How to remove contact lenses

Start with the same eye every time, to avoid accidentally mixing up your lenses. Use your non-dominant hand to pull down your lower eyelid and gently pull up your upper eyelid to meet your eyebrow. Now use your dominant hand (the one you use to write) to pinch off the contact lens and remove it from your eye – to do this, place your first finger and thumb on either side of the contact lens, and gently pinch it. Look up and gently slide the lens down, onto the white of your eye, then slide it off onto your finger. All you need to do is repeat for the other eye.

While pinching a contact lens off is a popular removal method, you can use the pads of your fingers to sweep the lens down. This is particularly useful for those removing contact lenses with long nails. First, wash your hands thoroughly and dry them well. Reach over to the eye you are removing your lens from and pull the eyelid and lashes up to maximise space. Using the middle finger, pull your lower eyelid down. Look up to the ceiling, and position your index finger at the bottom of the lens and gently apply pressure to sweep the lens down. The lens will naturally want to drift back to the center of your eye, as that's where it's made to fit, but keep trying until you feel it dislodge. Once it's moved off the center of your eye towards the white part, you should be able to pull it down with the pad of your finger.

If you wear monthly contact lenses, make sure that once removed they are placed in fresh solution and stored securely in a clean contact lens case. If you want to switch to daily contact lenses, speak to your optician or eye doctor and they'll be able to help you.

Blinking when something is close to your eye doesn't make taking your contact lenses out very easy, does it?! It might feel difficult to remove contact lenses the first few times you try, but all it takes is a bit of practice and patience and you'll be a seasoned pro in no-time. Just watch our video tutorials a few times to get the moves down - and make sure you give your eyes a break between goes by using eye drops or artificial tears.