A gradual increase in wearing times for neophyte contact lens wearer is often adopted in clinical practice. However, due to a lack of evidence investigating the optimum approach, the application of gradual wearing schedules during soft contact lens fitting varies between practitioners, largely influenced by industry instructions, prior optometric education and standard operating procedures of the practice they work in. In this article, the authors describe the history of soft contact lens materials, which may have previously benefited from gradual adaptation, and describe recent studies that investigate current and alternative approaches to contact lens adaptation.