Essilor Stellest 2.0 Lenses in Abu Dhabi: Stronger Myopia Control for Your Child

Why myopia in children matters

Myopia (short-sightedness) means distant things look blurry. It usually starts in childhood and gets worse as the eye keeps growing longer. Researchers expect about half of the world’s population to be short-sighted by 2050. More time on screens, more close-up work and less time outdoors are all part of the reason.

Blurry vision can be fixed with glasses. The real concern is how high the myopia climbs. A child whose myopia starts young has more years for it to increase. High myopia in adulthood raises the risk of serious eye problems later in life, such as retinal detachment, myopic macular damage and glaucoma.

That is why eye doctors now aim to slow down myopia, not just correct it. Every bit of progression you prevent in childhood counts for life.

How Stellest lenses work

A regular lens only corrects blurry vision. A Stellest lens does two jobs at once:

• A clear centre gives your child sharp distance vision for the board, sports and everyday life.
• Rings of tiny lenslets around the centre, almost invisible to others, form a zone of “non-focused” light just in front of the retina. This acts as a signal that helps slow down the eye’s growth, which is what drives myopia.

Essilor calls this design H.A.L.T. (Highly Aspherical Lenslet Target). The first-generation Stellest lens is well studied. In a two-year clinical trial published in JAMA Ophthalmology, it slowed myopia progression by 67% on average compared with ordinary lenses in children who wore it at least 12 hours a day. In September 2025, it became the first glasses lens to receive US FDA market authorisation for slowing myopia in children.

What is new in Stellest 2.0

Stellest 2.0 keeps the same idea as the first lens: a clear centre, surrounded by rings of tiny lenslets that send a “slow down” signal to the eye. The main difference is in the lenslets themselves.

The other changes are practical extras: one more ring of lenslets, larger lens sizes for more frame choice, and new markings so the two generations can be told apart.

What stays the same is just as important. The lenses are made from Airwear polycarbonate, which is lighter and thinner than standard plastic, highly impact-resistant (a must for active children) and blocks 100% of UV. They come with Crizal coating, which helps resist smudges and scratches and makes cleaning easy.

What the research shows

Stellest 2.0 was tested in a one-year study in Singapore with 50 short-sighted children aged 6 to 10. Each child wore a first-generation Stellest lens in one eye and a Stellest 2.0 lens in the other, then the lenses were swapped halfway through. This lets researchers compare the two lenses in the same child.

• Eye growth was almost halved. Over the year, eyes wearing Stellest 2.0 grew about 0.12 mm, against about 0.23 mm with the first-generation lens.
• Younger children benefited most. The extra effect was strongest in children aged about 8½ or younger, and in children whose eyes were growing faster.
• Vision stayed sharp. There was no difference in clear vision between the two generations, and no problems with eye alignment or depth perception.
• Children wore them well. On average, the children wore their glasses more than 13 hours a day, and no lens-related side effects were reported.

To be fair and clear: the study was run by Essilor researchers and published in the journal Translational Vision Science & Technology (2025). Stellest 2.0 is new, so longer-term results are still being collected. Like every myopia control method, it slows myopia down. It does not stop or reverse it.

Who Stellest 2.0 is for

Stellest 2.0 is for children and teenagers who are already short-sighted. It may be especially worth discussing if your child:

• started needing glasses at a young age (studies included children from 6 years old)
• needs a stronger prescription every year
• has one or both parents who are short-sighted
• already wears first-generation Stellest lenses but is still progressing faster than expected
• has astigmatism as well as myopia (Stellest lenses cover a wide range of prescriptions)

Signs that your child may be short-sighted, or that their myopia is increasing, include squinting at the board or TV, sitting very close to screens, headaches after school, and holding books or tablets close to the face.

The right myopia plan depends on your child’s age, prescription and how quickly it is changing. Your child’s eye doctor will advise whether Stellest 2.0 is right, or whether another option such as myopia control contact lenses or orthokeratology may suit better.

Why accurate measurements matter so much

With a regular single-vision lens, a small fitting error usually goes unnoticed. With Stellest, it matters a lot. The lens has a clear centre surrounded by rings of lenslets, so that centre must sit exactly in front of each pupil when your child looks straight ahead.

Each eye is measured on its own. Faces are rarely perfectly symmetrical, so the distance from the nose to the right pupil is often different from the left, and one pupil may sit slightly higher. Children also have small faces and small frames, so a couple of millimetres is a big difference.

How we measure at Optic One: digitally, eye by eye

For Stellest lenses, we don’t rely on a ruler and a pen mark. We use a digital measuring system on a tablet:

1. Your child wears the chosen frame, adjusted so it sits comfortably and level on the nose and ears.
2. We take a quick set of photos while your child looks naturally into the distance. It takes only a few seconds, which suits children who can’t sit still for long.
3. The software finds the centre of each pupil and the outline of the frame, then measures each eye separately: how far it is from the centre of the nose bridge, and how high it sits in the frame.
4. It also measures how the frame sits on the face: its tilt, its wrap, and how far the lenses are from the eyes. These all affect where the optical zones of the lens end up in front of the eye.
5. We review the measurements on screen before ordering, and can repeat them in seconds if your child moved or blinked.

The lens lab then positions the centre of the lenslet rings exactly on these points. When the glasses are ready, we check the reference marks on the lenses against your child’s pupils before you take them home.

Choosing the right frame for Stellest 2.0

The frame is part of the treatment. A good Stellest frame:

• Is not wider than your child’s face, so the eyes sit near the middle of each lens.
• Is not too narrow or shallow. There needs to be enough lens below and around the pupil for the lenslet rings to work.
• Sits upright and fairly close to the eyes, rather than tilted far forward.
• Stays in place during play, with a good nose fit and comfortable arms, so it does not slide down.

Because Stellest 2.0 comes in larger lens sizes (up to 75 mm), more frame shapes are now possible. We help you choose from our kids’ eyeglasses, including flexible, durable frames such as NanoVista and Miraflex, and check each one against your child’s measurements before ordering.

Getting the best results from Stellest 2.0

• Wear them all day, every day. They should be your child’s main glasses, taken off only for sleeping and showering. In the studies, children wore them 12–13 hours a day or more. Wearing them only at school can reduce the effect.
• Give it a few days. Most children get used to the lenses within the first week.
• Encourage time outdoors. Daylight is good for children’s eyes. Eye doctors commonly recommend around two hours outside a day, in the cooler parts of the day here in the UAE.
• Take screen breaks. Every 20 minutes of close work, look at something far away for 20 seconds.
• Keep up with check-ups. Most children are reviewed about every six months, so their eye doctor can track prescription and eye growth.

Stellest in sunglasses too

In the UAE sun, many children need a second pair for outdoor time. Stellest myopia control lenses can also be made as prescription sunglasses with a sun tint, so your child keeps the myopia control benefit outside too. Ask us about the tint colours available for Stellest 2.0.

Getting Stellest 2.0 at Optic One, Abu Dhabi

1. Prescription: bring your child’s current prescription from their eye doctor.
2. Frame choice: we help your child pick a frame they like that also suits Stellest 2.0.
3. Digital measurements: each eye is measured precisely with our tablet-based system.
4. Ordering: your lenses are made to your child’s prescription and measurements. We confirm the expected date when you order.
5. Fitting and handover: we check the centring, adjust the frame and show your child how to wear and clean the glasses.
6. Aftercare: come back any time for adjustments, and keep up with regular eye check-ups.

Families visit us from across Abu Dhabi, Dubai and the rest of the UAE. Because the measurements are taken in person, Stellest lenses need one visit to our Hamdan Street store.

Common questions about Stellest 2.0