SPECIAL FX contacts...........Anyone have them?

I just got some special effects contacts from SF as they were half price and I had a $5 off coupon code. Has anyone tried these? They don't really give you much info on them on the site and I was a bit suprised to see that there was no info contained within the packaging from the manufacturer when they arrived.

I have worn colored contacts before back when I was in college. I had teal green eyes, but those still came from the optometrist and fitted for my eye even though they were non prescription.

I guess my question is do you take care of these the same way you would regular contacts? Do they need to stay stored in the vials they came in? Lastly as to the note on sillyfarms site I am guessing they mean to soak the lenses in a multipurpose saline solution prior to wearing them.

Any info would be helpful.... thanks

I ended up getting a pair of the white out ones and they make great pictures!

Half price??? Wow! I did get $5 off when they first had them.

I wish they had more colors to pick from. I'd love a pair of gold Vampire eyes

I get my funky contacts from www.youknowit.com. They have free shipping, and have tons of different contacts, and you can order prescription as well. I have several different pairs...cat eyes, different patterns too. My favourite are the UV glow ones...awesome under the black lights.

They look so cool in the pictures. They are not legal to sell in Ohio, guess you could buy them online.

I wonder if I could use these as I have a stigmatism?

Thank you KTGirl for posting that link. It had a whole section on lens care. So I was able to get the answers I was looking for. I checked my box and was glad to see the contacts I got are the 12 month ones so i will be able to get alot of enjoyment out of them.

My daughter is soooooooooooo jealous right now, b'cuz she wants a pair. I have a fair to do for a scoool on weds. so i am gonna wear them then hopefully if I remember to go and get the case and saline first.

SUPPOSEDLY, the main issue and reason they came under scrutiny (And regulation back in 2004 I think) was that people were wearing them who needed glasses, and/or had no clue how to care for or wear contacts, and were doing self damage.

At Faba, I asked one of the places that was selling them about the RX issues as I was sure I remembered hearing that they had been outlawed without an RX. The person there used a lot of double speak such as: Yes, you can buy them, assuming you know that your eyesite is perfect, it's up to you to make sure.

Of course, it is actually up to the seller to make sure.... But, such is life.

Disclaimer- I am not a lawyer-

It is not legal to sell them in the USA without a prescription. Many places are getting around this by putting the responsibility on the consumer.... but here is the info from the FDA site:


VI. Can consumers still buy contact lenses used for decorative purposes only?
Yes, if there is a valid prescription. As when buying all contact lens, consumers should be seen by an eye care professional and obtain proper fitting and instructions for using a contact lens. These devices present significant risks of eye injuries, including blindness, if distributed without a valid prescription and the involvement of a qualified eye care professional and appropriate follow-up care.

More information for consumers on the use of decorative lenses can be found on FDA’s web site http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/ PressAnnouncements/2004/ucm108366.htm7.

-Disclaimer- I am not a lawyer.....

Are you PROBABLY ok with them? Sure... Lots of folks wear them without issue. COULD there be a problem? Sure... you are sticking something in your eye. Ah, the old days of common sense.

Here is a site that has some care and use instructions:
http://colorcontactstore.com/info.html

It said on SillyFarm to soak them for at least 6 hrs so I went out and bought the stuff to take care of them the right way

I do think they should have a care card come with them for people that don't know how to take care of them.

I agree totally that they should have come with a care card at least for the novice wearer. I knew I needed something but wasn't sure if I needed something special for these or if they were cared for using the products made for regular contacts.

In any event I don't wear glasses and I won't be wearing them often enough or for prolonged periods to cause any damage.

I bought my son some coloured lenses from clearlycontacts.ca for a christmas present one year - they were prescription lenses so very expensive (to me)

He loved them and wore them often, for the shock value I think

I am no doctor, but I have wore RX contacts for most of my life. The issue is, that if your eyesight is "off" even a little, your eye is not perfectly round. So cosmetic contacts could actually do serious damage to your eye since the fit would be wrong. I think they could actually cut and scratch your eyeball.

As much as I totally LOVE the look, unless you have recently had an exam that said you had 20/20 vision, I would not risk using non precription lenses. Especially in young people.

I have heard warnings about the "made in China" versions by actors who wear fx lenses--they will only purchase through legit sources...

ChangingFaceDesigns wrote:Thank you KTGirl for posting that link. It had a whole section on lens care. So I was able to get the answers I was looking for. I checked my box and was glad to see the contacts I got are the 12 month ones so i will be able to get alot of enjoyment out of them.

