Putting in contact lenses for the first time feels awkward, but most people get comfortable with it within a week or two of daily practice. The key is clean hands, a correctly oriented lens, and holding your eyelids open wide enough that your blink reflex doesn’t fight you. Here’s everything you need to know, step by step.
Start With Clean, Dry Hands
Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water before touching your lenses. Almost any soap works as long as you rinse it off completely. Some people worry about moisturizing soaps leaving residue, but thorough rinsing takes care of that. Dry your hands with a lint-free towel or a fresh paper towel. Lint and fibers from cloth towels can stick to the lens and irritate your eye once it’s in.
Check That the Lens Isn’t Inside Out
A soft contact lens looks nearly identical on both sides, so beginners often skip this step and end up with a lens that feels uncomfortable or won’t stay centered. There are a few quick ways to check.
The side view: Place the lens on your fingertip and look at it from the side. A correctly oriented lens curves upward like a smooth cup. If it’s inside out, the edges flare outward like a rimmed bowl or soup plate.
The taco test: Gently pinch the lens in half between your thumb and forefinger. If the edges fold together neatly like a taco shell, the orientation is correct. If it bends more like a soup spoon with the edges pushing outward, flip it.
The 1-2-3 markers: Many lenses have tiny laser-etched numbers near the edge. Hold the lens up to a bright light and look for them. If you can read “1-2-3” in order, you’re good. If the numbers appear backward, the lens is inside out.
If you use daily disposable lenses, they come correctly oriented in the packaging. Just keep the same orientation as you place the lens on your finger.
How to Put the Lens In
Place the lens on the tip of your index or middle finger on your dominant hand (the hand you write with). Make sure the lens is sitting right-side up and your fingertip is mostly dry so the lens doesn’t slide around.
Now, use your other hand to hold your upper eyelid open. With the middle or ring finger of your dominant hand (whichever finger isn’t holding the lens), pull your lower eyelid down. This gives you a wide opening and keeps your lashes out of the way. Some people find it easier to use the non-dominant hand to hold both eyelids open with the thumb and a finger instead.
Look straight ahead in the mirror, or look up toward the ceiling. Bring the lens to your eye and place it directly on the colored part (the iris) or just below it on the white. Once the lens touches your eye, it will naturally stick to the moisture on the surface.
Close your eyes slowly. Roll your eyes in a full circle to help the lens settle into the correct position. Blink a few times. If the lens feels centered and your vision is clear, you’re done.
What to Do When You Can’t Stop Blinking
Your blink reflex is the biggest obstacle for beginners. Your body doesn’t want anything touching your eye, and it takes practice to override that instinct. A few things help. First, hold your eyelids open firmly. Don’t rely on willpower alone to keep from blinking. Your fingers should be doing the work. Second, try looking up at the ceiling instead of directly at the lens approaching your eye. Seeing the finger coming toward you is what triggers the reflex for most people. Third, practice holding your eyelids open without a lens a few times to get comfortable with the sensation before you try inserting.
If the lens folds or falls off your finger before reaching your eye, rinse it with fresh contact lens solution (never tap water) and try again. This is completely normal in the first few days.
How to Remove Your Lenses
Wash your hands again. Looking slightly upward, use the index finger of your dominant hand to touch the lower edge of the lens and slide it down onto the white of your eye. This creates a small wrinkle in the lens that makes it much easier to grab, and touching the white of the eye is more comfortable than pinching directly on the cornea.
Once the lens is on the white, open your thumb and index finger to about the width of the lens. Press gently on the edges and pinch them together. The lens will fold and come off your eye. Drop it into your palm if you’re going to clean and store it, or discard it if it’s a daily disposable.
Cleaning and Storing Your Lenses
If you wear reusable lenses (bi-weekly or monthly), you need to clean them after every use. The two main types of solutions are multipurpose solution and hydrogen peroxide systems, and the rules are different for each.
Multipurpose solution is the simpler option. You rinse, rub, and store your lenses in the same liquid. Hydrogen peroxide systems are excellent disinfectors but require a special case that neutralizes the peroxide over 4 to 6 hours. You must use only the case that comes with the system. Using a regular case, or rinsing lenses with hydrogen peroxide right before putting them in, will cause serious eye pain because the peroxide hasn’t converted to saline.
Never top off old solution in your case. Empty it completely, rinse it with fresh solution (not water), and let it air dry face-down on a clean tissue. Replace your lens case every one to three months, even if it looks fine. Biofilm builds up on the surface over time in ways you can’t see, and old cases are a common source of eye infections.
Keep Water Away From Your Lenses
Tap water, shower water, pool water, and lake water all pose a real infection risk. A microbe called Acanthamoeba is extremely common in tap water, and its cysts can stick to the surface of a contact lens and infect your cornea. Acanthamoeba keratitis is painful, difficult to treat, and can threaten your vision. The EPA specifically warns against using tap water or homemade solutions to rinse or store contacts. Remove your lenses before swimming or showering, or at minimum wear sealed goggles in the pool.
If a Lens Gets Stuck or Lost in Your Eye
A lens that slides off-center can feel alarming, but it cannot go behind your eye. A natural crease in the tissue under your upper eyelid acts as a dead end. If the lens migrates up, look downward as far as you can to bring it back into view. You can also gently massage through the closed eyelid, pressing downward toward the cornea to coax the lens back into position. Applying a few drops of sterile saline or artificial tears helps float a stuck lens free. Once you can see any edge of the lens in a mirror, slide it back onto the colored part of your eye with your finger and remove it normally.
If you can’t find the lens after a few minutes, it may have already fallen out without you noticing. Check your eyelashes, your clothes, and the floor before assuming it’s still in your eye.
Warning Signs to Take Seriously
Some discomfort is normal during the first few days as you adjust, but certain symptoms point to a possible infection. Remove your lenses right away and call your eye doctor if you notice eye pain that doesn’t improve after removal, increasing redness, blurred vision, sensitivity to light, excessive tearing, or any unusual discharge. These are symptoms of bacterial keratitis, an infection of the cornea that requires prompt treatment to avoid lasting damage.