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Three things an optometrist would ‘never do’ to her eyelashes for healthy eyes
Everyone wants long, luscious eyelashes and there are all kinds of treatments out there to get them from eyelash extensions to lash lifts.
However, an eye doctor has warned against them after sharing three things she would “never do” to her eyelashes as a medical professional.
3 things eye doctor would ‘never do’ to her eyelashes
1. Get a lash lift or tint
The first thing Dr. Alexa Hecht would never do is a get a lash lift or lash tint, two of the most popular beauty procedures.
A lash lift curls and lifts the eyelashes to make them appear longer, which makes your eyes look more open. Eyelash tints use a permanent dye to darken the lashes, making them look fuller and more prominent.
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However, both can have nasty side effects. The doctor explained that lash lifts use a perming solution that usually contains ammonium which “can be toxic to the eye”.
This can cause severe chemical burns or allergic reactions to the eye area which could result in pain, swelling, rashes and itchiness.
2. Get eyelash extensions
Next up are eyelash extensions, which involve sticking individual synthetic eyelashes to the eyelid using a strong adhesive.
Hecht said they cause a lot of build-up of debris and bacteria where the eyelash meets the eyelid, which is hard to avoid unless you clean them extremely well and every day.
“The weight of eyelash extensions can actually cause your natural lashes to fall out and you can have severe reactions to the glue,” she continued.
A 2024 study in the Cureus journal found that after using eyelash extensions, 54% of the 400 participants experienced one or more negative side effects.
The most common were itching, lashes pulling out, heavy eyelids and red eyes. Others included a burning sensation, pain on the eyelids, eye discharge, eyelids swelling and a boil on the eyelids.
3. Use specific lash serums
Finally, the eye doctor said she would never use lash glues that contain hormone-like substances called prostaglandin analogs. They were first used to treat the eye condition glaucoma, but have recently gathered attention for their ability to stimulate lash growth.
There are now thousands of lash serums on the market containing these compounds to grow your natural eyelashes, but they can have bad side effects.
“This can cause darkening of the skin around the eye, redness, darkening of your eye color and that sunken appearance of the eye,” Hecht said.
These symptoms occur because prostaglandin analogs can cause fat cells around the eyes to shrink, Verywell Health explains. However, these side effects can usually be reversed if you stop using the eyelash growth serum.
Dr. Alexa Hecht is an optometrist in Toronto, Canada who graduated from the University of Waterloo School of Optometry & Vision Science.
