When it comes to fashion, glasses do not offer the versatility that contact lenses do. Sure, there are designer frames and even lenses that tint in the sunlight, but this is about as far as glasses can go when it comes to appearance. Contact lenses, on the other hand, can actually transform how the eye looks. The type of lenses that are capable of doing this are called special effects contact lenses. Commonly used for the theater, Halloween or to just look ‘cool’. Special effects contact lenses come in a variety of styles and designs.
The most common type of special effects contacts covers the iris with interesting artwork. They can be corrective or plano, which means they are for decorative purposes only. Design-wise, they can make the eye look like that of an animal, look diseased or really anything else that a person could imagine. Some of the more unusual special effects contacts include moon-shaped eyes, starry eyes and even smiley-face eyes.
Another type of special effects contacts are those that can glow in the dark. They cover the iris with a luminescent white, red, violet or yellow color. This is at least the case with ‘plain’ glow in the dark contact lenses. More specialized glow in the dark contacts cover the iris with a special design. An example can be found on Lensesbymail.com, through their heart-shaped glow in the dark lenses.
The third type of special effects contacts actually hides the eye. Covering either the iris and the pupil or the iris, the pupil and the sclera, these types of special effects contacts rid the person of their vision, while producing the illusion that their eye has disappeared.
These lenses can be as simple as whiting out or blacking out the eye or they can be more elaborate, covering the eye with artwork similar to those found on special effects contacts that do not blind the eye. Fortunately, the vision loss is only while the contact is on, meaning these types of contacts are not any more dangerous than other types of cosmetic lenses. However, since it does blind at least temporarily, a person should make sure that then they put them on they’re in a situation where they won’t cause harm to themselves due to lack of vision.
The main types of special effects contact lenses are: those that replace the iris with artwork, those that glow in the dark and those that are designed to replace the eye. All of these special effects contact lenses should be bought by prescription only, no matter how tempting it might be to buy them over-the-counter. In fact, buying special effects contact lenses over-the-counter is not only dangerous but could be illegal, depending on the state with which a person resides.
Indeed, having fun with special effects contact lenses should not come at the risk of losing one’s eyesight or even getting in trouble with the law. Be responsible and obtain these types of lenses from a licensed optometrist.