Why Don’t We Recommend 22 mm Colored Contact Lenses?

Colored contact lenses have become increasingly popular in recent years, as they let you easily play with your eye color. A new splash of color in your eyes can be a fun way to change up your look day to day or to add a fantastic effect to a costume, and colored contacts are completely safe to wear when they’re prescribed and fitted by your eye doctor.

Today, however, there are many different types of colored contact lenses on the market that vary in material, size, color, and pattern. The dazzling effect these lenses provide makes buyers gradually ignore safety issues that might be involved. With the popularity of cosplay, we’ve found that many people on the Internet have tried to wear 22 mm colored contact lenses. It’s difficult to get a sense of the size of 22 mm without having them in front of you; in short, 22 mm colored contact lenses, also called full-eye lenses or sclera lenses, cover almost the entire visible portion of your eye. We can’t definitively prove that they're always unsafe, but we want to help you stay informed about the hazards associated with 22 mm lenses to make sure you don't unknowingly put your eyes at risk.

Most people have an iris diameter of about 11–12 mm. When you wear 22 mm colored contact lenses, they will completely cover the iris and sclera. In fact, 22 mm lenses are usually too large for our eyes. It is more difficult to put them in than regular-sized lenses because you need to force your eyes open with your fingers for the lenses to be inserted smoothly. Once you’re wearing them, you'll be hard-pressed to ignore them. Every time you move your eyes, you will feel an uncomfortable sensation, like something irritating is stuck in them. When dust accidentally gets into your eyes, you can keep blinking to get rid of that feeling, but you won’t be able to remove the 22mm lenses by blinking.

Everyone’s eyes have a unique shape, and 22 mm lenses cannot fit everyone’s eyes perfectly. This isn’t just like wearing the wrong shoe size; poorly fitted colored contacts can scratch your cornea, potentially leading to a corneal ulcer, also called keratitis. Keratitis can permanently damage your vision and even cause blindness. Therefore, it is crucial that only people who have been given a prescription for 22 mm colored contact lenses by a doctor wear them. Anyone who is considering wearing these lenses should speak to their optometrist to find out if they are a suitable candidate.

Always remember that the eyes need to take in oxygen. 22 mm colored contact lenses may prevent oxygen exchange in the eyes because the paints and pigments used to add color to the lenses make them thicker and less breathable. When you wear these lenses for long periods of time, their oxygen permeability will further decrease. Then they can block your eyes from getting the oxygen they need, leading to hypoxia. If the eyes become starved of oxygen, they will run the risk of sustaining corneal damage and accelerating the death of corneal endothelial cells. What’s worse, some colored contact lens manufacturers use inferior materials to produce lenses with even poorer oxygen permeability. Once you put them in, your vision is at risk.

Therefore, for the health of your eyes, we recommend choosing colored contact lenses with the correct diameter and base curve according to your prescription rather than wearing 22 mm lenses for an exaggerated effect. We at Unicoeye offer colored contact lenses in a variety of colors and patterns, ranging from 14 mm to 14.5 mm. They can make your eyes look bigger and brighter and help you complete an amazing look, making you stand out at a costume party, on Halloween night, or at another fun event.