In the late 1990s, around 15% of the contact lens market were colored contact lenses. Currently, they represent less than 3%. Reasons include, the available choices to tint a lens were in soft-hydrogyl material and the market has moved to higher oxygen silicone-hydrogyl. Some of the declining interest was due to the comfort and handling of the original material. Also, some people never embraced the "artificial look" that was visible with the fixed pupil lenses. Finally, colored contact lenses, like any trend tend to go in and out of style.

Today the available choices we have include two categories and many colors. On the Air Optix website, you can go through a virtual try-on to see what your best color would be. Oasys and Focus Dailies also have great tint options. Colored contacts can be a fun option for patients who want to spice up their wardrobe or wear a unique lens on a special occasion.