Coloured contact lenses are designed to change the colour of your eyes. Designed and produced by most of the major contact lens manufacturers, coloured contact lenses allow you to experiment with your eye colour.
You can wear coloured contact lenses whether you need contact lenses, glasses or whether you have perfect vision. Some people, including movie stars and influencers use coloured contact lenses to cosmetically disguise an eye condition such as Heterochromia iridum whereby the eyes are of two different colours, or change the colour of their eyes to enhance an outfit, to look younger, more youthful or to make their eyes ”pop” on a photoshoot.
Coloured contact lenses are not just for changing your brown eyes blue, or your blue eyes hazel, they are also available in “Special Effects” if you are looking for something completely different or to enhance a fancy dress, comic-con or Anime costume.
Whether you want to enhance the natural beauty of your eyes, change your eye colour completely or are looking for that WOW factor there should be a coloured contact lens for you.
It is always recommended that you have a contact lens fitting with an Optometrist before wearing coloured contact lenses, not only will they check your vision but also your eye health. A contact lens fitting will also include taking measurements of your eye to make sure you get the best fitting lens, an insertion and removal demonstration, advice on how to care for your contact lenses and contact lens check ups.
One of the benefits of a coloured contact lens fitting as you will be able to have a trial of lenses before you buy.
Whilst most coloured contact lenses are monthly disposable contact lenses Alcon have a range of Daily disposable contact lenses for those people who want the convenience and health benefits daily disposables have to offer, or for people who don’t wear their coloured lenses very often.
Types of Coloured Contact Lenses
Coloured contact lenses can be used to enhance your natural eye colour, change your natural eye colour or provide a completely different looking eye. They can also be used to correct an eye condition or alter the look of your eye completely
Cosmetic Contact lenses
This type of contact lens is used to change the colour of your iris, either slightly or completely, these are probably what most people think of when they think of coloured contact lenses.
They are available to correct short sightedness or long sightedness and also available with zero power (plano) for those people who want to change their eye colour but do not need spectacle or contact lenses.
Cosmetic contact lenses are available as
Enhancers- These types of coloured lenses are designed and work best for people who have lighter eye shades and want to achieve a more subtle change in colour. Typical examples are going from green to brilliant blue. These lenses tend to give a more natural effect - most people may not notice you are wearing a coloured contact lens. A great example is Freshlook Colorblends that uses 3 in 1 technology to blend three different iris patterns and colours together to give a very natural effect.
Opaques - These types of coloured lenses are designed to help change the eye colour of people with naturally darker eyes. A good example of this is Freshlook Colors. these lenses have the unique property of completely changing a dark coloured eye, for example a brown eye colour, to a stunning blue colour!
Special Effect Contact Lenses - These contact lenses can go by a variety of names, Costume contact lenses, Special Fx and Novelty contact lenses to name a few.
These are opaque contact lenses that transform your eye completely regardless of your original eye colour. The use of this type of contact lens increases around Halloween as they are a good accessory to a fancy dress costume.
You will see them used in the film and TV industry, normally in sci fi or fantasy movies where it calls for the actor or actress to have unusual eyes e.g elliptical cats eyes, gargoyles or The Terminator’s pinpoint red “laser”.
This category also includes sclera lenses - these cover your whole eye - even the white part - these can be uncomfortable and increase risks of infection if not fitted correctly so always consult an Optometrist before attempting to wear sclera lenses.
Medical Contact Lenses - Also referred to as prosthetic contact lenses, are used to alter or restore the appearance of a damaged, disfigured eye or an hereditary eye condition.
These lenses are normally made to order as they are hand painted so that they match your natural unaffected eye. Once in place it should be almost impossible to tell which eye is wearing the contact lens.
Getting The Best Out Of Your Coloured Contact Lenses
If you are wearing Daily disposable coloured contact lenses then their care is quite simple - you put a fresh new pair of contact lenses in every morning and throw them out at night, it’s that simple, however, coloured daily disposable contact lenses are not that common and can work out reasonably expensive if you wear them everyday.
Most people who wear coloured contact lenses regularly wear monthly disposables, these require a daily care routine.
With all monthly disposable contact lenses there is an increased risk of the build up of proteins, lipids and deposits, so there are a few essential practices all monthly contact lenses wearers should be aware of, and put into practice, whether the lenses are coloured or not.
- Always wash and dry your hands before handling lenses
- Removing lenses every night and soaking them in an approved solution
- Never exposing lenses to tap, or swimming pool water
- Gently rub lenses clean with solution before putting them in
- Throw lenses away after 1 month whether you have worn them 30 times or not
- Throw away lenses as soon as they reach their expiration date
Here’s a quick guide, or reminder, of how to inert, remove, and care for your monthly contact lenses
Insertion
A simple five step process will get your contacts in
- Clean your hands.
- Remove the contact lens from it's case.
- Separate your upper and lower lid.
- Place the contact lens on your eye.
- Blink slowly to allow lens to settle
It's that easy, but if you are new to contact lenses you may benefit from our more in-depth guide on How to put In Contact Lenses
Removal
A simple four step process will get your contacts out.
- Clean your hands.
- Pull down your lower eyelid.
- Pinch the contact lens gently.
- Look up and slide the lens downwards
That may not sound that easy but once you get used to it you can do in a matter of seconds, however if you are new to monthly contact lenses you may benefit from our in depth guide on How to remove Contact Lenses
Mastering how to insert and remove your contact lenses will come with time and practice.
Every night monthly contact lenses need to be removed, cleaned with an approved contact lens solution and stored in a contact lens case with fresh solution using this procedure:
Morning
- Wash and thoroughly dry your hands before handling your contact lenses
- Remove your contact lens from it’s storage case, apply a few drops of your recommended solution on the front and back of the lens and rub gently with your index finger
- Insert your contact lens
- Empty your contact lens case of solution and let it air dry
Evening
- Wash and thoroughly dry your hands before handling your contact lenses
- Remove contact lens from your eye, apply a few drops of your recommended solution on the front and back of the lens and rub gently with your index finger
- Store the lens in your contact lens case and submerge with fresh solution
This may all seem like a lot to take in, but caring for your coloured contact lenses is important and this soon becomes a simple routine at the end of the day.
