Makeup Tips For Contact Lens Wearers

This month’s post was originally going to discuss eye makeup tips for everyone, whether you wear contacts or not, but an interesting patient encounter last week prompted me to address contact lens wearers first. A young woman came in for her yearly eye exam and contact lens renewal complaining that a few hours after putting her contacts in her eyes the lenses became foggy and she had trouble seeing. She was wearing a two week lens, meaning she takes it out every night and cleans it and puts in a fresh lens every two weeks. This kind of contact lens usage can lead to a condition called GPC (giant papillary conjunctivitis) where one becomes sensitive/allergic to the proteins that build up on the lens over time. At first I thought this is what she had but when I looked at her contacts under the biomicroscope I immediately saw that her contacts were coated with bronze shimmery deposits that looked nothing like anything found in nature and everything like someone took blobs of makeup and threw them on her contact lenses. This prompted a conversation about her makeup habits, which actually were not bad except that when the problem would not go away she decided to put her makeup on first and then put the contact lens in. Bad move, it only made things worse. Next month we will talk more about makeup and eyes but here are some quick tips specifically about contacts and makeup.

1. Contacts first, makeup second, and wash your hands first!
2. Using primer on your lids prevents eye shadow from creeping into your eyes and onto your contacts, I like the one by Urban Decay.  
3. Do not use eyeliner on your waterline – it will clog every oil gland you own and cause dry eye as well as migrating onto your contacts. 
4. Use high quality eyeliner – I love Urban Decay 24/7, NYX waterproof retractable eye liner and Marc Jacobs Highliner gel eye crayon – they stay put without sliding around.  
5. At the end of the day remove contacts first then remove your eye makeup.
6. Daily disposable contacts will help prevent sensitivity to accidental buildup of anything on your lenses, whether it be makeup or proteins, this is the safest and healthiest way to successfully wear contact lenses.