Wow Your Patients With This Daily Disposable Eye-enhancing Lens

Adding a beauty component to a proven daily disposable lens brings excitement to vision correction.

Optometrist Carla Barnett of Newport Eye Physicians in Newport Beach, Calif., has been fitting daily disposable contact lenses whenever possible since 1995, and in the last 3 years, the percentage of her patients wearing them has held steady at an astounding 99%. In fact, whenever Dr. Barnett sees a new patient, she assumes she’ll be prescribing a 1-day lens, because she takes full advantage of every brand available in this modality. What’s her opinion of the new 1-DAY ACUVUE^® DEFINE^™ lens?

“This is the most exciting contact lens to come along in the 30 years I’ve been practicing optometry,” Dr. Barnett says. “Most of the patients I see enjoy wearing contact lenses. Patients consider them a necessity for their best vision. The DEFINE^™ lens has the extra punch of being exciting to wear, something that makes their eyes, and in fact, their whole face, look brighter. It’s really a breakthrough product.”

Natural Beauty

DEFINE^™ lenses were developed to enhance — not change — the natural color of the eye. The iris-inspired patterns, which are enclosed within the lens, use shadows and highlights to add definition and depth to the iris, while the limbal ring helps to create the illusion of a brighter, whiter sclera.

Dr. Barnett notes other cosmetic contact lenses have a layer of color on the surface, which can affect comfort and cosmesis. “In photographs, people who are wearing them look fine, but in person, something appears off about the way their eyes look,” she says. “Our eyes are such an expression of our sincerity and our feelings that when they look off, something about us looks off.

“The DEFINE^™ lens is totally different, because the pattern is around the limbal area,” Dr. Barnett says. “It doesn’t give the eyes a flat look, and the limbal ring makes the whites of the eyes look whiter, which patients appreciate. The lens will appear unique on each patient. You really have to try it on to appreciate it.”

Unrestricted Vision, UV Protection

Dr. Barnett notes vision through the DEFINE^™ lens is unimpeded. “Unlike color contact lenses, the DEFINE^™ lens doesn’t have an overall tint or a small hole-punch pupil, which can interfere with vision,” she says. “The vision through the DEFINE^™ lens is the same as it would be through a clear lens.”^¶

The 1-DAY ACUVUE^® DEFINE^™ lens is based on the 1-DAY ACUVUE^® MOIST platform. “That’s a good thing,” Dr. Barnett says, “because the MOIST lens is a fabulous lens, and many people already wear it. So it’s an easy transition for them to try it.

“And if all of that weren’t great enough,” she adds. ”DEFINE^™ lenses also have UV protection,^*† which really knocks it out of the park as far as being a useful and desirable contact lens to wear.”

Candidates Abound

Dr. Barnett offers the DEFINE^™ lens to all of her contact lens patients, but she’s found most enthusiastic patients are women age 40 and older. “They’re the patients who want this lens immediately and are really excited about it,” she says. “They’re interested in improving their appearance and having their eyes look whiter, brighter and more youthful.”

To uncover potential candidates in this group, Dr. Barnett asks patients if they ever use skin rejuvenating products, fillers or products to grow thicker eyelashes. “Anyone who uses aesthetic enhancing products or procedures would definitely be interested in this lens,” she says.

Dr. Barnett has identified other patient types who may be interested in the DEFINE^™ lens. “I wouldn’t neglect anyone who speaks in public, such as attorneys, teachers, pastors and business people,” she says. “I also discuss it with teens and tweens, particularly young girls who are starting to use eye makeup. With the DEFINE^™ lens, they can enhance their eyes without makeup, and they’ll gain the health benefits of vision correction and UV protection.”^*†

Choosing to Enhance Their Eyes

“There are more than 20 1-day lenses — spherical, toric, multifocal — and I use all of them,” Dr. Barnett says. “The DEFINE^™ lens is the crown on top. It makes the sclera look whiter and the iris look brighter for an overall youthful effect. DEFINE^™ is a contact lens that patients wear not because they have to, but because they want to.” ■