In a nutshell, yes, you will need a prescription in order to buy green colored contacts, regardless of where you get them from. At least, legally you will. There are some places you might be able to find green contacts where they won’t require you to show them you have a valid prescription but ultimately this is not legal. A few years back they actually changed the laws regarding purchasing all contact lenses, not just colored.
Basically you used to be able to buy colored contact lenses from anyone who wanted to sell them because there was no requirements needed in order for someone to do so. The problem was that because contact lenses are worn inside your eye, there were many people who believed this wasn’t a good idea. It’s understood that if you are going to be wearing something, regardless if it has any medical benefits, that there should be some sort of rules and regulations associated with them.
Now, if you want to purchase any colored contacts, green included, you will be required to first get a prescription from either a doctor or licensed eye care specialist. This will cut down on people and vendors selling anything less than high quality contacts to people. It might be annoying in the long run, but ultimately it will cut down on a lot of mishaps and problems that can arise when just anyone can sell them.
You can view the exact law that went into effect here. It’s a PDF so you will need a browser or program that can read PDFs in order to view the law. Basically it states that regardless of the power of the contacts, whether or not they are “plano” or “vision correcting” you will be required to get a prescription before you purchase them.
So if you are going to be buying your green contact lenses online, the site you purchase them from will have a system in place that will allow you to prove to them that you do indeed have the proper paperwork to purchase them. This is usually expected when someone is buying regular contact lenses so for those of you who need vision correction and just want to spice it up with having your eyes also become green, you will have no surprises.
This usually does however usually create a slight problem for those who are just buying the green eye contacts for special occasions like costume parties or Halloween. Many people wait until the last minute to buy contacts to complete their costume, only to realize two things. 1. They must first get a prescription and 2. They didn’t allow enough time for shipping before the big date. If you are planning on getting some costume style green contacts for your Halloween costume or party you will usually want the process at least 2 weeks a head of time.
Along with getting the proper prescription you will also need to make sure that you purchase green contacts that have the correct base and curve for your eye. During the ordering process most reputable sites will have that as an option so pay attention and don’t just skip over it. When you get your prescription for your contacts this information should be provided, and if it’s not, you should request it.
While wearing contacts that are not exactly the perfect size might not cause damage, you might notice some slight discomfort which is never good. So just spend the time making sure that you get the right prescription and you know your specific measurements and you should be able to find the perfect green contacts for yourself.