Let’s clear up some basic questions that most people have when they start learning about colored contacts.
First, do you need a prescription? Yes, you do. You will need a prescription whether or not you will be getting your colored contact lenses with a power for vision correction or not. This law was put into places a few years back because you could essentially buy colored, or sometimes referred to as decorative or plano contact lenses anywhere. Flea markets, corner stores, etc could sell them and you might guess the problem, they weren’t the best quality. To prevent people from getting eye damage from lesser-quality contact lenses the FDA simply made a law where you will have to be a valid eye care specialist, dealer or optometrist in order to sell them, or to write a prescription for them. This cut out a lot of the smaller companies trying to make money, but ultimately is a lot safer.
What color would work best for me? It really depends. I’ve seen a lot of cool colors. From blue contact lenses to green contacts for the natural colors, and red contacts to pink contacts for the wilder looks. What looks best for you is going to depend on a few different variables. For instance, you need to first decide why you are buying colored contact lenses. For a party, for everyday use, as a gift. Then what color eyes you have also play a role. Lighter eyes work better for the natural tints, while dark brown eyes usually have best luck.
There are other questions like whether or not you should sleep in them, swim in them and how long you should wear them. To answer those briefly, no, no and not very long. This of course can change depending on the quality of the contacts, but generally speaking you should not wear colored contacts designed for aesthetic purposes very long, because they aren’t made for extended wear. Ultimately you should ask your doctor how long, and if you can do the other things but until then, better safe than sorry.
So what are the choices when you go with colored contacts? Should you go with natural colors or theatrical colors? What color are your eyes? Do you need a prescription contact lens or is it going to be just for looks? Some good questions, and I hope to answer and talk about them and more.
Colored contacts have hit it pretty big lately, with more and more people buying them, especially during the Halloween season and it’s becoming quite popular in off-seasons too. People want to look like vampires, or zombies or even pretty princess with pink eyes, or demons with dark red. Whatever the reason you want colored contacts, I’m sure it’s a good one.
Many people choose to go with green or blue for pulling off a more natural look. It’s quite common for someone to have colored eyes but noone really knows their real eye color because they were them regularly like standard extended wear contact lenses. The natural colored contact lenses will always work better for lighter colored eyes, so if you have green and want blue, or visa versa you will be the best candidate. If you have light brown eyes, they should still work, but you might have to go with a slighter darker tint of green or blue.
If you have dark brown, you can still get them tinted green or blue but they will have to be special contacts designed for dark eyes, so just make sure wherever you buy them from knows you have dark eyes so you get the right kind. Sometimes those with darker eyes decide to go with theatrical or costume colored contacts so that their natural eye color doesn’t really come into play.
One cool thing about colored contacts is that you can order them online, as long as you have a valid prescription and they don’t take long to come in. If you do plan on ordering them around October, for Halloween, you should always give them a few weeks to arrive early, because if you wait till the last minute you might not get them in time. Who wants their colored contacts showing up after Halloween? What a waste that would be.