Changing eye color is one of the most popular questions that I receive through email. Contact lenses can accomplish virtually any color change that can be desired - from subtle changes to extraordinary absurd changes.
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Have you ever said "I wish I was born with blue eyes?" You are thinking though, those colored contact lenses always look so fake. People really take notice of your eyes and to be able to change your eye color without making them look phony is a special art. When many considerations as well as type and design of lens are addressed, the new color can appear as real and natural as the original.
One of the first and most important considerations is which color to choose. Not every color will look correct on every person. This is because of hair color, facial tones, etc. Many women who wear make-up already understand this principle. They know they can’t just arbitrarily choose make-up colors but must adhere to guidelines that are appropriate for their coloration. When you follow these guidelines you can really have a new eye color that enhances your appearance rather than turn you into an alien. This is of course unless you are trying to look like an alien!
If your goal is to actually draw attention to your eyes, custom hand-painted lenses can be made with just about no restrictions other than your imagination. Can you imagine wearing a pair of "smiley faces" for eyes? How about some "American Flags" on the Fourth of July? Some "monster" eyes on Halloween? For the power business man at a meeting, dollar signs ($) in your eyes. And of course some "Dolphins" in your eyes for that next trip to Miami to see them play.
These hand-painted lenses grew from the need for prosthetic contact lenses (contact lenses that are something like a "glass eye"). If an eye has been injured and in some way looks different than the other eye, the person can sometimes feel very self-conscious. By matching the other eye with a one-of-a-kind hand painted contact lens, the two eyes can be made to look the same. This has a very positive effect for the individual’s state of mind by improving cosmetic appearance. In the adjacent picture, the top photo shows the right eye after an injury that damaged the patient's iris so that there is no iris present any longer. The somewhat redish appearance of that eye is actually the reflection of the retina inside. Think of a photograph where the person's pupil is all red due to the flash ("red eye") except for this fellow the "red eye" is showing through the entire area that would normally have the iris (the colored part). The middle photo shows the right eye with a custom hand painted lens on that color matches his left eye. It also is blocking out all of the excess light that would normally enter his eye now that his right eye no longer has an iris. The bottom photo shows the same fellow wearing a lens on his right eye with a Buffalo Bills logo custom hand painted on it because he happens to also be a Buffalo Bills fan and wanted to show his spirit.
Over the years I have had requests to 'hide' some things that are on the white of the eye to improve the overall cosmetic appearance of the eyes. For example, there was a doctor who suffers with sickle cell anemia which causes the "whites" of his eyes to appear yellow. He was very bothered by this cosmetic problem because the patients would look at him and think he was sickly - not a good thing for a doctor. I fit him with a set of scleral lenses that had a custom painted white (to hide the yellow) along with blood vessels to make it appear very natural (it is actually not "pure" white as that would look very unnatural) along with a clear center to allow his natural brown eye color to show through. In addition, I included a prescription that allowed him to see better as well. There was another woman whose eyes always looked red. I was able to fit her into a hand-painted white scleral lens with fine blood vessels (to make it look very natural) to hide her constantly red eyes. There was another woman with a "birthmark" on the white of her eye (it was a very dark pigmented area about the size of a dime). I hid this under a similar type of lens. This lens is large enough to hide virtually the entire visible eye and so can come to the rescue in these special circumstances.
Whether or not the contact lenses have a prescription in them to help you see, they still must be properly fit so as to maintain good eye health. Contact lenses must fit well to be comfortable, look good, give good vision, and of course keep the eyes healthy.
Have you always dreamed of a different eye color? Have you ever thought of going a little more wild by making a statement with "flowers" in your eyes? Maybe some "hypnotic spirals" for that next party? How about your favorite sports team? It is now even possible to incorporate jewels (diamonds for example) into a special scleral design lens (an example is below showing a ring of 24 circular diamonds arranged in a circle around the pupil. There is also a more affordable version without the gems in the form of golden painted patterns in jewelry type designs. With your imagination being virtually the only limitation as to what can be done, you can not only get the blue eyes that you always wanted, but you can feel free to express your innermost self.
You can click on any of the links below to open up a new window with the designs shown above. Whether you choose from a design that is commercially available or would like a totally customized hand-painted lens, you can certainly achieve a very different look
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I Wish I Had Blue Eyes
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