My daughter is soooooooooooo jealous right now, b'cuz she wants a pair. I have a fair to do for a scoool on weds. so i am gonna wear them then hopefully if I remember to go and get the case and saline first.

Thanks for that. They are shipped out of the UK and I usually get them very quickly, and also come with care and instructions. I only wear for the occassion use (ie glow in the dark bowling night) and Halloween of course! The couple of pairs that I have are comfortable. Of course if I were to use them for prolonged and repeated use, I would definitely invest and get a plano prescription pair made especially for my eye shape...

Regardless, they are fun and a great addition for costumes or photographs.

Thank guys for posting your knowledge/information and experiences with these.

I figured for the price it was a great intro to these to try them out. Don't know that I'd go all out and buy more, but hey you never know. If i find that I really really like these and wear them alot, then I will do what someone stated earlier and invest in a fitted non Rx pair from the doctor.

My green contacts got lost in a move........ to this day I still don't quite know what happened to them but I did have them for 5 years.

sillyfarm has a sale on colored contacts right now. $25 a pair

That's where I got them from

I love the contacts.... but I cannot get them in my eyes... my eyes are way to sensitive.... so how can I ask a client to wear them or tel a client it's ok or event supply them for them without responsibility?
If I can't get the damn things in, then I shouldn't expect them to be able to either.
Everytime a client has been wearing them they have said they are uncomfortable.... one person described it as feeling like you have one of those stringy sleepy thing in your eye ball that you can't get out, and some said it was effecting their vision.... all times I told them to take them out.... everytime - they ignored me.
I would love love love to wear them and they make all my painting look soooooooo much better - yes Wolfe bros we have busted you.... hehehe....
but I can't seem to find a way to safely and cheaply supply them to my clients.

Tash, I watched a YT video to help get them in.

After 3 times wearing them, it just took me two tries today to get them in.

I think people who are inherently afraid to have anything near there eyes will have a hard tome trying to wear these. People who can't have another person put eyeliner or mascara on them or put eye drops in.

When I had my color change lenses the first I put them in it was the most horrible thing... lolol felt like I had a big ole rock in my eye, but that was because I was not used to them. By the 3rd day of putting them in, I honestly could not feel them in my eye at all.

You also basically have to be comfortable sticking your ownself in the eye without flinching... lol not something you would normally do, so you'd expect some difficulty and discomfort.

I used to wear contacts until I had my eyes lasered (PRK) 6 years ago. I just got my eyes checked and I still have 20/20 vision (sweet!). I used that new "prescription" to order special effects contacts online. They're dramatically more uncomfortable than real lenses. I also ordered what I thought would be purple lenses. Well, I forgot about color tables. I have green eyes. Purple is opposite green on the color spectrum and so they turn my eyes brown! Oh well. Maybe I'd have better luck with the dramatic cat eyes or various shaped pupils.

Yes, you do need special containers and the basic solution/cleaner to keep them in, even if you use them only sporadically.

There are several issues with lenses beyond not fitting correctly. Your eyes will somewhat change shape in response to your contacts, so damage can be done even at short intervals of wear. If they feel uncomfortable, it's a good sign to take them out and work up to longer wearing. Never sleep in them - that's a recipe for corneal abrasion!

Bacterial contamination is also a big issue. Someone mentioned keeping their contacts for five years....yeah, that's a big no- no. I've heard you can keep special effects contacts for up to a year with regular solution changes and minimal wearing but they're only designed to last safely for a month, regardless. It would suck to need abx eye drops.

Something else to consider is that many of the special effects lenses block out some your vision around the pupil. Even the new purple lenses I have do this. Driving might be an issue and although my game plan was to use them for parties when I'm painting, it cuts out enough of my vision I think it might be frustrating. =(

YMMV but eyes are such a sensitive subject (lol), that it's worth doing right by them and being uber careful.

Yeah it was me that had my non prescription color change green contacts for 5 years and they never had any adverse effects on my vision and I wore those every single day. Now I will reiterate those did come from the optometrist and were fitted for my eyes.

I will wear them for halloween and then just use them for photographs for that extra "wow" maybe the ocassional party

those special fx lenses are they hard or soft lenses?
I will have to get some fitted for my eye as I will not be able to see much otherwise.

Tash, when I first started using contacts it took me two hours to get one of them in and another hour for the other one, but now I can just put them in and out in no time. It takes some getting used to. Also with soft lenses they could be the wrong way around, that sometimes happens and it is irritating.