Color Me Cool by Corey Senn Cosmetic contact lenses are giving normal eyes dazzling new color print article      send to a friend

There are three basic types of cosmetic contact lenses. The first are color enhancement lenses. As Amanda Cancel of Ciba Vision explains, "The lenses are translucent (meaning they allow light through) and best for lighter colored eyes. They create more subtle shade or color changes to the eyes." The advantage is how natural they look. "A lot of the lens tints are designed to be virtually undetectable," explains Dr. David Stewart, O.D. an optometrist who practices in Dayton, Ohio. "That's why we call them enhancing tints - they simply highlight the person's eye color."

Then there are opaque lenses. These lenses allow no light to pass through them, meaning none of the natural eye is visible. Instead, only the shade and color of the contact lens is seen. The benefit is a wider variety of available colors: amber, hazel, lila, coral, as well as old standbys like light brown and hazel.  What you give up with these is a level of realism. There's really nothing to fret over though because recent designs have made even these lenses look extremely realistic. A good rule of thumb-the more natural the color of the contact lens or the softer the shade, the more realistic the look.

If you're truly adventurous, you may want to try theatrical contact lenses.  These are also opaque lenses-none of your natural eye is seen.  Theatrical lenses include styles such as cat's eyes, completely white eyes, and bull's eyes. Traditionally, these were reserved for Hollywood or Halloween, but not anymore. "It started out as a Halloween gag," comments photographer Tim Swanson II. "I have cat's eyes. The first time I wore them, I got a ton of response to them.I've worn them to clubs, photo shoots, even around town."

Cosmetic Contact Lenses at a Glance

So which lens is right for you? "The biggest question is the color of the iris," comments Dr. Stewart. "For a dark colored iris, you have to go to a specific type lens-to either make a darker iris appear lighter or to change the entire color. In general, the lighter the iris, the greater the range of cosmetic contact lenses that are available."

Younger people have always tended to have more interest in cosmetic lenses-mainly because the lenses are typically a style and appearance decision. However, middle age patients are finding cosmetic contact lenses have a practical use as well. Tinted lenses make finding, handling, and working with contacts much easier. For farsighted folks, this can be a real plus.

For Your Health

Your optometrist should strongly urge you against swapping lenses with your friends or family. Someone else's contact lenses in your eye can cause health problems such as eye infections, allergic reaction to the lens coating, insufficient oxygen to the cornea, and an improper fit on the eye.

Another factor to be aware of is a slight reduction in the amount of light that reaches the eye. The reason, according to Dr. Stewart is the reflective nature of the lens. "We caution patients that if they have any significant problem with night driving or night vision, that they may be better off to change to a non-opaque lens."

In addition, keep the following in mind:
Cosmetic lenses typically run 20-50% more than normal lenses. Opaque lenses tend to be more expensive, while enhancement lenses are at the lower end of the cost spectrum.

Cosmetic contacts only come in the soft variety, which fit over the entire cornea.

The lenses are available for many nearsighted, farsighted, and astigmatic prescriptions. (Bifocals are not yet available.)

With a good fit, the level of comfort is usually excellent.

Most optometrists have an array of trial lenses in the office for you to test. This is the fun part because you can see how you look in different colors, tints, and styles. In the end, there's nothing to say you're going to look like a rock star, but then again-who really wants to look like Marilyn Manson?