From eyelids glued shut to nasty infections... how eyelash extensions are a health hazard and could cause your natural lashes to fall out

  • Dr Robert Dorin earns eyelash extensions are causing serious health problems
  • Some people are allergic to the glue which sticks the lashes on, he warned
  • Dirt and bacteria get trapped in the extensions, leading to eye infections
  • Extensions weigh down on the hair follicles of the eyelid, damaging the natural lashes so they grow thinner, or stop growing altogether 

Eyelash extensions can pose health risks from infections to allergic reactions, one doctor warns

Eyelash extensions can pose health risks from infections to allergic reactions, one doctor warns

Many women dreaming of long, luscious lashes opt to extend what nature bestowed upon them.

But while they may seem harmless, one doctor has warned eyelash extensions can pose serious health risks, from eye infections to allergic reactions. 

They can even damage a person's natural eyelashes and make them look thinner, he warned. 

Eyelash extensions, normally applied in salons but also available in DIY kits, are individual synthetic lashes that are glued onto a woman's own lashes.

They promise to lengthen, add volume and last up to six weeks.

But Dr Robert Dorin, from True and Dorin Medical Group in New York City told Medical Daily that the glue used to bind them to a woman's natural lashes can cause allergic reactions in some people.

He said: 'And for some reason bacteria wants to stick with it, and it could cause fungal or viral infections as well.'

Some glues contain formaldehyde, which can cause allergic reactions.

In addition, the fashionable lashes can trigger eye infections as dirt and bacteria get caught in them, he said.

But the biggest risk is that the extensions weigh down on the eyelids, damaging the natural eyelashes, causing them to become thinner.

'The weight of using [eyelash extensions] on a regular basis can put stress on the hair follicle and eventually make it fall out and not grow back,' Dr Dorin said.

'The incentive to use it is to make your lashes fuller, and it can actually do the reverse and make them thinner.'

The weight of using eyelash extensions on a regular basis can put stress on the hair follicle and eventually make it fall out and not grow back
Dr Robert Dorin, of True and Dorin Medical Group, New York

In Japan, eyelash extensions are becoming hugely popular, but this has led to eye doctors seeing a rise in patients with problems, Dr Dorin added.

Most visits to eye clinics in the country are for infections caused by extensions, he told MedicalDaily journalists.

His warning comes after MailOnline reported on a slew of horror stories where a visit to the salon for lash extensions went horribly wrong.

In 2013 Jane Rolfe, of Essex, suffered an extreme allergic reaction to eyelash extensions was forced to spend five hours peeling them off her face after the salon refused to remove them.

The 42-year-old was left with severely blistered skin for weeks after suffering a severe, painful allergic reaction to the glue used to apply eyelash extensions. 

She claims her local beauty salon in Essex failed to perform a patch test - where a small part of the substance is placed on the skin more than 24 hours beforehand to check for an allergic reaction.

Although Mrs Rolfe, a primary school teaching assistant, told the beautician she had never had extensions before, she says she was not given an allergy test. 

Jane Rolfe, 42, suffered an extreme allergic reaction to eyelash extensions was forced to spend five hours peeling them off her face after the salon refused to remove them. She is pictured before the reaction
She was left with severely She was left with blistered skin for weeks after suffering a severe, painful allergic reaction to the glue used to apply eyelash extensions

Jane Rolfe, 42, was left with severely blistered skin for weeks after suffering a severe, painful allergic reaction to the glue used to apply eyelash extensions. She is pictured before (left) and after (right) the reaction

Although Mrs Rolfe, a primary school teaching assistant, told the beautician she had never had extensions before, she says she was not given an allergy test, which checks for allergic reactions

Although Mrs Rolfe, a primary school teaching assistant, told the beautician she had never had extensions before, she says she was not given an allergy test, which checks for allergic reactions

And in the same year, Louise Jackson, from Bexley, Kent, went to a salon in Gloucester for a set of eyelash extensions three months before her wedding day in a trial run for the big day.

She was excited as the eyelashes were individually applied, but this turned to horror when she tried to open her eyes and felt them glued together.

'After half an hour she told me to open my eyes and look in the mirror,' Mrs Jackson said.

'But I couldn't - they were stuck together. I told her and she said: 'I'll just get some tweezers".

'I thought that a couple of the lashes must have got stuck, but as she prised my eyes apart I could feel my skin being pulled - my eyelids were stuck together.

'I screamed with the pain. When she finally prised my eyes open, I looked in the mirror and could see that dozens of my own lashes had been pulled out in the process.

'There were gaps on the upper and lower lids.

Louise Jackson went to a salon to have eyelash extensions applied in a trial-run for her wedding
The glue stuck her eyelids together and she was forced to prize them open with tweezers, causing them to sting and swell

Louise Jackson had eyelash extensions applied in a trial-run for her wedding (left). But the glue stuck her eyelids together and she was forced to prize them open with tweezers, causing them to sting and swell (right)

'I started crying and felt as if I was having a panic attack. I refused to pay and left in flood of tears, with the glue still burning my eyes.'

Later, she was forced to go to A&E department at Stroud General Hospital where doctors said it looked as though the salon had used super-glue.

They couldn't take the extensions off as further chemicals would irritate her eyes even more, they said.

'I was so upset and worried that they wouldn't get better before my wedding. I picked off the lashes and glue, bit by bit, every day for the next week. It was agony,' Mrs Jackson said.

'Even though the salon specialised in brows and lashes, I don't think the therapist had a clue what she was doing. 

'Friends said I should take legal action, but I couldn't face it. I have since found out the salon closed. I'm not surprised.' 

 

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