“Excuse me, is that a contact?” It’s a question I’ve been asked everywhere from a department store to my usual corner deli. The answer is no, it’s not a contact: It’s a novelty or “fun eye” prosthetic. I’ve been alternating between two: an opal and purple glitter prosthetic that mimics the inside of an amethyst stone and a 24-karat gold flaked version that looks almost bright orange when it catches the light. Truth be told, I’ve never felt more beautiful and confident.
Since losing my left eye at the age of four, I’ve worn a prosthetic. For most people who experience the loss of an eye, having a prosthetic made to match your natural eye color is the only option presented to you when seeing an ocularist, a medical professional that makes prosthetic eyes. It was the only option I had ever known — that is, until I stumbled upon a TikTok video of Rachel Mayta, who had a single gold iris.
Mayta has a following of over 500k and uses her platform to answer questions about what it’s like to live with a prosthetic in a lighthearted way. Mayta also usually wears a novelty prosthetic. “There isn’t anything wrong with preferring a typical prosthetic, it just never felt like me,” she tells me. “I was proud of the fact that I was different. I wanted a way to show that not only am I ‘okay’ with that, but that I also find strength in what I’ve been able to overcome.”
After discovering Mayta’s profile, I immediately slid into her DMs. We quickly became online friends, and I learned the secret behind her unique prosthetics: Christina King, an ocularist who creates one-of-a-kind, medical-grade prosthetics. King had made a few unique prosthetics in prior years, but it wasn’t until she made one for Mayta that “fun eyes” took off on TikTok, she says. Hundreds of people with one eye reached out and asked about a custom prosthetic, and it became clear to King that a trend was being set. Today, her designs vary from colorful gemstone-like irises to full gold shells that can illuminate a room like a disco ball.
Once Mayta clued me into her prosthetic plug, I reached out to King myself on Instagram and she invited me to her Portland, Oregon office to create a fun eye of my own and meet other monocular people (some of whom I also knew from online). During our initial phone call about the process of receiving a fun eye, I was immediately won over by how kind and welcoming she was. Naturally, I asked everyone in my life if I should take a flight across the country for the opportunity for a fun eye. It was unanimous that I was absolutely meant to go. I booked a flight straight to Oregon.
The weeks leading up to my trip, King told me more about her work and how incredibly rewarding it is, adding that many clients experience “an instant boost” in their self-confidence after receiving their novelty prosthetic. “They even seem to sit up in the chair a little taller and cannot stop smiling from ear-to-ear, staring at their reflection,” she says. I couldn’t wait to be one of her happy patients.
Of course, the wearer’s safety is also paramount. "I don't have a problem with fun eyes as long as they're made and fitted by a professional ocularist,” says Los Angeles-based board-certified ophthalmologist Vicki Chan. "It’s important to see an ocularist for any kind of prosthetic eye because they need to be [custom] made for your socket.” She compares an ill-fitting prosthetic to too-snug shoes: It can cause irritation and inflammation within the socket.
A fitting for any prosthetic eye, novelty or not, takes several hours. First, an impression is made of the inside of the eye socket. Then, the ocularist painstakingly measures how the natural pupil sits, ensures that the color matches the whites of the eyes (which are vastly different for everyone), and even takes the time to balance the pattern and number of veins. King does all the traditional measurements and practices of a “normal” ocularist (all of which require ten years of apprentice and study to master) but considers the wearer’s creative goals throughout the entire design process. Once measurements are taken, then it’s time to mold and create — which is where King truly shines.
All the design work is hand painted. King’s ability to take a blank prosthetic shell (which is made out of the same type of acrylic often used for dentures) and completely transform it in a mere matter of days using tiny detail brushes is astounding. Her office is filled with dozens of multicolored glitters, glass vases filled with practice prosthetics, and more than three vials of real gold flakes. She works quickly, often on more than one eye at a time. After seeing her impressive Instagram videos, I couldn’t wait to start the process for myself. I was literally counting down the days.
When I had my first appointment with King, I was asked how I would like to look and what materials I was drawn to. We even created a Pinterest board of different gemstones and colors I liked. Being able to have a voice and autonomy over the design of my eye gave me a greater sense of self and was incredibly healing.
