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What are Stellest Lenses?

Jan 13, 2026

Stellest®: The New FDA-Approved Lens That Slows Myopia in Children

If your child’s nearsightedness seems to be getting worse every year, you’re not alone. Childhood myopia (nearsightedness) has become one of the fastest-growing eye health concerns worldwide — and now, for the first time, there’s a glasses-based solution clinically proven to slow it down.

Introducing Essilor Stellest lenses: a new innovative spectacle lens that’s been FDA-approved in 2025 to slow the progression of myopia in children. At Canal Street Optical, we’re excited about what this means for families looking for safe, effective options beyond standard glasses or specialty contact lenses.

We strive to stay on the cutting edge of eyecare technology, and you can be assured that Dr. Tony Mui at Canal Street Optical prioritizes the most efficient and effective eye care possible.

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What are Stellest Lenses?

Stellest lenses look and feel like regular glasses, but they’re built with cutting-edge optical science.

Each lens has a clear central zone for clear distance vision while the surrounding regions are composed of hundreds of invisible micro-lenslets, arranged in concentric rings.

These micro-lenslets gradually defocus peripheral light, producing a “signal” that slows the eye’s natural tendency to grow longer, which is the main cause of myopia progression.

In other words: Stellest lenses actively work to stop your children’s eyesight from getting worse rather than only correcting it.

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Clinically Proven Results

In clinical studies leading up to FDA authorization, children wearing Stellest lenses for two years showed:

  • 71% slower progression of myopia compared to single-vision lenses
  • 53% less axial elongation (eye growth)
  • Best results when worn at least 12 hours per day

No serious adverse events were reported, and kids adapted quickly to wearing them.

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Who Is Stellest For?

Stellest lenses are designed for children aged 6–12 years old who are already nearsighted or whose myopia is progressing.

They’re especially helpful for:

  • Kids not ready for contact lenses (like Ortho-K or MiSight)
  • Parents who want a non-invasive myopia control option
  • Children who are struggling to keep their prescription from increasing every year

Stellest can also serve as a link between more sophisticated solutions like Orthokeratology (Ortho-K) and conventional glasses. But it has also been demonstrated that Stellest is a highly successful stand-alone treatment.

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Why This Matters

Uncontrolled myopia raises the lifelong risk of retinal detachments, glaucoma, and other eye conditions later in life.

By slowing myopia progression early, we can help:

  • Preserve your child’s vision
  • Reduce future eye health risks
  • Keeping prescriptions more stable year by year

To give parents every choice, Canal Street Optical has made investments in full-scope myopia treatment services, ranging from Ortho-K to Stellest lenses.