contact wearers

[ToniD]

My son just got contacts and they told him "not to use a soap with oils in it, like Dove" cuz the oils would get on the contacts and ruin them.

Obviously there are oils in cp soaps

I gave him a bar of my 1% superfat soap to use for now...

But Has any contact wearers had issues, or what do you use to wash your hands before inserting/removing contacts?

Thanks

 

[ilove2soap]

That is an interesting question. I have worn contacts for 15+ years and have never had an issue with soap and contacts. I have had both gas permeable lenses and soft contacts which I currently wear. I even wash my eyes (the mascara off my eyelashes) in the shower while wearing my lenses. I use either my own soaps (superfat 7-8%) or Dr Bronners castille soap in my hand soap dispensers. I have gotten soap in my eyes tons of times while wearing lenses and no ruined lenses-just the lovely burning sensation of soap + eye = ouch!! Are they special lenses??

 

[JenniferSews]

Oy. Really?! I would do your own research on this, it sounds like the same kind of non-evidence based practice I fight in healthcare every day. If he rinses the soap off his hands before handling the contacts he should be fine. From my personal and anecdotal evidence, I have worn contacts for 20+ years and the soap I used hasn't made a single difference. As for oils in soap, soap is MADE FROM OIL. All soap has oil, or it's just a detergent.

 

[ilovedoxies]

I've worn contacts for 18 years and the only thing my eye doc ever said along those lines was not to wash my contacts with soap or store them in tap water.

I wash my face sometimes with my lenses in but most of the time I don't, but that is just because I don't like to rub my eyes with my lenses in. I agree with Jennifer and ilove2soap.

 

[Half Caper Farm]

I've been wearing contacts for 37 years, and have never had a problem with soap. Most contacts these days are disposables, daily or bi-weekly, so I don't see how it's going to be an issue anyway. Rinse well and there won't be any soap residue to worry about. Most lens cleaners are "no-rub" as well, so his fingers won't be touching the contact lenses for any great length of time.

 

[carebear]

I agree with all the above. Wash well, rinse, and the superfat (lye discount) doesn't matter....

I have run into problems with oily makeup removers, though.

 

[Chris-2010]

Dove isn't soap: it's a detergent system embedded in a filler base. Read the next to the last ingredient, the benzene-core detergent molecule. Strong stuff. A professional chemist from a nearby company that actually does synthesis of chemical compounds came into our shop last week, and told me he thought that Dove would use this ingredient in their 'soap' formula because it is strong but would be in dilution, since he said most of the bar would be an inexpensive filler. Real soap is mild. The center of a soap molecule is just C=O (Carbon double bond Oxygen). Some other customers were in and I'll set the Dove ingredient list on a block of soap just to show them what IS NOT in real soap. The chemist told these customers that he himself tries to avoid exposing his own skin to too many of these artificial products which contain so many synthetic and potentially dangerous compounds. Some compounds can trigger eczema, and medical researchers have linked the development of skin eczema to the risk of developing asthma! Detergent was only invented about 1914, and the detergent 'soap'-bar started in 1958 with the introduction of Zest; now almost everything is that way. We need to convince people use real soap in order to save them from these chemically-induced maladies. You're on a mission people.

 

[LisaNY]

Well, I am a contact lens wearer for over 30 years and I've never had this problem. Heck! I remove my makeup with olive oil! LOL

 

[ToniD]

Thanks for the input everyone! I appreciate it.

 

[carebear]

Dove isn't soap: it's a detergent system embedded in a filler base. Read the next to the last ingredient, the benzene-core detergent molecule. Strong stuff. A professional chemist from a nearby company that actually does synthesis of chemical compounds came into our shop last week, and told me he thought that Dove would use this ingredient in their 'soap' formula because it is strong but would be in dilution, since he said most of the bar would be an inexpensive filler. Real soap is mild. The center of a soap molecule is just C=O (Carbon double bond Oxygen). Some other customers were in and I'll set the Dove ingredient list on a block of soap just to show them what IS NOT in real soap. The chemist told these customers that he himself tries to avoid exposing his own skin to too many of these artificial products which contain so many synthetic and potentially dangerous compounds. Some compounds can trigger eczema, and medical researchers have linked the development of skin eczema to the risk of developing asthma! Detergent was only invented about 1914, and the detergent 'soap'-bar started in 1958 with the introduction of Zest; now almost everything is that way. We need to convince people use real soap in order to save them from these chemically-induced maladies. You're on a mission people.

Dove is soap as much as it is detergent. Tho it doesn't meet the legal definition of soap, it is made up of detergent blended with saponified coconut oil and tallow. The "inexpensive filler" is the sodium tallowate, by the way. And cocamidopropyl betaine is a mild detergent, which is derived from coconut oil.

Ingredients from MSDS/Label
Fragrance(s)/perfume(s)
Stearic acid
Lauric acid
Sodium stearate
Sodium isethionate
Tetrasodium etidronate
Sodium lauroyl isethionate
Sodium chloride
Water
Sodium tallowate
Titanium dioxide
Sodium cocoate
Cocamidopropyl betaine

Real soap isn't necessarily mild. That's a pretty general statement. You are an experienced soaper - so surely you have, duing the develpment of new formulas, tried some that are harsh. Have you never tried a low superfatted, 100% coconut oil soap?

As a chemist (in my past life, not so much in my current one), and as a human being I can tell you that not only are chemicals NOT evil, and that artificial does NOT equate with bad - but also that everything in existance is composed of chemicals.

As for the link between eczema & asthma, a link does not mean cause & effect.

My mission is to create a high quality product, promote truth, fight mis-information, and help people find the right product for their skin and their lives.

 

[shelleyinmichigan]

Bugs in my eyes

I once had an 'eye practitioner' tell me not to put my contacts in until one hour after I had woken up because 'those amoebas that live on the surface of your eye will get trapped under the lens and where do you think they will go? That's right, INTO your eye!'

Ummmmm....

He was sued by another patient for prescribing contacts when the patient had an existing eye condition.

Just had to add that to the discussion, haha. :wink:

 

[Complexions]

I've worn contacts for 18 years, soap will burn but that's about it. I use oil to remove my makeup, might leave a slimy film on the contact but a quick rinse can fix that. I accidentally used witch hazel to rinse my contacts (yes, I'm THAT blind, thought I grabbed my contact soln but grabbed the witch hazel instead!) and it didn't mess up my contacts. Luckily I realized it before I put it in my eye! The only thing I've ever used that ruined a contact was Milani Liquif'eye eyeliner while tightlining. It can migrate and leave a residue that wont come off, have to toss them.

 

[jiroband]

I've been wearing contacts for 31 years, and have NEVER had a problem with any natural soap or detergent soap. When I first got contacts at age 16, the eye doctor suggested washing my hands with IVORY Soap, which I did for many years. I don't think it matters at all, as long as you rinse the soap off your hands -- as you normally would anyway. The eye doctor also said to wipe my hands on a clean towel that had NO fabric softener on it. I don't think that matters much either, but since then, I've never used fabric softener on my towels -- I use vinegar instead. (It helps to rinse out any remaining detergent residue, and leaves the towels really fluffy and really absorbant.)