“Where
can I get eyes like that?” It’s the question on everyone’s mind regarding
the mirrored eyes of “Riddick”, the character Vin Diesel brings to life
in “The Chronicles of Riddick“, a runaway sci-fi movie thriller. While it’s
not necessary to be interred in the bowels of some otherworldly dark prison,
paying out 20 menthol Kools for a “surgical shine job”, today’s theatrical
contact lenses can provide Riddick’s super-cool eyes as simply as popping
in some mirrored eye contact lenses. While there’s many fun contact lenses
on the market which provide unique, eerie, or downright head-turning eyeball
special effects, a little information will go a long way to safely choose
contacts for whatever “look” you are looking for. Whether it's Vampire,
ghoul, elf, Necromonger, sightless, multi-colored or totally black gothic
contact lenses that strike your fancy, take a moment to arm yourself with
information about your options when considering contact lenses to meet your
desire for awesome eyes.
Q: Is there anything special I should know about theatrical contacts?
Theatrical contact lenses are as safe to use as regular contact lenses.
It’s necessary to keep them clean, and treat them just as you would treat
ordinary contact lenses. Many theatrical contacts are not vision-corrective,
though. While there are a growing number of theatrical contacts becoming
available for those needing vision correction, many are simply color-changing
or color enhancing. Acuvue contact lenses offer Opaque lenses for light
or dark eyes at discount prices to change the color of the eye. Expressions
color-changing contact lenses tout exceptional vision and comfort, and are
easy to handle. Freshlook contact lenses offer color enhancing toric lenses
for astigmatism. Durasoft carries a wide variety of colors, tints, opaque,
extended, daily, toric, and non-theatrical lenses. Avaira, Biomedics, Softlens
and Purevision do not appear to carry specialty or colored lenses. Focus
Dailies are available in color enhancing extended wear. Theatrical lenses,
such as mirrored eye contact lenses, are not intended for extended wear,
so it is necessary to take them out before sleep, and re-insert them the
next day.
Q: I’ve heard theatrical contacts are more likely to produce eye infections.
Is this true?
While early theatrical lenses had some problems, due in part to the materials
used to create the special effects in the lenses themselves, today’s theatrical
contacts are made of materials which do not cause adverse effects or infections
any more often than regular contacts. Again, proper care and cleaning is
the most important factor to avoid the possibilities of eye infection from
wearing contacts. Although many theatrical contacts do not provide vision
correction, it is still necessary to see an eye care professional to obtain
a prescription to properly fit the lenses to the shape of the eye. Not only
is this a necessity for comfort, but also to avoid possible problems with
abrasion from poor fit, which can lead to infection or vision distortion.
Seek the services of an eye care professional when considering theatrical
or discount contact lenses. Always purchase theatrical lenses with proper
fit and FDA approval.