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Have you heard about those cool new Transitions contact lenses? No, you didn’t read that wrong Transitions contact lenses do exist today in 2019 and it is one of the most fascinating innovations, TIME magazine even recognized these new lenses as one of their Best Inventions of 2018. Johnson & Johnson and Transitions Optical teamed up to create a one of a kind innovative contact lenses that come included with Transitions Light Intelligent Technology. These contact lenses seamlessly adapt to light outside to provide a comfortable viewing experience all day long. I was able to get my hands on one of these new lenses to try out, so take a look below to find out about how these new contact lenses work, photos, and more!
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Acuvue Oasys with Transitions
I still remember the day back in 2005 when my doctor switched me to the Acuvue Oasys contact lenses. They were one of the most comfortable contact lenses that I had ever worn up to this time, and since then Johnson & Johnson have continued to create more and more innovative contact lenses through their Acuvue brand.
Recently, Johnson & Johnson teamed up with Transition Optical and introduced their brand new Acuvue Oasys with Transition Light Intelligent Technology. These lenses are the results of the partnership and over 10 years of research and development. These contact lenses have a filter that automatically darkens the lenses to help filter the amount of light coming into your eyes to give you the most comfortable viewing experience possible. The head of contact lens research and development at Johnson & Johnson David Turner had mentioned in an interview “We had to overcome a huge technology hurdle to make this happen”.
I don’t know about you guys but for me personally, I find this technology amazing, as someone that has worn Transition lenses pretty much all my life I never thought I’d see the day these would be available in a contact lens, but here we are.
What is a Transitions lens?
If you are an eyeglass wearer you may have been offered those lenses that transition from clear to dark whenever you wear your glasses outdoors, some of you may even be wearing a pair.
A Transitions lens is a specific brand of photochromic lenses which work by adapting to the changing light conditions to help reduce any unwanted glare. These lenses automatically darken when you are out in the sun, and return to clear whenever you are back indoors. You can also find this type of lens under other terms such as “light-adaptive lenses”, “variable tint lenses”, or “photochromic lenses”.
Started as a joint venture between PPG Industries and Essilor International. Manufacturing for the first photochromic lens started back in 1990 and has since evolved into a whole line up of Transitions lenses which includes variable polarization, mirrored Transition lenses
What is a Transitions contact lens?
Transitions contact lenses just like the eyeglass lenses can sense lighting conditions that are in your current environment and seamlessly adapts to the lighting conditions and provides you with a comfortable soothing vision. If you are in a brightly lit area they will darken automatically and returns to their normal clear tint when you are back to normal lighting conditions.
According to Johnson & Johnson, these contact lenses are the first-of-its-kind and offer you the highest level of protection available in a contact lens today, this includes being 100% effective against UVB rays.
Check out the short video below and see the lenses in action.
RELATED: Where to order contact lenses online with peace of mind.
How do Transitions contact lenses work?
Transition lenses basically work the same way that Transitions glasses work. There are trillions of photochromic molecules that are spread across each contact lenses. The photochromic molecules are extremely responsive to UV light as well as other bright light sources. Whenever these molecules are exposed to those lighting conditions they change their structure to darken through a chemical reaction process. 
Similar to how the process works in Transitions glasses, the individual molecules are essentially closed like a container and when the UV rays or light enters the contact lenses this structure changes and the closed molecule opens up, darken, and absorbs the light.
The entire darkening process takes less than a minute and they gradually turn back to clear within 90 seconds.
Benefits of wearing Transitions contact lenses
A Leger Omnibus survey showed that nearly two out of every three people indicate that they are bothered by bright light. Another Leger Omnibus study showed that 94% of those who experience bright light use various compensating behaviors such as squinting to help their eyes cope. Here are some key benefits of wearing Transitions contact lenses.
- Less Squinting When Subjected to Bright Light – This is the reason why you want Transitions contact lenses in the first place right? With these contact lenses, you can go about throughout your day without having to worry about being uncomfortable in bright situations.
