Prescription Colored Contacts: The Complete Guide 2026

Yes, they do. Unopened lenses generally stay good for 2 to 4 years from the manufacture date, so I recommend checking the expiration date printed on each box or foil pack. Once opened, the clock starts: daily disposables must be thrown away after one wear, while monthly lenses are good for about 30 days after opening. Wearing expired lenses is risky — the material degrades, which can reduce oxygen flow and raise the risk of irritation or infection. When in doubt, use a fresh pair from a sealed pack.

OD stands for oculus dexter, which is Latin for your right eye, and OS stands for oculus sinister, your left eye. Your two eyes often need different powers, so I recommend entering each eye separately at checkout. You may also see OU, which means both eyes, when the values are identical. Match the OD numbers on your prescription to the right-eye fields and the OS numbers to the left-eye fields, and we’ll build your lenses to the correct power for each side.

No, they’re different. A glasses prescription includes sphere, cylinder, and axis, but a contact lens prescription adds the base curve (BC), diameter (DIA), and lens type, because contacts sit directly on your eye instead of in front of it. That’s why I can’t simply convert your glasses numbers into contact lens values — they have to come from a contact lens fitting. Please use the contact lens prescription your eye care professional gave you when ordering, so I can match your lenses to the correct fit and power.

BC stands for base curve, and it describes the curvature of the lens’s inner surface, or how closely it hugs your cornea. It’s measured in millimeters, and for our colored contacts the common range is about 8.4 to 8.7 mm. A well-matched base curve keeps the lens centered and comfortable and lets tears flow underneath, while a curve that’s too flat or too steep can cause shifting, discomfort, or blurry vision. I recommend using the BC value printed on your contact lens prescription rather than guessing.

Prescription colored contacts correct nearsightedness or farsightedness while changing your eye color, so they do double duty as vision correction. Plano (0.00) colored contacts are purely cosmetic — they change or enhance your eye color without changing how you see. Both come in the same colors and styles, and both require a valid prescription. U.S. regulations require a valid prescription for all contact lenses, including zero-power cosmetic lenses. At checkout I’ll ask you to choose your sphere power or 0.00 so I can verify your order before shipping.

Yes, most of our styles are available with a prescription. Just pick your color, choose your size, and enter your sphere (SPH) power for each eye at checkout, or select 0.00 if you want plano. I verify every prescription before shipping to make sure your order matches your eye care professional’s specifications. Prescription and plano options sit on the same product pages, so there’s nothing extra to fill in beyond your power. If you’re not sure what to enter, send us your prescription and I’ll help you place the order.