According to Contact Lens Spectrum's annual report about 125 million people use contact lenses worldwide.

Though the concept of contact lenses was described by Leonardo da Vinci as far back as 1508, the first contact lenses were not used until 1888 when the German physiologist Adolf Eugen Fick reported using contact lenses to correct optical defects. He used the lenses made from heavy brown glass initially on rabbits, then on himself, and lastly on a small group of volunteers. These were 18-21mm in diameter.

Such lenses were almost unusable until the 1930s. Then the acrylic was developed, and optometrist, Dr. William Feinbloom introduced in 1936 plastic scleral lenses that were lighter and more convenient than previous ones.

The Czech chemist Otto Wichterle started the era of soft lenses made using hydrogel in the 1960s. Such "Soflens" material was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration in 1971.

In 1999 the first "silicone hydrogels" were introduced, and that was another breakthrough in the lens development. The new material had extremely high oxygen permeability and was comfortable enough for extended wear.

The disposable tinted contact lenses hit the market in 1992.