Theatrical contact lenses bring new life to your eyes

July 11th, 2009

Contact lenses used to have one purpose – to treat or correct regular eye conditions like myopia (nearsightedness) and hyperopia (farsightedness). Then contact lens manufacturers also developed contact lenses for astigmatism and presbyopia and were able to produce colored contact lenses as well. It’s not surprising that theatrical contact lenses will soon follow.

Theatrical contact lenses are so named because they are mostly used for special effects as part of the characters’ costumes. Theatrical contact lenses are specially-designed contact lenses that sport distinct, creative and unique patterns specific to a particular character’s role in a movie. For instance, if the role calls for a werewolf, you can’t have the character looking out at the audience with regular-looking human eyes, right? This is the part where theatrical contact lenses come in. They complete the ensemble to make the character believable and credible.

Now, you yourself can have these theatrical contact lenses too. You may choose to wear them for Halloween parties for kicks. You may also choose to wear them to parties to bring that certain edge. It’s also not so difficult to buy them. Just be sure that you have a proper prescription when you do buy, even though you may not need corrective lenses. You also need to know the importance of caring for your lenses like how to clean them, how to store them and the general mechanics of having your own pair of contact lenses. Just because they look like toys doesn’t mean they are. They are still medical devices that with the improper use may cause irritations, infections and worse, may lead to blindness if you’re not too careful.

It’s not that difficult to maintain clean theatrical contact lenses. Just like regular contact lenses, they need to be cleaned. You can’t wear them for longer than 8 hours and you cannot sleep in them. You also must remember never to share your pair with other people. The chances of getting an infection will be great. All in all, if you follow these things, you’ll have a great deal of fun with your theatrical contact lenses and still be able to protect your eyes.

Scary contact lenses – the answer to a complete Halloween ensemble

July 7th, 2009

It’s not everyday that you walk into a party and you find yourself staring at impossibly unreal, horrifying eyes. For a second or two, it’s like staring into the eyes of your worst nightmare and then reality intrudes and you find that your friend is simply wearing scary contact lenses as part of his Halloween costume. It’s quite understandable to be deceived for a moment simply because scary contact lenses are now becoming popular and the technology is now available to make them look as real and natural as possible. It’s no wonder movie makers rely on the ingenuity of these scary contact lens designers to bring to life their most gruesome and most ghastly characters.

You don’t have to be part of the movie-making business to get hold of these scary contact lenses. As long as you have a valid prescription for them, you can get them from your regular eye doctor, your favorite optical shop and even through online retail stores. There are also many designs to choose from and you can go from mildly scary with cat’s eyes and simple color changes to really extremely scary with the black-outs or whiteouts that totally cover your eyes in black or white depending on your choice. In between, you have a choice of zombie, vampire, orc, flames and even eyes of your favorite anime characters.

You’ll never run out of scary contact lenses to try out. You don’t even have to wait for Halloween to wear them. If you simply want to make a fashion statement and shock a few people you can wear them everyday if you want. Just as long as you follow the care and maintenance that regular contact lenses need in order to stay hygienic. You also must remember not to share your contacts with anybody because bacteria and other germs may be transferred in the process.

Fascinating red eye contact lenses

July 3rd, 2009

Usually “red eyes” and contact lenses don’t go together. When that happens, it usually means that you’re experiencing irritation in your eyes hence the red eyes. It doesn’t bode well for the health of your eyes especially if the irritation is not taken cared of immediately. However, red eye contact lenses in this context means red colored contacts, either plain or with special artistic designs that are perfect for scaring people on Halloween.

There are a variety of red eye contact lenses to choose from. The plainest design is simply the red ring around the iris (that part of the eye that gives it its color) with a clear space in front of your pupil to allow you to see through the contacts. Variations on the red eye contacts involve striking patterns and designs on the red background. Most of these designs are reminiscent of movie characters, like vampires and wolves that are commonly known for their red eyes. Even the distinctive red eyes of some Japanese anime characters are also replicated and are very popular during costume play events.

