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Question of the month: Can I wear coloured contact lenses after laser eye surgery?

Published on 20th September 2017

Coloured contact lenses are worn to enhance or change the natural eye colour and can be bought in different prescription strengths, or just for cosmetic purposes. This type of contact lens can still be worn after laser eye surgery, however you will probably want to wait a few weeks after undergoing any type of surgery.

With LASIK surgery the recommended wait time would be two to three months, as this allows you to ensure that the eye is properly healed and won’t be damaged by the coloured contact lens.

If you're having LASEK surgery the wait time is about one month. The wait times vary on the different types of laser eye surgery because in LASIK surgery a thin corneal flap is formed, where as in LASEK the surface layer of cells are displaced. Find out more about LASIK and LASEK here.

However finding contact lenses (coloured or clear) that successfully fit on eyes that have undergone laser surgery may be more challenging. This is because laser surgery can alter the curvature of the front surface of the eye meaning not every lens will fit correctly. It is very important to get fitted properly for contact lenses to maintain the health of the cornea.

It’s therefore best to speak to your treating surgeon for their recommendations on how long to wait before wearing contacts again, and for help in finding contact lenses that correctly fit the eyes.

Read our frequently asked questions here to find out more information about laser eye surgery.