"When I saw my daughter at the airport, I noticed something was strange about her eyes. When I realized she was wearing circle lenses, I told her to take them out immediately," he said.
Still, despite the warnings, young Beijingers are flocking to shops to pick up the cosmetic lenses.
Yang Ting, 24, has been wearing non-prescription lenses 12 hours a day for the past six months. She said she started wearing the black lenses not to change the color of her eye, but to make them look bigger - something she said is more attractive.
"I like to do my makeup to make my eyes look bigger as well, it's beautiful," she said.
She said almost all of her friends wear black contacts as well, regardless of whether or not they need to wear corrective lenses.
Yang said she has felt the price for beauty, however. Though she used to wear her contacts every day, she has had to reduce the amount because of the discomfort they cause her eyes.
The unclear risks associated with the lenses have led them to be banned in the US, but many teenagers and young adults are still managing to find sources to help them get their foxy-eyed fix.
In Beijing, men also jump on the bandwagon. University student Lu Zhengwei said he tried wearing grey cosmetic contacts last year.