- Helps Patients Vision Recover From Bright Light up to 5 Seconds Faster – A study conducted by Johnson & Johnson comparing Acuvue Oasys with Transitions Light Intelligent Technology and Acuvue Oasys with Hydraclear showed that the Transitions contact lenses helped individuals have 43% faster photostress recovery when exposed to bright situations. When you convert that to a real word situation, you basically recover 5 seconds faster. Therefore if you were to walk from indoors to outdoors and it was extremely bright outside your eyes will be able to adapt to this bright light much more quickly.
- Reduces Halos and StarBursts at Night – This is definitely a bonus benefit for these lenses, it is a shame that these lenses aren’t available (yet) for astigmatism customers who would benefit the most from this. Driving at night can be difficult with all those bright street lights and headlights, these contact lenses help reduce the amount of glare you experience at night providing you with sharper, clearer vision at night. In another study conducted by Johnson & Johnson showed that subjects who were wearing the Transitions contact lenses were able to read road signs from about 17.8 meters further away than subjects wearing non-photochromic lenses.
- Blue-Light Filter – Just like how Transition lenses for glasses filter out HEV blue-light, these Transitions contact lenses also filter out HEV blue-light to help reduce digital eye strain and could help your circadian system or also known as your body’s natural sleep/wake cycle.
- Reliability of an Acuvue Oasys Contact Lens – When Acuvue Oasys with Hydraclear contact lenses launched back in 2005 it was easily one of the most comfortable, reliable, and easy to adapt to len available on the market and combined with Transitions Optical’s technology it is now the most innovative lens as well.
How do Transitions contacts look on your eyes?
Most people I have talked to about Transitions contact lenses have one main concern, how the contact lenses look on your eyes when they are dark. After all, none of us want to have big creepy looking eyes all day long. The lenses have been specifically designed to give you all of the benefits but very minimally impact the appearance of your eyes, however, depending on your eye color the impact it has on your eyes will vary.
Here is an example of what it might look like on someone with brown eyes with clear starting on the left to dark on the right.
Source: Acuvue.com
Alternatively, if you have lighter eyes, here is an example of what it could look like on someone with blue eyes with clear starting on the left to dark on the right.
Source: Acuvue.com
Lastly, if you have super dark brown eyes like me, here is a photo of me with one Acuvue Oasys with Transitions on and no contact lens in my other eye for comparison.
Acuvue Oasys with Transitions Pros and Cons
Pros
- Helps reduce exposure to bright light in all lighting conditions seamlessly both indoors and outdoors and reduce the stressful impact bright light could have on your eyes.
- Highest Level of UV protection in any contact lenses available on the market.
- Automatic HEV blue-light filtering.
- Better visibility at night by reducing halos and starbursts at night.
- First-of-its-kind Transitions contact lens.
- Reasonably priced for being such an innovative product
Cons
- It can change the appearance of your eye color, especially if you have light-colored eyes.
- Not available for astigmatism and multifocal customers as of now.
- May not be completely clear indoors
Acuvue Oasys with Transitions Outdoors
One of the drawbacks of using Transitions glasses was the fact that if you were doing a high-intensity activity outside they were just not ideal.
With the new Acuvue Oasys with Transitions contact lenses, you can have your eyes protected from the sun even while doing those high-intensity activities such as cycling, running, hiking or playing a sport.
As a matter of fact, Bryce Harper, A star for the MLB team Philadelphia Phillies was using the Transition contact lenses during this past offseason and spring training. Harper is a player who is constantly looking for various ways to improve his game and mentioned that his eyes felt comfortable and he wasn’t squinting while wearing these contact lenses.
How much does Acuvue Oasys with Transitions cost?
Just as with any type of contact lenses one of the main concerns when using contact lenses is the constant cost that is associated with utilizing a disposable lens.
If you were planning on getting a contact lens exam and fitting in the near future, you can mention to your eye doctor that you were interested in trying the Acuvue Oasys with Transition lenses and they would generally provide you with a trial pair of contact lenses to try that is good for 2 weeks.
