By Nancy Del Pizzo; reviewed by Dr. Joseph T. Barr



There 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 obtainable 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 replace lens.

A visibility tint is usually a light blue or green tint added to a lens, solely to aid you observe it better during insertion and elimination — or if you drop it. Since it's a very light tint, it does not influence eye color.An enhancement tint is a solid (but translucent) tint that's a bit darker than a visibility tint and does influence eye color. As the name implies, it's meant to amplify 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 tints are deeper, opaque tints that can dramatically alteration 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 alteration 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 could see.Costume 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 obtainable 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 amplify 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.

Some Disadvantages of Color Contact Lenses:

It's necessary to be concious that while manufacturers have made dissimilar sized lenses to fit the bulk wearers, there would be some occasions (such as during blinking) where the colored portion may slide somewhat over the pupil.Also, the size of your pupil is continuously 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 necessary to observe your eye doctor.

Sharing Contacts: A Bad Idea

While color contacts can be fun, doctors warn wearers not to share their colored lenses — or any contact lenses, for that matter — with friends, and not to swap colors with friends. Contact lenses are medical devices and are fitted to the specifications of each individual's eyes. Exchanging lenses can also transmit injurious bacteria, which can lead to an eye infection or other potentially dangerous eye conditions. Color contacts, like clear contact lenses, must be properly cleaned and disinfected with apposite cleaning products. Ask your doctor which cleaning items are best for your particular lenses.

Do You Need a Prescription for Colored Contact Lenses?

Yes, under the law you need a prescription. This is true even if your lenses don't have any vision correction in them (called "plano" lenses) and are used solely for cosmetic purposes. For a two-and-a-half-year period the government classified plano decorative contact lenses as cosmetic devices rather than medical devices. But in November 2005 that all changed. The FDA has issued a consumer alert regarding such lenses, saying that they "present significant dangers of blindness and other eye injury if they are distributed without a prescription or without proper fitting by a entitled eye care professional." In late 2004, it was reported that the FDA seized shipments of plano colored lenses, intended for sale without prescription, as they were being imported into the United States.

And in January 2005, optometrist and U.S. Representative John Boozman of Arkansas, concerned about eye troubles that consumers have experienced due to poor labeling and packaging of some noncorrective cosmetic lenses sold over the counter, introduced bill H.R. 371 (the Senate version was S. 172). The bills sought to reclassify noncorrective color contact lenses as medical devices and enable the FDA to regulate the sale of these contact lenses again as it did in the past. The Senate bill passed in July 2005, while the House bill passed in October. President Bush signed them into law in November. By the way, if you observe color contact lenses being sold in a flea market, it's likely that the vendors are breaking the law. Recently flea market vendors in Jacksonville, Fla., were warned to stop selling color contact lenses and were, pending investigation, liable to being charged with a misdemeanor for selling them without a state license. Other illegal sales of cosmetic contact lenses have been discovered in gas stations, beauty salons, and novelty shops.

How Do You Choose the Right Color?

This is usually the the bulk 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're bold, dramatic, and comfortable being the center of attention, then you want eye color that everyone notices immediately. So, for instance:



If your natural eye color is brown, you might select contact lenses in violet, green, or blue.



If your skin, hair, and natural eye colors have cool, blue-red undertones, you might select a warm-toned contact lens such as light brown.



If your skin is dark, you might select bright-colored lenses.



Do you wear eye makeup? Choose a contact lens color that will stand out from the shadow and mascara colors you like to wear. Check out more info here:



Source(s):



http://www.allaboutvision.com/contacts/c...

Legally you still need a prescription to obtain them, but that just means they'll prescribe contacts without any vision correction in them. Technically though, I think you could get them off the Internet without a prescription. If I were you, I'd go the legal route your first time. If you've never worn contacts, you'll want to know how to properly care for them and how to take them in and out. It's also necessary to know that with color contacts, they're all one size. If they're bigger than your eyeball, they'll slide around and be a real pain. If you go to an optometrist for color contacts, they'll perhaps give you a trial pair for free to observe if you like them. Wear those first before you actually commit to purchasing them.