Types of Contact Lenses
Other factors that significantly affect the costs of contact lenses are the tints, materials, and type.
Materials and Tint
The following materials are commonly used to create a contact lens:
- Rigid gas permeable lenses/Hard lenses: Hard lenses are produced using stiff plastic, like polymethyl methacrylate. They are usually cheaper than soft lenses and are less likely to tear.
- Soft lenses: Soft lenses are produced using flexible plastics, such as silicone hydrogel or hydrogel.
There are various types of tinted contact lenses. The most common ones are:
- Opaque: This type of tint completely alters the natural color of the eye. That is, if your natural eye color is blue and you wear a brown contact lens, your eyes will look brown. You can also switch to more sophisticated colors, like red or green.
- Color enhancement: These types of lenses improve the color of the iris, but they do not completely change the color of the eye. They mostly improve the natural color of your eye.
- Visibility tinted: This type of tint does not change the natural color of the eye. However, it is a bit tinted.