Circle Lens Safety Tips

Hello cuties, as I promised on my first post here's a list of safety tips. I'll share my own knowledge and experience together with other site's information (all credited) to provide you with even more information. I made some further research to make everything as accurate as possible.

Many people who decide to start wearing circle lenses for fashion or cosplay are terrified because of the myths and rumours going on around the web, many rumors get "proved" in videos and such and it gets even more scary but what the people criticising circle lenses and the terrified people don't know is that those things can be avoided if you know how to take care of your eyes and your lenses. Your eyes are precious and very delicate so if you're not careful of course something negative is going to happen, an infection is possible even for a simple thing like sharing an eyeliner so it's obvious you'll get hurt if you don't handle well something you literally stick into your very eye.

I'm also going to talk about some shameful and really bad personal experience which I hope you can learn from. If after reading this you still have questions remember google is your friend  (sometimes...) and you can also visit your optometrist but keep in mind western optometrists aren't so familiar with circle lenses and are usually fed with the bad experiences only so if you ask them mention the regular colored lenses, the care is pretty much the same and they will be super helpful.

1☆ Safe Shopping

This may seem obvious but for some people it may not be that obvious or not such a big deal for new users who are not aware of the dangers: please AVOID shady shops. Never buy just because the store is ridiculously cheap or you'll regret it forever! For your first time buying at a store make sure you do some research first, look for reviews, check their feedback (note: if it's in their own site the feedback may be fake so try to check feedback about the store somewhere else. Google is your friend.).

I have only worn lenses from two online shops which are Pinky Paradise and Honey Color, I recommend both but specially Pinky Paradise because I'm more familiar with their lenses. Every time you shop there you receive your lenses with an authenticity code which you can check online. It's the most legit shop I know and my number one choice ALWAYS. Circle lens brands carried by PinkyParadise are all Korean made and all lenses are approved by Korea FDA.

(2015EDIT: Other online store I have tried is LensFlavors, here's my review)

Here's a pretty scary article about a girl who got defective sponsored lenses.

Recommended brands: GEO, NEO, Vassen, Dueba, EOS and Royal Vision. ALWAYS check authenticity seals even if it's a well known store.

2☆ Health & Hygiene

(note: the first part of this entry has been written by uniqso and I only corrected the grammar, I left the content unaltered. I'll put my comments in notes and add more after the "source" link)

You should remove your lens immediately if you experience any of the following problems:

• Itching, burning or stinging of the eye
• A feeling of something in your eye
• Excessive watering, unusual eye secretions or redness
• Blurred vision, rainbows or hales around objects. Dry eyes may occur if your lenses are worn continuously or for too long.
• The lens feels less comfortable than it did when it was first inserted.
• If the discomfort or problem stops when you take out the lens, you should examine closely for damage, dirt or a foreign body.
• If the problem continues, consult your Eye Care Practitioner immediately.
• Any of the symptoms above can indicate a serious condition such as infection or corneal ulcer. Prompt diagnosis and treatment is essential to avoid serious damage to your eyes.
• Remember that symptoms are warning signs. If in doubt, take them out.
• Never allow anyone else to wear your lenses. Sharing lenses greatly increases the chance of eye infections.

Basic rules when wearing circle lenses:

First time wearing:

To avoid sudden lack of oxygen to the eyes, those who are wearing color lens for first time should extend wearing time gradually, please refer to the below table for appropriate time. (This is also applicable to those stop wearing color lens more than two weeks)

1st Day	2nd Day	3rd Day	4th Day	5th Day
4 hours	6 hours	8 hours	10 hours	12 hours

Some normal symptoms will happen when you wear color lens for first time such as slight dry feeling, photophobia, blurred vision and etc.

After one to two weeks of adjustment, it will disappear naturally. If the symptoms continue, remove the lenses immediately and visit the optometrist to find out the reasons.

(Ana's note: I do not recommend wearing them for more than 8 hours, remove them immediately if you feel uncomfortable after that time. 10 and 12h are too much! ! You should ((((must)))) set your limit between 6 and 8 hours.)

Keep in mind:

1. Wash your hands and fingernails thoroughly before wearing lenses, do not touch other things after washing;
2. After you take out the lens, soak the lenses in the lens case;
3. Dispose the lens solution upon expired and replaced a new one;
4. Lens case should be changed regularly (once every 3 months), clean the lens cases weekly with soft brush;
5. Color lens should be worn before makeup, and should be removed before cleansing;
6. Used lens solution must be disposed;
7. Do not use any eye drops when wearing color lens;
8. Do not wear lens overnight;
9. Do not use tweezers or other tools to pick color lens, it may cause damage to the lens;
10. Examine your eyes before wearing circle lens. If your eyes are inflamated or turn red after wearing them, stop wearing the circle lens;
11. If the lenses are hard to be removed from the eyes, do not use force. Put a few drops of lens solution into the eyes, then rub gently;
12. Do not rub your eyes if sand gets into it, remove the lens as soon as possible, lens must be cleaned before wearing them again.

