I think I posted about this a couple years ago when I first got my Rift. It's still a problem for me. I have tried everything.
I perceive the relevant skull factors to be:
1) I have a strong occipital bone structure (strong rear skull).
2) I have weak zygomatic bones (weak cheeks).
In application I have the following problems:
1) My facial interface almost entirely rests on my forehead due to my weak cheeks. This causes impingement of the supraorbital and supratrochlear nerves thereby numbing my scalp which is extremely uncomfortable.
2) More generally there is too much tension being placed on the top strap and too little on the side straps. I feel that the ergonomic design of the Rift depends on adequate cheek contact which I do not have. Without cheeks everything becomes top loaded.
Possible fixes which have failed:
1) Raise the height of the rear mount to bring the facial interface more into contact with my cheeks. This doesn't work because my strong occipital demands a certain rear mount or it doesn't anchor.
2) Tighten the side straps. This only exacerbates the forehead impingement in exchange for still inadequate cheek contact.
3) Tilt the ocular part of the HMD about the side hinges. This doesn't work because the side hinges are too limited in their range of motion. If they had a wider range then it would probably work. But too much tilt would probably upset the alignment of the display to the eyes so this is probably a bad approach.
4) Aftermarket facial interfaces. I have yet to find one with the strong cheeks that I need.
Fixes I haven't tried:
1) Cut notches out of the forehead foam where the nerve branches are. It may come to that. I just hate to physical modify the Rift in a permanent way.
2) Fabricate a custom interface. This would probably take the form of additional layered cloth being affixed to the bottom half of the interface to create thicker padding in the cheeks. I just want to avoid permanent modifications. It would be easy to use adhesive but that's permanent. Without adhesive it would be difficult to anchor a partial interface.
I have a few dislikes with the original faceplate design, my main problem is the FOV not been to my liking (as well as other Issues - face shape etc). I didn't want some shabby solution so I have decided to make my own Custom Interface.
Hopefully it will be finished this week so I can post some photos & videos. I have achieved this by heavily modifying the Oculus STEP files and 3d printing in Fillamentum Vertigo Grey (it looks beautiful!)
2) Fabricate a custom interface. This would probably take the form of additional layered cloth being affixed to the bottom half of the interface to create thicker padding in the cheeks. I just want to avoid permanent modifications. It would be easy to use adhesive but that's permanent. Without adhesive it would be difficult to anchor a partial interface.
This is worth trying. It's NOT a permanent modification because the facial interface is removable / replaceable. The cost of a replacement interface versus a numb scalp would be acceptable, I think.
Also, I saw somebody talk about adding weight to the back of the head strap, so the side straps could be loosened up more. Just be careful not to block the IR leds on it.
I have this problem but not nearly as bad as the OP. In short, the Rift puts the sleeper hold on us while we use it. OP were you aware that there is a hing on the rift so you can rotate the hmd downward? This might put it in a better position to rest on your cheeks. That made it more manageable for me. I was having to position the headset so the mask was resting on my eyebrows so I could see properly and for comfort. Now I can spend a lot of time in VR, but I get oculus face and the flight sims still get me tired sooner than I'm used to because I'm not moving around.
Back on topic, I find the VR cover one works a lot better for me. I have a large head .. well large everything and a slight neanderthal face. I let most of the weight be lifted on the back of the head + top strap, meaning that the front itself almost floats in front of my face.
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