What happened to those people who always wore false eyelashes?

Many female friends are keen on the "three-piece set" for the Chinese New Year: perming, manicure, and eyelash extensions. A new look for the Chinese New Year, a good mood, and a full sense of ritual before the Chinese New Year. Thick, long, and curled eyelashes can make the eyes look bigger, more beautiful, and more beautiful. No wonder it is a "must-have beauty tool" for beauty lovers during the Chinese New Year, festivals, and important occasions.

The most common ways to use false eyelashes are pasting and grafting.

Gluing false eyelashes is to glue the false eyelashes to the roots of your own eyelashes, usually closer to the edge of the eyelid. The duration is short, and they will usually come loose and need to be removed after washing the face on the same day.

Copyright images in the gallery. Reprinting and using them may lead to copyright disputes.

Eyelash grafting is also known as "eyelash grafting" or "semi-permanent eyelash extension". In fact, it is not really implanting false eyelashes into the skin, but using glue to force the false eyelashes to be glued to the real eyelashes one by one. About 40 to 80 false eyelashes will be grafted on each eye. Carefully adjusting the curvature of each false eyelash can make the eyelashes natural and thick. One grafting lasts for 2 to 6 weeks. Don't underestimate the small size of false eyelashes, the cost is not low, and each planting costs from hundreds to thousands.

Copyright images in the gallery. Reprinting and using them may lead to copyright disputes.

In recent years, magnetic eyelashes have become popular again. Magnetic eyelashes are said to be fixed to the eyelid margin by their own magnetism without the use of glue, and their beautifying effect on the eyes is similar to the previous two.

Image source: a shopping platform

So which one is better and which one is healthier? Today, let’s talk about false eyelashes to help you become more beautiful and healthy at the same time.

False eyelashes are an invisible killer of eye health

The main component of false eyelashes is synthetic fiber (such as polyester fiber). The chemical composition of the adhesive currently used is relatively complex. The author can see the following main ingredients on the current regular product labels: latex, acrylate copolymer, lauryl alcohol, methylparaben, etc.

The eyes are extremely sensitive visual organs. These chemical components are highly irritating and long-term use will have a great impact on the health of the ocular surface.

What is even more frightening is that if you encounter unscrupulous merchants using inferior false eyelashes and glue, they may add formaldehyde, lead and benzoic acid, etc. Lead is a heavy metal, and the long-term cumulative effect can lead to heavy metal poisoning, and its harm to the body is well known.

Formaldehyde is a colorless irritant chemical. In the list of carcinogens published by the World Health Organization and the International Agency for Research on Cancer in 2017, formaldehyde is a Class 1 carcinogen. Benzoic acid has long been used as a dye carrier and preservative in industry, and long-term contact is irritating to the skin and eyes.

In addition to these, let us take a closer look at what other eye problems may result from long-term use of false eyelashes?

1. Keratoconjunctivitis, blepharitis and dry eyes

Usually manifested as eyelid stinging, red and dry eyes, foreign body sensation, photophobia and tearing, etc. Within a few hours of false eyelash grafting, the glue containing formaldehyde may directly disperse onto the ocular surface or directly penetrate into the hair follicles or block the opening of the meibomian glands at the eyelid margin, causing folliculitis and abnormal secretion of lipids that lubricate the eyeball.

A 2023 study of 32 people who had eyelash extensions found that 84.44% reported eye discomfort one hour after the procedure, with the most common foreign body sensation accounting for 59.38%.

As the usage time increases, the tear film breakup time of the population is significantly reduced and the incidence of corneal staining is greatly increased.

Image source: Author

From a professional perspective, the reduction in tear film breakup time is an important indicator for diagnosing dry eyes, while ocular surface staining means that the corneal conjunctival epithelium on the surface of the eyeball is damaged. In mild cases, it causes red eyes and tears, while in severe cases, it causes vision impairment, which is extremely detrimental to eye health.

2. Eye allergies

Usually manifested as redness, swelling, stinging, itching, tears, etc. These symptoms may appear a few hours or days after using false eyelashes. The main reason is that the stimulation of various chemical components causes allergic reactions in the eye skin or cornea.

Copyright images in the gallery. Reprinting and using them may lead to copyright disputes.

Of course, some people may mention that before using glue, don’t we do an allergy test on the skin? We need to remind everyone that the nerve endings in the eyes are extremely rich, and their sensitivity is different from that of the skin. As ophthalmologists, we see patients who come to see us almost every day for eye problems caused by various allergens, but not all of them also have skin allergy symptoms.