(source)

Ana's notes in addition:

✖NEVER sleep with your lenses on, NEVER!! I don't think someone is careless enough to go to bed with their lenses on but if you're going to take a nap don't be lazy and take them off.

✖Your eyes are precious, if you've made sure the lenses are perfectly clean and they're still uncomfortable do not go out with them on, you will suffer until you get the chance to take them out and it may damage your eyes. Don't choose beauty over health because it's useless when your health abandons you forever.

✖Do not swim while wearing lenses. Pool water contains hazardous bacteria and other microscopic organisms that may cause eye infections when getting in contact with any kind of contact lenses.

✖Do not wear expired lenses even if they feel okay, if they expire there's a reason. Quality doesn't last forever so forget that pair and kiss them goodbye before you get hurt for being stubborn.

✖Always check the expiring date before opening your new lenses. The date is actually for the solution but if that solution is expired the lenses are considered expired! Contact the store immediately, don't be impatient. 

The expiration of the lenses counts from the day you open them, for example: 1 year disposal lenses which you receive in January but only open on April, they will expire the next April. Maximum storage of the sealed lens is of 3 years.

Even if the lenses are one year disposable if you don't take the proper care they may end up being a nest of bacteria and may deteriorate (even if you can't see it) faster than expected. 

((((゜д゜;)))) Personal BAD shameful experiences and mistakes:

✧I started wearing colored contact lenses even before I cosplayed or got interested in Asian fashion. I bought them for Halloween or for daily use at costume shops (DON'T!!) or optics. I wasn't informed at all and I was SUPER careless. I have an obsession with washing my hands all the time and I'm thankful for that because at least I avoided many careless-newbie dangers related to that. I would wear my lenses for countless hours, I would never change the solution unless it didn't look okay (OHGODWHY), I wore the same colored lenses for more than a year...THEY WERE ONE MONTH DISPOSABLE. I had this pair of monster green Halloween lenses which was one month disposable and  abandoned in the case for months and when I found them they were completely dried out and with a white substance stuck to them (I suppose it was the dried solution) and here's the shocking part: I washed them carefully to avoid scratching them and filled the case with more solution, after a day or so the lenses were back to their flexible form and I WORE THEM (OHGODWHYx1000). I seriously wonder how come I'm not blind, how come I never got an eye infection, how come my cornea is fine, how come I'm okay. 

✧Now this happened with my first circle lenses which I ordered specially for cosplay. I fell asleep with my lenses for nearly two hours after having already surpassed the safety limit. I was tired after a whole morning of work and I had a break before we opened again so I laid down and felt sleepy. I wanted to take a nap because I was tired and my eyes were even more tired but I ignored the fact that I had worn the lenses for too long and didn't move my lazy ass. When I woke up my vision was blurry, my eyes were incredibly dry and I had a very uncomfortable feeling of stickiness. I rushed to the bathroom and when I saw my eyes in the mirror I couldn't believe how red they were. I tried to remove them immediately but they wouldn't come out so I insisted and forced them out which is something you should NOT do. In the end the lenses left a craved circular mark in both my eyes (that was super scary) but after an hour everything got back to normal, I was just lucky, it could've been way worse and caused permanent damage to my eyes. On that day I violated a bunch of "don't dos". By removing the lenses like that I could've damaged them and left residues inside my eyes damaging them or scratching my cornea.The scariest things were the fact that they wouldn't come out and the shape they left in my eyes.

Since that day I became really paranoid and caring about my eyes and lenses. I got informed everywhere and realized how poorly I had been treating my eyes so I took that well ending bad experience as a warning, I'm glad I made that mistake because maybe because of that I got informed and I'll never make stupid mistakes that can get my eyes seriously and/or permanently damaged and I get to encourage others to embrace safety.

✧Other mistake I've made was sharing my lenses with my best friend and my brother. They're people I know and who I'm close to (in my best friend's case) so I thought there shouldn't be any problem since I washed them first with the solution and also after they used them but the issue here isn't about trust or being close to someone, by lending they my lenses I put them and myself in danger. My brother rocked the coolest Halloween costume and my best friend got to wear lenses with her Tsunade cosplay at the convention, they were both happy, nothing bad happened but it's wrong because something COULD'VE happened and we can't live in a "could've" state. Safety comes first and SAFETY IS NOT A GAMBLE so even if you end up ruining your friend's accuracy in cosplay because she/he didn't get her/his lenses in time or didn't plan to because you owned the color they needed you'll know you have done the right thing. Nobody is going to be happy if in the end something bad happens, right? No more sharing. Think of it like sharing your toothbrush or your panties, gross, huh?

Well, that's all for now. If I find good articles about this matter I will link them here so you can be even better informed.

Stay beautiful, stay safe (✿◠‿◠)

Anahkiin's Cute Hell♥