Secrets to Choosing the Best Color Contacts for Dark Eyes

Many people have chosen to buy colored contact lenses just to change their natural eye color. Even if you don't need vision correction, you can buy non-prescription colored contacts, strictly to change your eye color for style or fun. However, if you have dark eyes, you may think your options are limited. You may have seen some of the slightly tinted contacts, and have assumed that certain color changes are impossible. However, it's not true. Even if you want to change a dark eye color to a lighter eye color, there are contacts for you. You just need to know the secrets to choosing the best color contacts for dark eyes.

Slight Color Enhancement

The type of lens coloring that has been around the longest is called "enhancertint". Enhancertint lenses are contacts that have just a slight touch of color. Originally, coloring was added for very practical reasons. In the early days, it was discovered that people who wore contacts had some extra sensitivity to light, because the contacts obviously magnified light. Therefore, slight coloring was added to contacts to help shade the eyes from some of the light. Color was also added to make contact lenses easier to find in soaking solution, where clear lenses were almost impossible to see. Eventually, people noticed that the addition of the extra enhancertint led to flattering comments from other people, who noticed the sudden enhancement in their eye color. Soon, enhancertints were popular and were demanded by anyone wanting to enhance their natural eye color. Nowadays, many people buy enhancertints of varying color, so they can actually alter their natural eye color with different hues on different days, depending on the mood. Even so, enhancertints are usually just designed to make slight changes in eye color, and are not going to accomplish a drastic change, like going from dark brown to light blue.

Changing Light to Dark

When changing a light eye color to a dark color, you don't always need a total color change. For example, you may have light blue eyes, and you want to change to a darker blue-green. Rather than completely changing your color, you can simply buy clear lenses that add some dark green. In this way, the green of the lenses will blend with your natural blue color to produce the dark blue-green you are looking for. The same applies with all sorts of color changes: hazel to dark green, light brown to dark brown, light blue to medium brown, and so forth. The combinations you can come up with are only limited by your imagination. However, if you want to change from dark eyes to a very light eye color, like light blue, the clear colored lenses won't work. You'll need to try another type of lens that's specifically designed for this type of color change.

Changing Dark to Light

If you're going to go from dark-colored eyes to a very light color, there's only one option for you - natural opaque colored contact lenses. Opaque means that light cannot pass through. Of course, the only opaque portion of the lens is the part that covers the colored part of your eye - the iris. If your pupils were covered, you wouldn't be able to see. Therefore, opaque contact lenses are clear in the center, opaque over the iris (colored part), and clear over the white part of your eyes. The opaque area is needed, because your dark eye color must be completely covered, and not show through. The opaque portion of the lens is colored with the lighter eye color you want to change to. For example, if you want to go from dark brown to light blue, you should buy a light blue opaque lens, which totally cover your brown color with the lighter blue color.

Precautions When Wearing Colored Lenses

There are several safety rules with colored contacts that you will want to keep in mind. If you use opaque lenses, make sure the opaque area is fitted to your eye. If any of the opaque area covers your pupils, your vision will be blocked. To be safe, avoid wearing opaque lenses in any situation where perfect vision is critical. Also, even if you don't need vision correction and you don't think you need a prescription, make sure you have an eye doctor fit the lenses for you, or you run the risk of eye abrasion, injury or infection.

Have a Blast!

Whether you are wanting to just slightly alter your natural eye color (with enhancertints), or make a major change in your eye color like going from dark to light (with opaque lenses) there are options to fit your need. You can experiment and come up with exciting color combinations that will fit your mood or style at any given moment. Just follow the basic rules of safety, and stick to normal care and maintenance procedures, and you'll have a great time showing off your new eye color.