On the prowl for the best "long-wear, comfortable" COLORED contact lense brand. Any recommendations?

December 11, 2012 8:19 AM

On the prowl for the best "long-wear, comfortable" COLORED contact lense brand. Any recommendations?

I currently wear colored contacts that tint the outer portion of my eye green. I often get compliments on this, however I often don't wear them simply because 1. after an hour they just feel so dam uncomfortable 2. it feels like there is always a film over my eyes. The ones I currently wear where prescribed to me for the correct curve and so forth.

My research seems to indicate the best brand is acuvue opaques because the DK (oxygen permeability) level is 33 (the highest I've seen from my research).

33 is really low in comparison to most of the "normal" contact lenses out there.

Does anyone know of any other brands I should look into?

posted by audio to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (1 answer total)

Best answer: The last time I purchased coloured contact lenses was a few years ago. I used Freshlook Colours (not Colourblends) and I found them more comfortable than my clear lenses (which were basic Acuvue). However, the Freshlook lenses had a slightly larger diameter than my Acuvue lenses; this was annoying only in that a the coloured iris portion of a lens would sometimes obscure a mm of my pupil, making my vision slightly less accurate. So I just chose to wear them outside of university lectures and all was well. However, they were still much more comfortable than my Acuvue lenses. My eyes would get incredibly dry and tired after a long day with Acuvue, but less so with Freshlook. All of my lenses were monthlies.

I'm currently searching for new lenses myself, albeit clear ones, and from recent talks I've had with various optometrists, I've gathered that any of the fancy lenses that allow more oxygen to hit your eye may not make any difference to individual users. At the end of the day, a contact lens is a film on the eye, and some oxygen will be blocked from reaching, thus causing discomfort. The best thing to do is to visit a shop, tell them that you're interested in colour contact lenses, and they'll let you try on the lenses that you're interested in. Many shops will let you take lenses home to try on, so that you can determine comfort over an average day.

If colour lenses exist in dailies or weeklies, you might find them more comfortable than monthlies. A couple of friends with more sensitive eyes than mine swear by dailies and won't consider going back to monthlies.
posted by mayurasana at 10:22 PM on December 14, 2012