turned out. After surgery my eye went the other way and my old methods made the crossed eye even more exaggerated and noticeable.
Here I looked to the other side of the camera, a little more than necessary. Is it perfect? No, most definitely not. But you can see that very slight adjustments on where you focus your eyes can make a huge difference on how severe your eye turn appears.
These same concepts can be applied when you are having a conversation with someone. Will there still be something “off” about the way your eyes look? Yes, if someone is looking closely. But it will be much less distracting for both you and the person you are talking to.
Examples Based on the Type of Eye Turn
In case that was confusing, here is a case by case how-to for each type of eye turn. Remember that these pictures are a mirror image. If you do the opposite, it will make your eye turn look worse…which might be good for a before/after photo. haha
Right Eye Goes Out (Exotropia)
If your right eye is pointing out to the right, here are a few tips:
- Look slightly to the left of the camera when getting a picture.
- Look at the left eye of the person you are talking to
- Stand on the left side of group pictures
- In conversation or pictures, turn your head slightly to the right
Left Eye Goes Out (Exotropia)
If your left eye is pointing out to the left, here are a few tips:
- Look slightly to the right of the camera when getting a picture.
- Look at the right eye of the person you are talking to
- Stand on the right side of group pictures
- In conversation or pictures, turn your head slightly to the left
Right Eye Goes In (Esotropia)
If your right eye is pointing in to the left, here are a few tips:
- Look slightly to the right of the camera when getting a picture.
- Look at the right eye of the person you are talking to
- Stand on the right side of group pictures
- In conversation or pictures, turn your head slightly to the left
Left Eye Goes In (Esotropia)
If your left eye is pointing in to the right, here are a few tips:
- Look slightly to the left of the camera when getting a picture.
- Look at the left eye of the person you are talking to
- Stand on the left side of group pictures
- In conversation or pictures, turn your head slightly to the right
In this picture you can see that my head is tilted to my left just a bit which is opposite so the eye turn looks soooo dramatic in this photo. I am also looking just a little to the right of the camera lens.
Physical Adjustments VS Mental Adjustments
The direction you choose to point your eyes can improve the way your eyes appear, but the thing that makes the biggest difference is going to be the way you think about yourself and your strabismic eyes.
If you are thinking things like:
“I look so weird”
“What are they thinking about my eyes?”
“I hate my lazy eye”
“This is so challenging”
These thoughts are going to show up in the way you act. Your facial expressions, body language and words will all reflect that negativity. So while some believe their eye turn is why they can’t get a job, it’s more than likely linked to the fact that they aren’t confident.
Instead, consider entertaining thoughts like:
“I have an eye turn, and I love me anyway”
“Connecting with others has nothing to do with my eyes and everything to do with me choosing to listen to, learn about and connect with that person.”
“I’m so excited that Melissa taught me these awesome lazy eye hacks so I can focus on more important things!” #lazyeyelikeaboss
“I wonder what this person’s struggle is? How can I support them?”
Your thoughts are powerful, which ones do you want to fill your life with?
Conclusion
Take control of your life and learn to manage your eye turn. Practice with a camera or in a mirror until you understand how your eyes move and how you can point them to de-accentuate your eye turn.
But don’t stop there. It is possible to fix your eye turn for good so you don’t have to think about it anymore. It isn’t easy, but it is so worth it! If you want to know if it is possible for you, I can meet with you over zoom and help you find a roadmap to gaining straight eyes. And if you just want to look better in pictures, I can coach you on that too.