In Defense of the Dispensable

Have slipped in the blogging department, but mainly because I'm still in the "testing" phase for a lot of items, as a lot of the things I'm currently using are either new or have already been reviewed. Also, I'm compiling MORE make-up pictures instead, and it's so hard to find good lighting sometimes. Hence, today will be a NO PICTURE post, but it's gonna be a lengthy one because I just encountered something so amazing that I feel like angels are singing behind me, hahaha.

What happened? Well, I made the switch from permanent lens to disposable lenses. *hallelujah*

"Permanent lens? What is that anyway?" I hear the younger generation ask. Honestly, most optical stores that you see in shopping malls will 95% not make permanent lens. The only reason why I use it is because... I grew up with it. I started wearing contact lens at a very young age (still in primary school, if you must know), and I stuck with permanent lens because that is what my mother, father and sister wear as well. My parents like permanent lenses because they think that permanent = lasts foreverly forever, unless you drop it into the toilet bowl / down the sink.

IN FACT, IT IS NOT MEANT TO LAST FOREVER. Sure, you can still use it, but it's not hygienic and there could be microscopic tears and scratches that will only further worsen the condition of your eyes. In fact, I had multiple "bad" experiences wearing my permanent lenses for so long, and each time, they are solved by changing the lenses. And it still didn't hit me that duh, stop using the lenses for so long then. I was so stingy that if my left eye was having problems, then I would just change the lens for the left eye.

Things got so bad that sometimes I don't know whether there's permanent damage (prayfully, not!) or whether it is the cosmetics that I am using that is aggravating the condition. Of course, there are some eyeshadows / eyeliners that have more fall out or can cause you to tear more easily. To me, I would just avoid that brand, but miraculously, when I wear spectacles + make-up, I don't encounter such a bad reaction?

Finally, after wearing my spectacles for a few weeks, I got tired and honestly, afraid of wearing my permanent lens. There was one time that it was itching and tearing up so bad and nothing I did was helping. No eye drops, no amount of washing, etc, could help me. I spent a week wearing spectacles because that is about the amount of time you require to "rest" your eyes before doing an eye exam if you're a contact lens wearer. I told my husband to fetch me to Malaya Optical during the weekend because that is the only optician I know that still does permanent lens (aka RGP lenses - Rigid Gas Permeable). Actually, the pricing there is quite fair... I believe they quoted me around RM600-RM700 for a pair, which is lower than the private clinic optician that quotes nearly a thousand for it. This would explain why my parents are VERY VERY reluctant to change their lenses frequently. Guess what? In fact, even though it's "permanent", the MAX amount of time you are supposed to use it for is ONE YEAR. So don't think you are "saving money" by going permanent... it could even be more expensive in the long run.

Why didn't I try disposable lenses way earlier? Well, other than "being afraid of the unknown", it was also the fact that I have pretty bad eyesight and the "power" required is high. The last time I checked, disposable lenses only went up to around 500+. To be honest, I'm not sure whether this is for normal lenses or colored lenses, it could be only colored lenses goes up to 500+. Regardless, it was a good excuse for me to not use disposable lenses (using the unknown). It is also the reason why I don't wear colored contact lenses like other beauty bloggers, and why I don't wear iris enlarging lenses (aside from the fact that I have small eyes and this will make me look like Ju-On).

My husband was lazy to drive me to that particular optician branch, so he said, why don't we just go to the shopping center within walking distance from our house, and ask around. I was sooooo sure that they won't have it because the shopping center is not that big, plus, like I said, RGP is becoming rare! But since he is lazy to drive me, but hardworking to walk around the shopping complex, I said ok.

The first store I went to in the shopping center just bluntly told me no they don't do permanent lenses. The highest they go to for disposable lenses (I was just asking for the sake of asking, I wasn't really interested) was around 600. Well, that's definitely too low, I told them. Thanked them and left. There was just one more optical store in the shopping center, and it was more tucked away. If the large one on the ground floor didn't have it, it was doubtful this one would. My husband insisted anyway, so I trudged along. When I arrived, the shop displayed mostly sunglasses and glasses frames. There were no boxes of disposable lenses, so I was already realllllly sure he would have to drive me to make RGP lenses after all. :)