But before we got to the fun part, King spent so much time addressing the overall fit, and I learned the prosthetic I had been wearing previously was ill fitting. The one I had in at the time of my appointment was 18 years old, and I had “outgrown” it without even realizing it. Because of its age, it didn’t suit my face shape anymore and caused my lid to look significantly more sloped than the one on my other eye. Since I spent such a huge majority of my life with the older model, I didn’t know my face was actually much more symmetrical than I thought.
King created two new eyes for me: a fun one that I plan to wear like a fashion accessory to dress up my latest sample sales find, and another one to match my natural eye for everyday use. When I received both eyes, I was shocked by how well they fit, and how much better I felt about my external appearance and internal self-confidence.
The first time I remember going to an ocularist I was six years old. As a child, I would always hold my breath when receiving a new eye. I was always hopeful it would be a perfect match, as if the closer the match, the less people would realize I looked different. All I wanted was for both eyes to be exactly the same, and I held onto that desire until I tried my first fun eye in King’s office.
The room was full of monocular friends from my support group called the “One Eyed Gang.” Everyone reassured me that I looked beautiful, including a four year old girl who was rocking an all-pink glitter prosthetic. Truthfully, I went silent for a few moments after trying on my first fun eye because it was so much to take in all at once. Much like getting a serious haircut, I was trying to absorb my new look.
Now it’s been nearly six months since my first fun eye and I can’t imagine life without it. After the initial shock wore off from having a novelty eye in, I quickly realized how much I loved it. My first fun eye quickly expanded into four. Now, I even have a matching all-black glitter one (with no iris!) with a group of girls from my support group. We wore them for a bachelorette weekend.
My good friend photographer Paula Andrea offered to take a few snaps of me wearing some of my fun eyes, as you can see here, and they’re easily some of my favorite photos of myself because they showcase how gorgeous my prosthetics make me feel. Having fun prosthetic eyes is truly like wearing a small piece of designer jewelry every day.
It's easy to see how much labor, love, and skill goes into creating each individual prosthetic. But fun eyes are actually less expensive than highly-detailed, true-to-life prosthetics, which King says cost around $5,600 if the eye is not present and $6,300 if it is (working around part of an existing part eye requires even more customization). "Insurance doesn’t cover the entire amount, often leaving the wearer owing upwards of $2,000 out of pocket,” King explains. Though the base material is the same, because they don’t require the same intricacies as a prosthetic meant to mimic a real eye, fun versions typically cost closer to $2,000 — though King charges a flat rate of $500 herself.
To give more prosthetic wearers the opportunity to express themselves, Mayta and King created the Fun Eye Fund, a charity dedicated to covering costs of these unique prosthetics. The idea for the fund came when Mayta was approached by the family of a little girl who wanted a fun eye. Mayta posted her story on social media to help raise funds, and the donations quickly poured in: The cost of the eye was covered in a single day. In fact, so many donations came in that there was even enough to cover multiple prosthetics. And so the Fun Eye Fund was born.
Presently, King has designed hundreds of eyes for people all around the country using everything from glitter to real diamonds. The Fun Eye Fund continues to expand and to date has donated dozens of eyes at no cost to the wearer. King hopes to soon expand her business to include more ocularists so she can reach even more individuals.
Having a fun eye gave me back my body autonomy, and liberated me from the confines of the more traditional beauty standard I had been chasing, and that I could not obtain. No amount of concealer will disguise the fact that I am missing an eye, but I’ve chosen to take charge of the conversation. Plus, I’ve found a whole new way to accessorize everyday outfits. My Pinterest is now solely dedicated to which fun eye I’m after next. After a lifetime of doing my best to blend in, I’m finally embracing how good it feels to stand out.
Photography: Paula Andrea
Makeup: Alexia Guerra
Read more about beauty and accessibility:
- The Most Accessible Beauty Products for People Who Are Blind or Have Low Vision
- Selma Blair's New Ability-Inclusive Beauty Products Have Changed My Entire Routine
- Nail Art Helped Make My Prosthetic Arm a Truer Extension of Myself
Watch Molly Burke rate the accessibility of beauty products:
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