3. Subconjunctival hemorrhage

The main manifestation is scattered flake hemorrhages in the conjunctiva (white of the eye). This usually occurs after violent mechanical damage during eyelash grafting or removal of false eyelashes. Minor bleeding may not be a big deal after slow absorption, but obvious hemorrhages mean that the eye has been mechanically damaged by greater force, which should be avoided as much as possible.

4. Damage to original eyelashes

The location where false eyelashes are attached and grafted is near the eyelid follicles. Long-term chemical stimulation causes damage to the hair follicles, affecting the regeneration of eyelashes. Many people will find that their real eyelashes and implanted false eyelashes will gradually fall off together, leaving their eyes bare and their own eyelashes unable to grow again. Even if they do grow, they may appear very sparse or even have the risk of eyelashes growing backwards and damaging the cornea.

Some time ago, there was a news report that a girl grew white eyelashes after using false eyelashes for a long time. These unprofitable consequences are all caused by the damage to hair follicles by harmful chemicals.

Are magnetic eyelashes that don’t require glue healthy?

In recent years, magnetic false eyelashes that can be attached without glue have become increasingly popular. Their selling points are said to have the following advantages:

Image source: a shopping platform

The main principle of magnetic false eyelashes is to first apply magnetic black eyeliner on the eyelid edge, and then fix the false eyelashes on the eyelid edge through magnetic attraction.

The main ingredients of magnetic eyeliner are black iron oxide, propylene glycol, decamethylcyclopentasiloxane, silane, hydroxymethylimidazolidinyl urea, etc. Although these industrial chemical raw materials are not clearly carcinogenic, they are repeatedly applied to the eyelid margins and have a high probability of causing eye allergies or blocking the meibomian glands or hair follicles due to their irritation, causing eye infections or dry eyes.

In addition, magnetic eyelashes have a "killer feature" that you may not expect: it will seriously interfere with magnetic resonance imaging.

Einat et al. conducted a study and found that magnetic eyelashes can not only produce a large number of artifacts, affecting the clarity and accuracy of magnetic resonance images, but also may have the risk of falling off and being adsorbed on the magnet during scanning, and may even burn the person being examined.

Therefore, these potential risks deserve our attention and avoidance.

Pay attention to these 6 points when using false eyelashes

Knowing that false eyelashes have so many harms, many people will ask: Does that mean false eyelashes can no longer be used? Of course not, but you must pay attention to the following points:

1. Try to reduce the frequency of using false eyelashes. If you occasionally grow false eyelashes, you must choose a regular beauty medical institution and choose experienced personnel to perform the operation;

2. Choose false eyelashes and glue of good quality, and resolutely give up inferior products containing highly toxic ingredients such as formaldehyde and lead. If the product does not even have an ingredient list, it is recommended not to use it;

3. Customers with eye diseases or allergies should avoid using false eyelashes;

4. Remove makeup thoroughly without any glue or eyeliner residue, and frequently use eye wipes to keep the roots of eyelashes clean;

5. Do not wear false eyelashes all day long. If your eyes become itchy, red, or swollen, see a doctor immediately.

6. People who wear magnetic eyelashes must remember to remove their false eyelashes before the MRI examination.

Finally, I want to say: no matter how long or short your eyelashes are, your own are the best. You can't become beautiful at the expense of your health. Let's take care of our eyelashes, our eyes, and have a happy Year of the Dragon!

References
[1]Jiaxin Han etc.The effects of eyelash extensions on the ocular surface. Cont Lens Anterio Eye. 2024 Jan 2:102109

[2]Formaldehyde Release From Eyelash Glues: Analysis Using the Chromotropic Acid Method.Dermatitis, 2022 Nov-Dec;33(6):442-446

[3]Amano Y., Sugimoto Y., Sugita M. Ocular disorders due to eyelash extensions. Cornea 2012;31:121–125.

[4]Consumer Council (Hong Kong). Beware of Effects and Risks of Eyelash Extension Before Trying.Consumer Council Hong Kong). https://www.consumer.org.hk/ws_en/news/press/p46403.html. Accessed November 30, 2015.

[5]Consumer Reports. Eyelash extensions can pose health risks. Consumer Reports. http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2013/05/eyelash-extensions-can-pose-health-risks/index.htm. Accessed November 30, 2015.

[6]Slonimsky E, Mamourian A. Magnetic Eyelashes: A New Source of MRI Artifacts. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2019 Nov;213(5):983-985.

Planning and production

This article is a work of Science Popularization China-Starry Sky Project

Produced by: Science Popularization Department of China Association for Science and Technology

Producer｜China Science and Technology Press Co., Ltd., Beijing Zhongke Xinghe Culture Media Co., Ltd.

Author: Zhang Qi, an ophthalmologist at Zhuozheng Medical

Reviewer: Jiang Yang, deputy chief physician of ophthalmology department, Peking Union Medical College Hospital