ACUVUE is one of the best known names in contact lenses, and the ranges asked for by name in Singapore — Oasys, VITA, Moist and Define — are set out below. The brand is credited with the first soft disposable contact lens, and its ranges now run from single-use dailies through bi-weekly and monthly wear. As of today, Acuvue’s lenses are worn by more people than any other brand.
The products
- ACUVUE Oasys 1-DAY
- ACUVUE Oasys 1-DAY for astigmatism
- ACUVUE Oasys bi-weekly
- ACUVUE Oasys bi-weekly for astigmatism
- ACUVUE VITA monthly
- ACUVUE VITA monthly for astigmatism
- 1-DAY ACUVUE Moist
- 1-DAY ACUVUE Moist for astigmatism
- 1-DAY ACUVUE Moist multifocal
- 1-DAY ACUVUE Define
The benefits
The range is built in four broad families: spherical lenses, toric designs for astigmatism, multifocal designs that carry more than one power across the lens, and the tinted Define lenses. A contact lens is judged on the eye rather than from a list of specifications. Visio Optical is an independent, fitting-led boutique optician in Holland Village, Singapore.
ACUVUE lenses are made for daily, bi-weekly and monthly replacement, in spherical, toric and multifocal designs.
Looking for ACUVUE bifocals? The modern equivalent is the multifocal: 1-DAY ACUVUE Moist multifocal carries its powers in blended zones rather than two halves divided by a line.
Wear Acuvue Define when going for an interview or when you want to keep attention on you.
ACUVUE daily, bi-weekly, monthly and bifocal (multifocal) lenses
The ranges differ mainly in how long one lens is worn before it is replaced: ACUVUE Oasys is made both as a 1-DAY lens and as a bi-weekly one, ACUVUE VITA as a monthly, and 1-DAY ACUVUE Moist as a daily. The material differs along with the schedule.
- 1-DAY ACUVUE Moist and 1-DAY ACUVUE Oasys — a fresh lens each morning, with nothing to clean or store at night.
- ACUVUE Oasys bi-weekly — replaced every two weeks, with a nightly cleaning and storage routine.
- ACUVUE VITA monthly — the longest replacement cycle in the range, one lens per month per eye.
Most of these come in a version for astigmatism, made as a toric lens: the power is not the same all the way round, so the lens is weighted to hold its orientation on the eye instead of rotating freely.
What people often search for as a bifocal contact lens is made today as a multifocal — 1-DAY ACUVUE Moist multifocal carries more than one power across the lens surface rather than a visible dividing line. ACUVUE Define is a lightly tinted lens, worn for the way it defines the edge of the iris.
Base curve, diameter and power all change how a lens sits, which is why a trial lens tells you more than a specification sheet. Other contact lens ranges are set out on the site.
ACUVUE bifocal contact lenses, and why they are called multifocal
Bifocal is a word that comes from spectacle lenses, where two powers meet along a visible line. Contact lenses are built differently. Because a lens moves a little with every blink and turns with the eye, the powers cannot sit in a top half and a bottom half; they are arranged in zones around the centre of the lens that blend into one another. So a search for an ACUVUE bifocal lands on a multifocal design, such as 1-DAY ACUVUE Moist multifocal.
There is no line, no segment and nothing to keep upright. A toric lens for astigmatism is the one design in the range that does need to hold a fixed orientation, and it is weighted to do so; a multifocal is not.
Which layout of powers suits a wearer is settled with trial lenses on the eye, in the same way a frame is settled by putting it on a face. Base curve, diameter and the way a lens centres all vary from person to person, and none of it can be read off a box.
ACUVUE monthly, bi-weekly and daily: which schedule is which
Searches for an ACUVUE monthly or a one-month lens are really questions about the replacement schedule, and the range divides cleanly along it.
- ACUVUE VITA — the monthly: one lens per eye per month, with a nightly cleaning and storage routine.
- ACUVUE Oasys bi-weekly — a fresh lens every two weeks, with the same nightly routine.
- 1-DAY ACUVUE Oasys and 1-DAY ACUVUE Moist — opened in the morning and discarded at night, with no solution and no case.
Oasys and VITA are often set against one another because the Oasys name covers both a daily and a bi-weekly while VITA is made only as a monthly. The choice between them is a choice about how often a lens is replaced and how much nightly care suits the way a person lives, rather than a ranking of one above the other. Toric versions for astigmatism and the multifocal design belong to particular ranges, so the schedule and the design are usually decided together.
Being fitted for ACUVUE lenses in Singapore
Visio Optical is an independent, fitting-led boutique optician in Holland Village, Singapore. A contact lens is judged on the eye: base curve, diameter and the way a lens centres and moves with a blink vary from one wearer to the next, and a trial lens settles what a box cannot.
A box chosen sight unseen carries a name and a power and nothing about how that particular lens sits; the case for being fitted in person is simply that the lens on the eye is the only version of it that matters. Handling — putting a lens in, taking it out, and the nightly routine where there is one — is also easier to be shown across a counter than to read about.