CONTACTS IN FOCUS

Subtle Sells

A new contact lens category meets the latest trend of natural beauty enhancers

eye enhancement contact lenses have been popular in Asia for some time and are now getting attention here in the U.S. as well.

As opposed to colored contact lenses, the point is to add depth and definition without changing the eye’s natural color. The new 1-Day ACUVUE DEFINE brand contact lenses with LACREON Technology use iris-inspired designs with an outer darker limbal ring to do just that. When patients wear the new lenses, contrast is created between the iris and the sclera—along with an inner translucent light-effects pattern.

ENHANCED, NOT FAKE

Susan A. Resnick, O.D., FAAO, who practices in New York City, says that an enhanced natural look is right on target with the latest trends. She believes the lenses, created by Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc., are poised to really take off.

“As good as colored contact lenses were, they were not the most natural-looking product,” says Dr. Resnick, who is a diplomate, Cornea and Contact Lenses, American Academy of Optometry, as well as a diplomate of the American Board of Optometry. “If you think about where the beauty category as a whole is right now, it’s mostly moving toward organic or natural products,” she adds. “People are not trying to cover up. They’re just trying to make themselves better. That’s what these lenses do—they enhance the natural color of the eye, making it really pop.”

Clinically, Dr. Resnick says that these enhanced lenses are essentially the same as a clear lens—they just have the limbal ring printed on. She adds that they also make the eyes look a little “wider” and “more alert” and compares it to wearing makeup.

“Having worn them myself, I can tell you there’s a feeling to having them on,” Dr. Resnick says. “I feel like I look sleepier when I’m not wearing them. My eyes don’t look as alert. For the patient, there’s definitely an emotional connection to wearing the lenses.”

See the subtle difference: no lens on left, DEFINE lens on right

THE RIGHT WORDS

In her own practice, she is targeting patients who are in daily lenses, assuming they don’t need correction for astigmatism since the enhancement lenses don’t offer that.

“There are certainly clinical reasons why I can’t switch everyone over, but those who can should be given the option,” Dr. Resnick explains. “It does require some education. For those not already in a daily, you do need to have the talk about why a daily might be better, so those patients are a little bit more work in terms of transitioning.”

ECPs should pay attention to the language used when selling a lens like this, she adds. “The doctor has to get the verbiage right. You can’t write a script for it, but you can consider some of the words you use. Women often want to hear how it will enhance their beauty—make their natural eye color pop and their eyes look wider. You might take a bit of a different approach with men. I usually tell them it will make them more noticeable.”

To keep the conversation going, Dr. Resnick has P.O.P. about the product in the exam room and has added information about it on the practice’s Facebook page and website.

TRAINING

As for staff, Dr. Resnick says she did a one-hour training that took over a single staff meeting. “Also, having [staff] wear the product is really important. It not only gives them credibility when they talk to a patient, but it helps them understand the product and how it works.”

Keeping the patient informed is, of course, the key to success, Dr. Resnick adds. An ECP has to want to be in this category to see it grow. “It’s not going to fly off the shelves by itself,” she says. “It requires a bit of work—a bit of education. But I could see it having some very steady growth.”

How much growth? “It may be similar to the colored lens category,” she concludes, “but it has a lot more potential. It’s more natural, more comfortable, and it requires less chair time.”

— Lindsey Getz