On Acuvue’s website, they even have a certificate you can print out to show your doctor to get this free pair. However, you are not required to have this certificate to be able to get your trial pair from the doctor, the certificate is more of a useful reminder for you to ask your eye doctor about trying the new lenses.
The average price that you will be able to find these new Acuvue Oasys with Transitions is around $54.99, however, some retailers offer instant savings when you purchase in bulk and buy an annual supply.
Lens Parameters, Availability, and Wearing Schedule
Just as the Acuvue Oasys Hydraclear contact lenses the Acuvue Oasys with Transitions is a bi-weekly contact lens, which means you would wear the same contact lens consecutive days for two weeks before discarding them. These contact lenses must be taken out every day and not worn overnight unless approved by your eye care practitioner.
Keep in mind that the saline solution is not the same as contact lens solution and should not be used to store your contact lenses. Saline solution is a simple solution that can be used to rinse off your contact lenses before putting them in, but they do not contact any disinfecting and cleaning properties like contact lens solution. Some examples of popular contact lens solutions are Opti-Free Puremoist, Biotrue, and Renu Bausch + Lomb Lens Solutions.
Take a look at the table below to see the parameters and current power ranges available.
| Product | Base Curve | Diameter | Power Ranges | Material | Water Content | Center thickness at –3.00 D (mm) | Dk/t (Oxygen Permeability) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 8.4/8.8 | 14/0 | –6.00 D to +6.00 D (0.25 D steps) +6.50 D to +8.00 D (0.50 D steps) –6.50 D to –12.00 D (0.50 D steps) Including plano | Senofilcon A | 38% | 0.085 | 121 |
Where to buy Acuvue Oasys with Transitions
Just like any other type of contact lenses, there are a variety of ways that you can purchase your contacts. If you are someone who likes to support your eyecare practitioner that does your eye exam then that is one place you can purchase it.
Alternatively, if you are someone that likes to shop around for the best price, the internet has made that easier than ever. While there is no shortage of online retailers that offer prescription contact lenses, the retailer you go with depends on what is more important to you, whether it is the best price, fast shipping, or bulk pricing.
It seems like most retailers have these lenses in stock now so you can go with whichever retailer works for you.
Final Thoughts
Overall, this highly innovative and brand new contact lens is amazing! The Acuvue Oasys with Transitions contact lenses provides you with the reliable comfort of the Acuvue Oasys line of contact lenses combined with advanced technology from the most popular photochromic lens.
Unfortunately, these contact lenses are not available for everyone and you will not be able to wear these if you require astigmatism or multifocal contact lens but I believe eventually Acuvue will roll out the Transitions contact lenses with their other lines of contacts as well.
As always thank you for stopping by Eye Health HQ. If you have any questions or comments feel free to drop them below, and if you loved the article don’t forget to share it through your favorite social media channels.
This is the coolest thing I’ve read all day! I’ve actually always been scared of wearing contact lenses because I don’t like the idea of putting that small bit into my eye but I had no idea this technology existed! It might make me rethink only wearing glasses. They have successfully made sunglasses for your contacts, not only that, but the light transitions, so you don’t have to worry about taking them out, depending on how bright it is outside, very cool!
Hi Ibrahim, the innovation that it takes to make something like this is truly amazing, I am glad you enjoyed the article. Thanks for stopping by!
Wow! Excellent review you have done up here concerning the acuvue oasys transitions. If for just one reason, I will share this post out to people based on the pricing of this breath taking innovation. My dad makes use of glasses and I do feel his frustrations when overly exposed to sun or in the dark. Since this automatically blend to the environment, this would be simply great to make use of. I will share this post to my social platforms and mainly, recommend this post out to the world.
I just got a pair and used them for the first time. Today was a very sunny day and I didn’t notice any difference in glare or how the light made me feel uncomfortable. The vision correction was spot on, but overall I was very disappointed. My question is what should I be expecting in regard to the effect?
I honestly feel like because the change is gradual, you don’t really notice the huge difference. I can tell you if you had one contact lens in and one without you would be able to tell the difference in each eye.