Hey guys,
So I recently uploaded a post on how I progessively gained confidence with my glasses. The post was written a while back. but I found it in my drafts and I couldn't let it go to waste, as I know how much a post like that would've helped when I was coming to terms with that new change.
However, I am now a daily user of contacts and I wanted to do a post where I could gush about how much I love them and also share a few things i've learnt from wearing them and any tips I can give you if you're considering making the switch from frames to lenses.
My Experience
So, for starters... why did I make the switch? I decided to give contacts a go, because of how drastically my self-esteem had plummeted during the time of me wearing glasses. I'm aware that there will be people who'll argue and say there are more pressing issues to discuss, and I totally agree - but that shouldn't discredit this internal battle I faced. In the future i'd like to come to write a post on beauty and society etc. but for now, we'll talk about this small fraction of it.
For someone who visibly cringed at the idea of touching an eye, and who swore (despite being told to wear glasses - not full time, yet) that they would never wear contacts, I think it's safe to say that I shocked most people when I decided I wanted to try contact lenses.
Alot of girls in my school had started wearing them, including a relatively good friend of mine. So I thought, if they can all do it - then so can I! And so I asked my parents.
They were skeptical at first, and it took awhile for my mum to book the intial appointment (until I resorted to nagging every day), but finally I was sat in the waiting room at our local Specsavers.
I was terrified. It was only at that moment had it dawned on my that I was about to touch my eyeball. MY EYEBALL. I'd practiced coming to terms with it, and i'd pretend I was putting a contact in whilst wearing glasses and keeping my eyes wide open, so I was familiar with a finger coming close to my eye. But suddenly all the peptalks i'd given myself since the appointment was booked had vanished.
Then my name was called out, and we went into the little consulting room. They'd taken my prescription prior to the appointment so the contacts had been delivered and the optician was taking them out of their packaging, when he told me this. He was going to put it in my eye. I'd been warned about this by my friend, but I had waved it off, thinking it had just been in their case. (NOTE : This isn't done in all opticians, but Specsavers does do this).
I awkwardly smiled, and then he started putting it in. Now, you see... my mind was relatively at ease but for some reason my eyes would not cooperate and after several tries the contact finally went in my eye. Then it was time for the other one. Ack.
I'm going to be honest and say that I did feel very faint and sick after, but the optician was very nice and got me a glass of water and I was fine in no time. This isn't a side affect of the contacts or anything, just that I am a person that's prone to fainting etc.
Initially, it felt like I had an eyelash stuck in my eye, but within a minute - that sensation was gone. I then began to notice everything felt a bit more three dimensional. That sounds weird, as we see in 3D anyway - but I think it's because with glasses, if you keep your head fixated in one place, but then move you eyes to look downwards or sideways - your glasses don't cover that part, so you can't see (unless you turn your whole head around).
Contacts, however are all around your pupil, so if you do move your eyes, and not your head - you can still see. Which is so amazing and got me incredibly excited.
They then checked to see if the contacts caused any negative effects on my eyes, and then sent me off to another optician who would teach me how to remove the contacts. For this bit, thankfully, I did myself.
The instructor talked me through it and then I gave it a few attempts. No one is expected to do it on their first try, and thankfully my instructor was incredibly patient. Once I managed to take my contacts out, I was taught how to put them back in (which, in my opinion, is much easier).
The instructor then gave me the all clear sign, and gave me my free trial contacts (the ones I had in my eye). If you do struggle with putting them in and out at first, they'll most likely re-schedule you for another training appointment before letting you have your free trial. Otherwise, you'll just be expected to return the following week for them to just check how you are finding them and to see whether they're causing any troubles etc.
On the first day of wearing my lenses (same day of the appointment), I was advised to only wear them for 5 hours, just so my eyes would slowly adjust to them. Then, as the days progressed, I could start extending the amount of time I wore them for.
Monthly or Daily?
So usually, the contacts they give you for your free trial will be monthly contacts. These are lenses that you change every month. There are also daily contacts, but these are changed every day. I use monthlys as they work out cheaper, and also are slightly thicker - so they're easier to put in and take out. Especially for beginners. Some say dailys are more comfortable, and whilst I haven't tried dailys myself, I personally find monthlys fine and super comfortable. You will feel them in your eye initially, but after the first few days, you won't feel a thing.
As with anything, there are pros and cons of these two types. With monthlys you have to take extra care with them, because if you accidentally tear one - you can't wear contacts until the month is over and you can wear your new ones. You also can't do spontaneous sleepovers, unless you carry your solution and contact case with you everywhere.
