A long time ago, contact lenses were only available in the opticians, but they have now become available for everybody in many more shops. There are many colours and shapes available for you. However, there aren’t two eyes that are the same, specially if they are the eyes of fiction characters. That is why I am going to help you with choosing the right circle lenses for your eyes.
Although not completely free of risks, using contact lenses now a days is actually very safe as long as you follow the recommendations keep a good cleaning routine. We have all heard all kind of stories involving lenses that cut your eyes or infections that will make you blind in hours. Don’t get me wrong, these things CAN happen, but it is highly unlikely and it will depend on how well you treat yourself and your contact lenses. As a matter of precaution, always buy your lenses from a trusted seller and take them off inmediately if they don’t feel right. (My trusted seller for years has been Uniqso, and you can get a 10% off if you use my code “ALICECOS”)
What are contact lenses made of?
First, let’s talk a bit more about what you are putting inside your eyes. As I said, originally contact lenses were made of glass and some kind of jelly, they were very uncomfortable and not great for your eyes. Today, they are made of special plastics with unique characteristics. These are the main types that you can find:
- Soft contact lenses. They are made of hidrophilic plastic, which means they are made of a plastic that will stay wet as long as it is in contact with water.
- Soft contact lenses for extended wear. Similar to the above most are made of silicone hydrogel. They combine the water-absorbing plastic of soft lenses with silicone that makes them moist and allows oxygen to get through them.
- Rigid gas permeable lenses (RGP lenses). Unlike the others, these don’t absorb water. Instead, they have microscopic holes in them that allow the oxygen to flow through them to your eyes. They can be made of acrylate, silicone or fluorine and they are firmer (but not completely hard!).
- Hybrid lenses. Although rare, they are a combination of RPG in the middle of the lens and soft contact lens water-absorbing hydrogel around the edges for increased comfort.
Specification of contact lenses
There are many factors to keep in mind when you buy contact lenses. When you go to the store you will get all kinds of weird specifications and numbers that will make no sense to you at first. Actually, I highly recommended you to go to an optician for your first try. This is what happened to me when I wore my first contact lenses. Once you have asked for professional advice and before you buy your coloured circle lenses you should take into account the following things.
Disposable period
The frequency or disposable period refers to the life expectancy of your contact lenses. Keep in mind that this counts from the moment you open your contact lenses until you bin them. If you open a monthly pair of lenses you have to bin them after a month has passed even if you wore them only once. This is for your own safety and the safety of your eyes. Always remember to write down when you opened your contact lenses. I added a printable sheet so you can keep track of your contact lenses with my Cosplay Planner. Althouth there are more, some of the most common periods to dispose of your lenses are:
- Daily. These are designed to use them once and bin them. Ideal to test how comfortable you are wearing lenses and for first timers. Little to no effort in maintenance.
- Monthly. If you are just planning to wear these lenses for a couple of weeks, like for example Halloween, this is your best bet. You can find fantasy lenses in many shops and opticians.
- Yearly. As a cosplayer these are my favourite as you get to reuse them many times as needed. However, they need more maintenance and you want to change their solution often and make sure they don’t dry out.
Base Curve
The base curve is the center area of the curvature of the lens. Some corneas are flatter or higher than others. Your contact lenses should not be tight. The common Base Curve is between 8.3 to 8.9. Depending on this the lenses will fit more or less comfortably on your eye. The higher the base curve number the flatter the lens. Your optician will help you figuring this number out.
Diameter
The diameter refers to the size of the lens in milimiters. It affects how big your iris will look (if you have forgotten, the iris is the coloured part of your eye). The bigger size of diameter, the more obvious the big eyes effect. Bigger lenses tend to have a higher water content and these are roughly the most common sizes:
- 14 mm. These are about the size of your iris. Perfect for a natural look.
- 16 mm. They can also be called circle lenses. The anime style favourite. They make your eye look bigger and give you an unrealistic and “kawaii” look.
- 22 mm. Also called sclera. They cover almost the whole eye and can be dangerous and uncomfortable if worn unappropriately. They are also quite expensive.
Water Content
The water content refers to the amount of water in the lens. A higher water content means that your lens will be more flexible. However, this also means they will deform in your hand more easily. Potentially they will be more difficult to handle, specially if you are new to contacts.
When the water content is too high your lenses absorb water from your eyes, which causes discomfort. However, if it is too low it will result in poor oxygen permeability which causes dryness. The ideal water content varies among people but 50%-60% is the recommended for daily use. If your eyes get easily dry you are better with contact lenses with a high water content.
- Low water content <42%
- Middle water content 42% to 60%
- High water content > 60%.
Power and prescription
If your sight is not the best do not worry, you can still wear coloured contact lenses. Specialised stores will have all kinds of contact lenses that you can wear without glasses. However, make sure you double check your diopters with an optician as they can vary from the ones from your glasses. If you don’t need glasses their power will be 0.00 or plano. Do not wear coloured lenses on top of your normal lenses. That is dangerous.
- Minus sign. Lenses that correct nearsightedness or myopia show this sign (Example: -1.25)
- Plus sign. Lenses that correct farsightedness or hyperopia show the plus sign (Example: +0.50)
- Toric lenses. These lenses are specially designed to correct astigmatism. Spherical contact lenses have the same power in all meridians, so it doesn’t matter if they rotate when you blink. Toric lenses have different powers in different meridians, so they move only vertically with blinks.
Choosing contact lenses for cosplay
Choosing the right contact lenses for your cosplay may not be as straight forward as choosing a colour. There are many models with different options on the market. My best advice for you is not to go to the first pair you find and check the reviews and photos of the customers. Contacts often let some parts of your eyes show and it is better to see how they look on eyes which are a similar colour to yours.
Other things to keep in mind
Always choose lenses that have been verified by a trusted body. I actually put together a list with some advice to choose safe contacts for your cosplay. However, it doesn’t matter how good is your brand or supplier if you don’t keep your contact lenses clean. Also, it is very important to keep track of when you opened your lenses as they will expire, you can actually use my Cosplay Planner, it comes with a list to keep track of your lenses collection and also comes with lots of extra pages to keep all the infomation about your cosplays and conventions.
And if you still have questions about lenses, don’t forget to check my Coloured Contact lenses FAQs and do ask a specialist if you are still not sure. Better to be safe than sorry!
