Color Contact Lenses

Contact_lenesThere are four types of colored contact lenses: visibility tints, enhancement tints, opaque color tints and light-filtering tints. Many of these colored contact lenses are available in plano form (without visual correction), as well as in designs for people who have astigmatism, who need bifocal correction, or who want a disposable or frequent replacement lens.

A visibility tint is usually a light blue or green tint added to a lens, solely to help you see it better during insertion and removal — or if you drop it. Since it's a very light tint, it does not affect eye color.

An enhancement tint is a solid (but translucent) tint that's a bit darker than a visibility tint and does affect eye color. As the name implies, it's meant to enhance the existing color of your eyes. These types of tints are usually best used by people who have light colored eyes and want to make their eye color more intense.

Color tintsColor tints are deeper, opaque tints that can dramatically change your eye color. They are usually are made of patterns of solid colors. If you have dark eyes, you'll need this type of colored lens to change your eye color — at least temporarily. Color contacts come in a wide variety of colors, including hazel, green, blue, violet, amethyst and gray.

The companies that make colored contact lenses have gone all out to mimic the natural look of the colored portion of the eye. Since this area is made up of a series of colorful shapes and lines, some color contacts feature a series of tiny colored dots on the lens to make it look more natural on the eye. The center of the lens, the part over your pupil, is clear so you can see.

theatrical lensesCostume or theatrical lenses also fall into the category of opaque color tints. Long used in the movies for special eye effects, these lenses are now widely available for novelty use and can temporarily transform the wearer into an alien or jaguar, among others.

Light-filtering tints are a more recent development. These contact lenses are designed for sports use, because they enhance certain colors (such as optic yellow, the color of tennis balls and some softballs and golf balls), as a result of muting other colors. The result is that the ball stands out against the background and is easier to target. The lenses can also be used by spectators.
One type of light-filtering contact lens has been developed especially for golfers, so they can better distinguish between the various greens on a golf course. Amber-tinted ones were introduced in the summer of 2005; called MaxSight, they are being worn by some professional baseball players, who find that they help filter out the blue light that reduces their ability to see the baseball clearly. (MaxSight is also available in green-gray for golfers.) Other color contacts are being developed for trap-shooters, skiers and other sports enthusiasts.

Some Disadvantages of Color Contact Lenses

It's important to be aware that while manufacturers have made different sized lenses to fit most wearers, there will be some occasions (such as during blinking) where the colored portion may slide somewhat over the pupil.
Also, the size of your pupil is constantly changing to accommodate varying light conditions — so sometimes, like at night, your pupil may be larger than the clear center of the lens. In these instances, your vision may be slightly affected.
If you have a persistent problem with your contacts, it's important to see your eye doctor.
How Do You Choose the Right Color?

This is usually the most difficult question for a first-time wearer! And it all boils down to this: What kind of person are you as described below – 1 or 2?

I want people to notice my new eye color and ask me about it. If you are bold, dramatic, and comfortable being the center of attention, then you want eye color that everyone notices immediately. So, for instance:

I want people to notice that I look different but not know exactly why. If you are shy and retiring or just want a natural look, you may be happier with a more subtle change:

Also, will you be wearing your color contact lenses every day? Or just for special occasions? If it's the latter, then you might want a color that's very different from your normal color. Special-occasion wearers will also like the new daily disposable color contacts, just introduced in March 2006. They're designed — and priced — to be worn once, and then discarded.
Think about this before you get to your eyecare practitioner's office, but if you can't decide, don't worry: he or she can help you decide which color best suits your personality and appearance. Remember, if you wear disposable color contacts, you can always switch to a different color at little cost.