Contact lens general

Contact lens info

The obvious (yes, we've been asked about these before)
1) DO NOT MAKE DIY CONTACTS OUT OF BITS OF A SODA BOTTLE OR CASTING RESIN OR WHATEVER
2) DO NOT PAINT OR ARTIFICIALLY COLOUR LENSES. DO NOT DRAW ON THEM WITH SHARPIE, DO NOT SOAK THEM IN FOOD COLOURING, NO NO NO NO NO.
3) DO NOT CUT LENSES WITH SCISSORS AND IF YOU SEE THEY ARE TORN, THROW THEM OUT IMMEDIATELY
4) STICK TO THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE PACKET. IF IT SAYS 30 DAYS, THROW THEM OUT IN 30 DAYS. IF IT SAYS 'THROW OUT THE SOLUTION AFTER A WEEK OF HAVING IT OPENED', THROW OUT THE SOLUTION AFTER A WEEK OF HAVING IT OPENED.

Failure to obey all these rules can lead to SERIOUS AND PERMANENT EYE DAMAGE. Do not ruin your eyes for something as lame as cosplay or fashion.

Anything and Everything you'll need to know
PART ONE: Starting Contact Lenses From the Beginning

Firstly, because you've never experienced contact lenses before, you MUST have an eye-test. If the optometrist is being a little bitch about it, fuck them and go somewhere else that won't charge you heaps of money for buying contact lenses. Now I'm not sure exactly where you're located, but here's the usual procedure for my store. You'll need two appointments - the first one to check your eyesight and teach you how to put contact lenses in (it's hard in the beginning). This first appointment they should have some trial contact lenses that they'll get you to put on and wear, and make sure you know how to insert them.

The second appointment should be an aftercare one. In this appointment (it shouldn't take nearly as long as the first) they'll sit you down, make sure everything is okay and so on. Now this is the thing that a lot of people don't know - you are not legally required to buy ANYTHING from an optometrist if you don't want to. This is coming from someone who values customer service over sales. BY LAW, if you ask the optometrist for your prescription, they're required to give it to you.

I'd suggest now to not tell them you plan to buy contacts from elsewhere. Most optometrists want to really push sales, and if you say it's for a costume AND you're buying it online, they'll hammer into you all the 'don'ts' (which I will explain soon). Just tell them you're thinking about getting contact lenses for sport (or, if you have no glasses, thinking about colored contacts for fashion) but are unsure and you're only doing the testing for it right now. Don't imply that you want to buy anything from them, otherwise they'll hound you to no end.

PART TWO: Your Eye and You (a.k.a SCIENCE)
What you have to remember is that your eye is a very delicate part of you, and contacts, if used incorrectly, will fuck them up. As stated previously, you need to have an eye test. When doing this, you'll come out with two measurements.Your BASE CURVE (BC) is the curvature of the contact lens. Your DIAMETER (Dia) is the width of the contact lens.

Now obviously the Diameter isn't going to matter much if you get Dolly Eye or circle lenses, because they're made to be so much bigger to give you that doe-eyed look. Most commercial contact lenses on the market have a BC of between 8.3~8.6, and a Diameter of 14.0~14.5.

If your previous eye test has told you about your BC, then chances are it's still the same (unless it's really old, like 6+ years). However, if you were an adult (or 16+) when you got your prescription done, then chances are your BC is still going to be the same, if not very similar. If you have prescription, it's recommended that you get your eyes tested for spectacles every 2 years (24 months), and contact lenses every year (12 months).

Links
honeycolor.com
pinkyparadise.com