Soft lenses
Soft lenses are thin lenses made of gel-like, water-containing plastics. More than 90% of contact lenses worn today are soft lenses. They generally are easy to adapt to and cover the entire cornea (the clear front surface of your eye).
Types of Contact Lenses
After your eye exam, your eye doctor recommends the best contact for you. Classified by material, there are four types of contact lenses:
Gas permeable lenses
Gas permeable lenses (also known as GP, RGP or rigid gas permeable lenses) are smaller lenses made from rigid, waterless plastics. In some cases, GP lenses provide sharper vision than soft lenses.
Hybrid lenses
Hybrid lenses have a central GP zone, surrounded by a border made of a soft lens material. These lenses provide the crisp optics of a GP lens, with comfort that rivals soft lenses.
Hard lenses
Hard lenses are similar in appearance to GP lenses, but they are made of rigid plastic that is not permeable to oxygen. Hard lenses have virtually been replaced by GP lenses and rarely prescribed today.