The Aesthetic Surgery Journal published a study about factors that could cause saggy upper eyelids. One fact was contact lenses!
The study involved a review of 96 sets of identical twins over the course of 2 years (2008 to 2010). Researchers found that the only environmental factor that contributed to saggy upper eyelids was the use of hard or soft contact lenses. However, the reason why contact lenses was pinpointed as a cause was not clearly understood.
Hard contact lenses were found to cause more sagging than soft. The researchers suggest there may be two reasons why this is so:
- Whenever hard lenses are removed by a “tugging” technique, the eyelid tissues are stretched.
- There may be chronic, low grade irritation of the upper eyelids when wearing the lenses.
If you want to minimize the sagging caused, you should wear clean lenses with thin, smooth edges. You may also want to consider removing your lenses gently, without tugging on them. You can also use a DMV suction cup device that helps with removal.
Soft contact lens wearers were less susceptible to sagging, even though it was still considered a factor. Infection or inflammation were reasons why. To minimize the risk if you wear soft contacts, consider wearing disposables.