Other red eye contacts don’t just cover the pupil but the whole eye as well. These are called sclera contacts because they also cover the sclera (the white part of the eye). Some red eye sclera contacts involve a black background with red designs and patterns. Others involve the reverse, having a red background with black (and other colors) patterns. You may be familiar with the Star Wars’ Sith eyes, Resident Evil’s T-Virus eyes, X-Men’s Phoenix eyes and even Dracula’s red eyes.

Most of these designs are available through online contact lenses retailers and through manufacturers like CooperVision and Ciba Vision who also have their own brands of red eye contact lenses. They may range from as low as $30 to as high as $300 a pair. Be discriminate in your choice because the health of your eyes should be your priority.

You must have a valid contact lens prescription before your buy any contact lenses within the USA.

The novelty of novelty contact lenses

June 30th, 2009

It’s common knowledge that the reason why people wear contact lenses is because they provide a better alternative to wearing eyeglasses in terms of eye correction. Over the years, contact lenses have evolved from simple eye correction (like myopia and hyperopia) to treating astigmatism and even presbyopia. Now, there are even colored contact lenses for those who want to enhance or alter the color of their eyes.
From these changes, it’s inevitable that more purposes for contact lenses will be discovered. One good example is that now, they’re also available for aesthetic purposes and these lenses are aptly called novelty contact lenses. They’re called “novelty” because you do not intend to use them regularly, only for special occasions like Halloween, parties and costume events. They come in a variety of designs, unique and fresh, which make them so popular. These novelty contact lenses were mostly utilized by special effects teams in movies especially for horror, science fiction and fantasy characters. You’ll probably recognize them in zombies, vampires and werewolves. Novelty contact lenses complete the costume, the look for these characters making them more believable and more real, giving credence to the movie as much as the story.
If you’re interested in getting a pair for yourself, maybe as an accessory to your Halloween costume, you need a prescription from your eye doctor even if your eyes don’t need any correction. You need a proper fitting to make sure that these lenses are suitable to your eyes because they can come in varying dimensions. You also need to be instructed on the care and maintenance for these medical devices especially if this is the first time you’re using them.

You have to understand that even novelty contact lenses can cause eye irritation, bacterial infection and even worse, blindness, if the necessary precautions are not taken. Don’t risk the health of your eyes for a short term’s wear.

What are non-prescription color contact lenses?

June 28th, 2009

Nowadays, almost everyone has heard of contact lenses and their role in giving back clear vision to people who need it. It’s another way of treating common eye conditions like myopia, hyperopia and even astigmatism and they come in a variety of brands, types and even added features. Regular contact lenses are usually clear and transparent although there are available colored contacts too. Regardeless if they’re clear or colored, since they’re primarily prescribed for people who need corrected vision, expect them to carry corrective powers.

If, on the other hand, you don’t need any eye correction but still would like the option of using colored contacts, there are what you call non-prescription color contact lenses. They’re essentially cosmetic contact lenses that are available in plano prescription (zero corrective powers). Though you call them “non-prescription” it generally means that you don’t have any necessity for eye correction but you still need a prescription from a professional eye doctor to be able to buy and use these contact lenses. Contact lenses, even the non-prescription ones, are not “one-size-fits all” types. That is why it’s necessary to go to an eye doctor for a professional fitting to see which pair suits you best.

Non-prescription colored contacts are especially popular because you can enhance or alter the color of your eyes as a fashion statement. Your main purpose for using contact lenses is for aesthetic and not corrective reasons. There are two types of colored contacts, opaque and enhancement. Opaque color contacts totally change the color of your eyes, whether you have light-colored or dark-colored eyes. Enhancement color contacts only highlight, not change, the color of your eyes. These are perfect for people who want only a subtle yet positive change in their appearance. Many contact lens manufacturers carry non-prescription colored contact lenses among their list of products and they even come in dailies or frequent replacement schedules.