The lady at the counter said they don't make RGP lenses.... well, no surprise there. I was ready to leave, but unlike the blur guys in the shop downstairs, she was more persistent. Why don't I try disposable? Power don't go up high enough? How bad was my eyesight? Disposable lenses now go up to power 1200! I was like whaaaaat? Really? How much is it? She recommended me AirOptix and it costs RM50 for a box of 3 lenses (note: 3 lenses, not 3 pairs!) and it will last me for a month. They even have a promotion of buy 3 boxes and get 1 free, so RM150 for 12 lenses (6 pairs). If you really do change your permanent lenses every year, then it's definitely cheaper to go for disposables! Plus, it's not as heart-breaking if you lose one side of your lenses, because you have a spare one (or you can just buy another box! Not breaking the bank!), unlike when you lose a permanent lens. Nobody knows the panic of losing one side of your contact lens as much as your perma lens wearer, hehe!

Since this lady was soooo nice, and she taught me for soooo long how to care for my disposable lenses... I thought why not. It's just RM50. If it doesn't work out, I will just make my husband drive me to get my RGP lenses after all. So I bought it, and of course, I didn't wear it straight away. It was night time. Decided to test it out the next day, when I worked from home. I can still remember, it was 11th June. :P

The moment I tore open the packaging, I was already aghast. A total WTF moment for me, this silicon hydrogel lens looks to be DOUBLE the size of my permanent lens!! Plus plus plus... my eye is small!! How the heck is it going to go in!! I was very doubtful, and I'm not lying when I say that it took me 30 minutes to put on my contact lenses. Really thankful that I was working from home that day, else I will be super duper late to work!! I don't really have tips on how to make it work but:
a. your eye is big enough, it will go in. Tell yourself that and stay positive.
b. if it helps, push your lashes UPWARDS and AWAY from your eye so that it doesn't block the lenses from going in
c. favorite position is to slide the lens from bottom to top so that it bypasses the eyelash barrier. Do not blink until you are really sure it is inside!
[do not read the above with any double entendre. This is a clean post! -___-]

After the first time, it just got faster and faster. I try to rush myself, and to stay positive. Of course, it would still be easier with my RGP lenses, but I'm never going back. There's just way too many good reasons to stay with disposable lenses. My eyes do NOT encounter any bad reaction with the cosmetic products, so I'm free to wear as much make-up as I like. It really feels SO comfortable, really like I'm not wearing any lenses at all. Sometimes with RGP, I blink and I'm aware that there's a hard little thing covering my eyeballs. With disposable lenses, I literally feel nothing! The only thing is that now it's easier for people to tell that I wear lenses because the lenses are so big. =p

In short, here is my pro & cons list, though I doubt there would be many people who actually are still using RGP lenses for me to convince. =p

Permanent Lenses	Disposable Lenses
About RM600-RM700 per pair. For one year, will be RM600-RM700 if you don't lose any lenses!	About RM50 for a box of 3. For one year (with no promotions), will be RM600. Could be cheaper with promotions and such!
Caring for your lens: Change solution for soaking once a week, and once a month, have to do some special cleansing wash. This was taught to me when I was younger, not sure if it has since changed?	Caring for your lens: Change solution for soaking DAILY, no other special cleansing wash needed. Just throw away after one month.
Expensive if you're unlucky enough to lose a lens. If you try to use longer than 1 year, discomfort may occur.	Spare lens given with the box, and if you NEVER lose a lens, you can stretch your cost to RM400 a year instead of RM600. If you try to use longer than a month, discomfort may occur.
Easy to put in the lens because lens is small. However, because it's HARD lens, some people might feel it sitting uncomfortably on their eyeball.	For small eyed folk like myself, hard to put in because it has a bigger diameter. However, because made of silicon hydrogel, very comfortable and molds to the eyeball easily. More comfortable as well because the material is more "breathable"
Personally, less hygienic because it's easier to take it for granted.	Forces you to be more hygienic, in a way
Prone to irritants because it doesn't mold to the eyeball. Sand, wind, dust, etc can cause tearing	So far, no tearing at all!!

In conclusion, safe to say that I'm not going back to hard lenses after more than a decade of using it. I'm also very excited to see whether there are disposable COLORED lenses with power that can match mine. :) Would be interesting to change my "look", though not drastically. Thinking of a soft brown color lens or something, hehehe. I'm very happy with how my trial run with disposable lenses have been!