Dailys, however - as I mentioned earlier, are supposedly harder to deal with as they're quite fiddly.
At the end of the day, it depends on you, your routine, and how you plan to use your contact lenses. I'd recommend monthly contacts if you're planning on wearing contacts at the odd event etc. It works for everyday use as well (That's what I do), it's just that buying daily contacts is quite useless if you don't plan to wear them everyday. Dailys are probably best if you tend to lose things easily, as they don't require you looking after them, like monthly lenses do..
However, at the end of the day, these are just my personal recommendations. If they don't work for you, that's perfectly fine.
Info :
I'm now going to go over the basic rules for contacts that your optician will most likely tell you.
So I recently uploaded a post on how I progessively gained confidence with my glasses. The post was written a while back. but I found it in my drafts and I couldn't let it go to waste, as I know how much a post like that would've helped when I was coming to terms with that new change.
However, I am now a daily user of contacts and I wanted to do a post where I could gush about how much I love them and also share a few things i've learnt from wearing them and any tips I can give you if you're considering making the switch from frames to lenses.
My Experience
So, for starters... why did I make the switch? I decided to give contacts a go, because of how drastically my self-esteem had plummeted during the time of me wearing glasses. I'm aware that there will be people who'll argue and say there are more pressing issues to discuss, and I totally agree - but that shouldn't discredit this internal battle I faced. In the future i'd like to come to write a post on beauty and society etc. but for now, we'll talk about this small fraction of it.
For someone who visibly cringed at the idea of touching an eye, and who swore (despite being told to wear glasses - not full time, yet) that they would never wear contacts, I think it's safe to say that I shocked most people when I decided I wanted to try contact lenses.
Alot of girls in my school had started wearing them, including a relatively good friend of mine. So I thought, if they can all do it - then so can I! And so I asked my parents.
They were skeptical at first, and it took awhile for my mum to book the intial appointment (until I resorted to nagging every day), but finally I was sat in the waiting room at our local Specsavers.
I was terrified. It was only at that moment had it dawned on my that I was about to touch my eyeball. MY EYEBALL. I'd practiced coming to terms with it, and i'd pretend I was putting a contact in whilst wearing glasses and keeping my eyes wide open, so I was familiar with a finger coming close to my eye. But suddenly all the peptalks i'd given myself since the appointment was booked had vanished.
Then my name was called out, and we went into the little consulting room. They'd taken my prescription prior to the appointment so the contacts had been delivered and the optician was taking them out of their packaging, when he told me this. He was going to put it in my eye. I'd been warned about this by my friend, but I had waved it off, thinking it had just been in their case. (NOTE : This isn't done in all opticians, but Specsavers does do this).
I awkwardly smiled, and then he started putting it in. Now, you see... my mind was relatively at ease but for some reason my eyes would not cooperate and after several tries the contact finally went in my eye. Then it was time for the other one. Ack.
I'm going to be honest and say that I did feel very faint and sick after, but the optician was very nice and got me a glass of water and I was fine in no time. This isn't a side affect of the contacts or anything, just that I am a person that's prone to fainting etc.
Initially, it felt like I had an eyelash stuck in my eye, but within a minute - that sensation was gone. I then began to notice everything felt a bit more three dimensional. That sounds weird, as we see in 3D anyway - but I think it's because with glasses, if you keep your head fixated in one place, but then move you eyes to look downwards or sideways - your glasses don't cover that part, so you can't see (unless you turn your whole head around).
Contacts, however are all around your pupil, so if you do move your eyes, and not your head - you can still see. Which is so amazing and got me incredibly excited.
They then checked to see if the contacts caused any negative effects on my eyes, and then sent me off to another optician who would teach me how to remove the contacts. For this bit, thankfully, I did myself.
The instructor talked me through it and then I gave it a few attempts. No one is expected to do it on their first try, and thankfully my instructor was incredibly patient. Once I managed to take my contacts out, I was taught how to put them back in (which, in my opinion, is much easier).
The instructor then gave me the all clear sign, and gave me my free trial contacts (the ones I had in my eye). If you do struggle with putting them in and out at first, they'll most likely re-schedule you for another training appointment before letting you have your free trial. Otherwise, you'll just be expected to return the following week for them to just check how you are finding them and to see whether they're causing any troubles etc.
On the first day of wearing my lenses (same day of the appointment), I was advised to only wear them for 5 hours, just so my eyes would slowly adjust to them. Then, as the days progressed, I could start extending the amount of time I wore them for.
