Beauty Wrapped in Eye Health

Excellent clinical performance and elegant eye enhancement please this practitioner and his patients.

Lawrence Phillips, OD, Cambridge, Mass., is such a strong believer in the benefits of daily disposable contact lenses that when he sees a contact lens patient for the first time, he performs a comprehensive examination, takes a brief contact lens history, and sends the patient home with a week’s supply of 1-day lenses and an appointment to return in a week. Although he admits that this is an unusual approach, his reasoning, he says, is that he believes the daily disposable modality is the most convenient and healthiest way to wear a contact lens. This is essential for healthy, white, beautiful-looking eyes.

Healthy Eyes

“I like to recommend a lens that creates the healthiest environment for the eye possible. A one-day lens is the state-of-the-art lens, for us as optometrists, to give the patient the best experience possible,” Dr. Phillips says. “When people come in for contact lenses, it’s likely they’re wearing their last pair and they’ve worn them a bit longer than they should have. When they return to my office after wearing 1-day lenses for a week, their eyes usually look nicely oxygenated and less irritated, so my ocular assessment is more accurate. In addition, I’ve given them an opportunity to try 1-day lenses and decide if they’d like to continue with them. Using this approach, I’ve been quite successful getting many people’s eyes back on track.”

Dr. Phillips has been introducing patients to the 1-DAY ACUVUE^® DEFINE^™ lens in much the same way, because he is confident these lenses, with the same oxygen transmissibility as the 1-DAY ACUVUE^® MOIST lens, will support the health of the eyes while adding a new benefit. “Not only am I giving them a lens that breathes well, I’m also giving them something new in the beauty category,” he says.

Natural Beauty Trend

Dr. Phillips has fitted color contact lenses over the years but found them wanting. “They don’t look real, and when they don’t look real, they don’t look elegant,” he says. “The DEFINE^™ lens, however, actually enhances the wearer’s natural eye color without changing it. It’s like a marriage of health and elegance.”

Dr. Phillips has noticed a trend toward natural beauty elsewhere in his practice. He frequently hosts special events, such as demonstrations by makeup artists, to attract patients to his optical. “Their philosophy is to enhance, not change, a person’s look,” he says. “Within the same month that we hosted a Bobbi Brown event, I was introduced to the DEFINE^™ contact lens, which also follows this philosophy.”

Introducing DEFINE^™

Dr. Phillips believes practitioners should present the DEFINE^™ lens to as many patients as possible. He has developed an efficient presentation. “After an accurate refraction, I have patients apply 1-day lenses in their updated prescription,” he says. “I now have their utmost attention and confidence, as they are more comfortable and seeing more clearly than when they first came in. I then discuss the benefits of what I’ve just done and give them trial lenses to wear for a week. If I feel they will enjoy what the DEFINE^™ lens will do for their eyes — and I feel most people will — I also give them trials of DEFINE^™.”

Dr. Phillips uses the DEFINE^™ website and pamphlets to show patients how the lenses look on the eye. He explains that this new lens will help support healthy eyes while also enhancing them. “I tell them that not only is this lens proven in the health category, but it’s a brand new lens in the beauty category made by Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Companies. I close with, ‘I think it’s something you might like. So I’ll be interested in your feedback.’” So far, the feedback has been positive. “Patients tell me, ‘I love them, because I see the difference, and I feel great,’ ” Dr. Phillips says. “There is a hint of new confidence some of them experience.”

Dr. Phillips may recommend DEFINE^™ lenses for occasional wear. “When patients are pleased with the lenses but reluctant to purchase a year’s supply, I encourage them to buy a 3- or 6-month supply,” he says. “That’s the great thing about a 1-day lens. If you don’t use them, you don’t open them, and when you do want them, they’re available to you.”

Healthy Enhancement

“What I love about the DEFINE^™ lens is that it’s a healthy lens to wear,” Dr. Phillips says. “It combines all the benefits of the MOIST lens — embedded moisture agent, UV-blocking, daily disposable modality — with a natural eye-enhancing effect.” ■