Color Contact Lenses - Do They Work on Dark Eyes?

By Tanya Turner

Do you want to change dark eye color to something different, but you are unsure if color contacts will work for your eyes? If you have brown eyes and tried color contact lenses several years ago, you were probably disappointed. Color contacts of the previous generation ether gave your eye color only a very slight change or your eyes looked blue but completely unnatural.

Creating color lenses that would truly transform brown eyes into sky blue or emerald green is a very difficult task, but modern color contact lenses can do it. The trick is to select the lenses that would work for you.

There are two types of color contacts - enhancement color contacts and opaque color lenses. Enhancers usually come in different shades of blue, green and gray and are designed to make your natural eye color look brighter. They are translucent and create a natural-looking effect. Unfortunately, enhancement color contacts work only for light eyes. Over brown eyes, enhancers would be either completely invisible or create only a very light tint that was not enough to change your color.

Opaque color contacts, on the other side, are specially designed for brown eyes. As the name suggests, they aren't transparent; only the center of the lens is clear, so you can still see. Opaque lenses aren't solid color, of course: they simulate the natural pattern of a human eye. See comparison of color contacts for dark eyes at http://www.1-contact-lenses-consumer-guide.com/color-contacts.html

However, not all opaque color contacts do a good job of recreating a natural pattern. Here, I will highlight the brands that create a vivid, but natural-looking, effect.

Freshlook Colorblends by Ciba Vision looks very realistic, because the base color for each lens is actually a mix of three different shades - just as it usually is in the human iris. The lens is lighter toward the middle and darker at the edge, with a pattern imprinted on it. The color created is vivid, but dark, so Freshlook Colorblends won't make your eyes appear light. Freshlook Colorblends are monthly disposable color lenses. In my opinion, Amethyst and True Sapphire are their best colors. See pictures of Freshlook color contacts at http://www.1-contact-lenses-consumer-guide.com/freshlook-colorblends.html

Acuvue 2 Colors Opaques also create a beautiful, realistic effect. Like all Acuvue contacts, Acuvue 2 Colors is a comfortable lens. The lenses are designed to be replaced every two weeks - this is what the "2" in the name means. Acuvue 2 Colors is manufactured by Johnson ' Johnson.

Illusions, also by Ciba Vision, can transform your brown eyes into light blue or green. The effect they create is truly amazing. One drawback of Illusions, though, is that they are traditional, annual replacement contact lenses, which means that they are thicker and not as comfortable as Freshlook or Acuvue.

Problems opaque color contact lenses can create.

One proble is that a lens can slip a little on your eye, so part of your brown iris is visible. Most people, however, don’t worry about it, because the brown is visible only under close scrutiny; otherwise, it blends with the black of your pupil.

Another problem is that opaque color lens might affect your vision. As you know, pupils get larger or smaller, depending on the lighting conditions - it is smallest under a bright light and largest in the dark. Since the clear part of color contact lens isn't adjustable, in low light situations, part of your pupil will be covered by the opaque lens and your vision will be decreased. It doesn't mean that you won't be able to see in the dark, just not as well as you would see if you weren't wearing your contacts. For this reason, driving at night while wearing your color contacts isn't recommended - at least, not until you know for sure how they affect your eyes.

If you wonder how you will look with different eye colors, give color contacts a try. Eyes are the focal point of your look, and you would be amazed how different you appear with eyes of a different color.