Monthly or Daily?
So usually, the contacts they give you for your free trial will be monthly contacts. These are lenses that you change every month. There are also daily contacts, but these are changed every day. I use monthlys as they work out cheaper, and also are slightly thicker - so they're easier to put in and take out. Especially for beginners. Some say dailys are more comfortable, and whilst I haven't tried dailys myself, I personally find monthlys fine and super comfortable. You will feel them in your eye initially, but after the first few days, you won't feel a thing.
As with anything, there are pros and cons of these two types. With monthlys you have to take extra care with them, because if you accidentally tear one - you can't wear contacts until the month is over and you can wear your new ones. You also can't do spontaneous sleepovers, unless you carry your solution and contact case with you everywhere.
Dailys, however - as I mentioned earlier, are supposedly harder to deal with as they're quite fiddly.
At the end of the day, it depends on you, your routine, and how you plan to use your contact lenses. I'd recommend monthly contacts if you're planning on wearing contacts at the odd event etc. It works for everyday use as well (That's what I do), it's just that buying daily contacts is quite useless if you don't plan to wear them everyday. Dailys are probably best if you tend to lose things easily, as they don't require you looking after them, like monthly lenses do..
However, at the end of the day, these are just my personal recommendations. If they don't work for you, that's perfectly fine.
Info :
I'm now going to go over the basic rules for contacts that your optician will most likely tell you.
- Don't mix your solution and water together. Your solution is what cleans your contacts from anything it's collected whilst being in your eye (smoke particles from people smoking nearby etc). You don't want to mix these two liquids as it can cause eye infections as water is not germ free.
- Don't have showers/ baths with your contacts in. As mentioned before, water and solution aren't a good match. Well, neither are water and contacts. Water can cause your contacts to change shape/swell/stick to the eye. Saying that, there are times i've showered with contacts (if guests are coming later, and i'm too lazy to remove my lenses and then put them in again), however as long as you keep your eyes shut and strategically cleanse yourself, avoiding too much water contact with your face - you're good. Also, this doesn't really apply to rainwater - so don't fret if it starts to rain!
- Change your solution. If you have dailys, this shouldn't be a problem, but with monthlys it's important to constantly change your solution when you put them in their case etc. Keeping the same solution can cause infections. HOWEVER, don't wash your solution out with water (for reasons that you now know!)
- Ensure the lense is the right way round. It's hard to explain without photos, but your optician will go through this with you. To keep it brief, you want you lense to be bowl shaped. If it appears slightly flat, then it's the wrong way round. If this detail goes over your head, you'll feel it anyway as the sensation won't be very nice and feel a bit like sand etc.
I think those are the main things, but there may be things i've missed - but those are the key points when dealing with contact lenses.
So for things i've sort of discovered along the way, I definitely find it useful- for when i'm taking my contacts out, to have prefilled my contact case with the solution, so I can pop the lense in straight away instead of hold it carefully whilst I fill the case.
Makeup wise, I prefer putting my lense in before I start applying my makeup. This is so I don't smudge anything. However, if you do this then be extra careful when putting on mascara as you don't want to get any product on your lense.
Sometimes if my contact does feel a bit odd in my eye, I close my eyes and shift them from side to side, before opening again. This usually stops the contact from feeling strange. If this doesn't work after a few tries, there is chance you've put your lense in wrong- which is fine, just remove it, put it back in the solution and then try again, ensuring it's the right way round this time.
Another thing i've noticed with contacts is that sometimes I can't focus on things. This happens rarely and isn't a huge problem, as usually if I look away and then look back then it would have adjusted back to normal. This is something my friends who where contacts also find, but don't worry- it's nothing huge!
Unless you're a pro, try keep your nails short. This just makes the whole process of removing your contacts less stressful and much easier.
Also, ensure you give your eyes breathing space. If there are days where you don't have to wear contacts (i.e you're not going anywhere and you're having a bit of a lazy day etc) , then don't wear them! Wearing contact lenses for long hours, every single day is really bad for your eyes and can cause them to go red. It's fine using them daily, but ensure you remove them the minute you can and have days where you don't wear them.
And that brings this post to an end! I wanted to add some contact myths that I could bust, and the best part of wearing contacts but I think this post is long enough. Though, if you's like to see something like that, feel free to let me know. I have no regrets in making the switch. My confidence has flourished, and whilst i'm still insecure about aspects of myself, i've grown to love myself a bit more . Thank you for reading (especially if you read all of that!) and i'll see you next time! Bye :)
- The Blogtique xx
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