Fake eyelash dangers

NBC
Published: October 13, 2008

For years, women have tried to achieve longer, fuller eyelashes by using mascaras, and false eyelashes. 

But now there’s a new cosmetic treatment that promises longer lashes.

“It’s just wow. I mean its a huge difference,“ said consumer Lauren Morris.

“They’re just much more luminous, lustrous, they appear thicker,“ said Monica Bifano who uses eyelash enhancers.

These women have been using eyelash enhancers, a cosmetic treatment that’s applied to the lash line just like eyeliner.

Use it every day and the manufacturers claim you’ll have longer lashes in days.

“It’s really popular. Everybody wants thicker, more dense eyelashes. It’s such a girly thing. They make you look better,“ said Esthetician Simone Morris.

But doctors warn that some eyelash enhancers contain compounds called prostaglandins, a family of chemicals used to treat glaucoma.

“We saw eyes that were bluish-brown become more brown,“ said Ophthalmologist Dr. Howard Weiss.

Ophthalmologist Dr. Howard Weiss specializes in treating glaucoma and uses prescription medications that contain prostaglandins.

A common side effect is eyelash growth, but he says he’s seen other effects that worry him.

“We saw eyelid skin get darker so it wasn’t just the eyelashes that got darker, but it was also the skin around the eyes. We saw bloodshot eyes and we saw a few eyes that got blurry vision and inflammation,“ said Weiss.

Last November, The Food and Drug Administration seized more than 12,000 tubes, about two million dollars worth of one product called Jan Marini Age Intervention Eyelash.

The agency said it contained a chemical called Bimatoprost, a prostaglandin approved to treat glaucoma, but not approved for cosmetic purposes.
The company reformulated the product, removing the prostaglandin.

But dr. Weiss warns it may not be worth its high price, up to $160 for a tube!

“That’s simply what some of these products are, are eyelash conditioners, and just like it will thicken and add body and moisture to a scalp hair, it will do the same thing to lash hair and that doesn’t involve any growth, that just involves thickening and moistening,“ said Weiss.

Dr. Weiss says any product used around the eye can cause irritation.

But that hasn’t stopped 36-year-old Monica Bifano.

She uses the product every night before she goes to bed.

“I just think it’s really interesting that even men have commented on my eye lashes, so you know if man makes a point to comment, on something like that, it’s working,“ said Bifano.