Very often I have seen cosplayers in the bathroom of a convention trying to put contact lenses on for the first time. I have even been asked if I could do it for them! For me wearing contact lenses was a very difficult decision to make. I had never worn lenses before and I was rather afraid. Here, I will tell you my own experience so you can get an idea of what it was like.
Before I tell you what happened you should know something about me. I’m not comfortable at all with anything related to medicine. I do faint rather easily with anything related to hospitals, needles and very white rooms that smell funny in general so sticking something into my eyes wasn’t something I was looking forward to do. If it wasn’t for cosplay I would have never considered using contact lenses in my whole life.
How I prepared myself
This may seem stupid but at the time it did help to achieve my goal. Before getting my first lenses I mentally prepared myself for a few weeks (ok, months, I was scared ok?) I decided I wanted to do it and I started by practicing every night. I would approach my index to my eyes and feign I was going to put on a lense. Sometimes I even touched my eyeball (be careful not the pupil!). Obviously, I always made sure I had very clean hands. Watching my friends, my sister and some videos and trying not to be self aware of how weird and disgusting it looked also helped a lot.
A visit to the optician was mandatory
I think the best thing I could do was to go to the optician to get my first lenses. Normal lenses only change the colour of your eyes but not the diameter of your iris. They are usually slightly harder than circle lenses and slightly easier to put on. The only con is that they last a month or a day depending on the lens.
The optician explained to me how to wear the lenses and guided me through the process. If you go to the optician you have the assurance that there will be someone there to assist you if anything were to happen. It is not likely, but it makes you feel calmer.
What happened to me
I must say, trying to put a strange object into your eye is not pleasant. I was at the optician, at this point I had tried a few times without success. That is when I had to sit down because I started to get dizzy. I started sweating and my face went ash pale… It took me about 20 minutes to recover myself from my dizzyness. However, once I calmed down and realised it wasn’t so bad it only took me 10 minutes to put both lenses in my eyes.
Getting them in was difficult, because I didn’t stop blinking! However, taking them off was surprisingly easier. I was able to take them out after a couple of tries. But I do recommend you to trim your nails to make it easier. I always use the tips of my fingers anyway.
At the time, I was very happy I decided to go to the optician with my best friend so I didn’t feel alone. I could have fainted or worse if there hadn’t been someone around me to help me down and keep me calm. However, I do wish I had brought some water because I felt as if I was in the middle of the Sahara. Once I realised all my blocks were mental and it actually didn’t hurt I managed to get my first contact lenses on in a few minutes.
Wearing circle lenses
After my first attempt at the optician with their coloured lenses, I decided to try with fantasy circle lenses. Circle lenses are slightly bigger in diameter to the ones in the opticians, they usually last longer and they are soft and more flexible than other lenses. This makes them a bit trickier to handle. Always buy coloured contacts from a trusted shop, mine is Uniqso (and you can get a 10% off with the code ALICECOS)
A couple of months after my first try with one-month lenses I tried with fantasy ones. The main difference I found with the others was the stickyness. They kept sticking to my finger and didn’t want to leave! This is because they were much softer. Even when they were in, sometimes they fell before I had time to close my eye. Although I had tried the other lenses a couple of times, it still took me ages to get them in. In the end, the real problem was that I wasn’t getting my contact lenses in properly. Again my friend came to the rescue and showed me how to do it. Getting used to them takes time, that is why you should consider adding plenty of room to your make up time if you want to wear lenses and you are still unsure on how to do it.
Final Notes
Even if my first experience with contact lenses wasn’t amazing I was glad to be able to overcome my fears. Most of my issues I had built myself. The moment I realised it was safe, painless and I was in control, everything became so much easier. You still need to be very careful with contact lenses and make sure you keep them properly but wearing them is not really an issue. To tell you the truth, you will feel a bit of discomfort for a few minutes and then you will forget you are even wearing them.
Circle lenses are not such a big deal, you will take longer trying to decide which coloured lenses to buy for your cosplay. Don’t be afraid of trying them if that is what you really want to do. They will make your cosplay look more accurate, but remember that it is your decision and they are not really necessary.
As I said before, if you want to buy contacts from a trusted seller I recommend you Uniqso. I have bought most of my contacts here and they have a great selection for cosplay! And what about you? What was your first experience with contact lenses? Where you alone or maybe in the bathroom of a convention? Let me know in the comments!
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