According to an article recently published in The Chicago Tribune, growing longer eyelashes by using pharmaceuticals might be downright dangerous.
Latisse®, for example, a drug that can treat the (new) medical condition "inadequate eyelashes," has a few unpleasant side effects. It may grow excessive hair in places you don't want (or expect). It could turn your blue eyes brown. It could darken your lower eyelids, giving your raccoon eyes. And it might make your eyes red and itchy.
So for about $100 a month, you get longer eyelashes (at least till you stop using the drug) but unless lost your eyelashes from chemotherapy, Latisse may not be worth the risk of its side effects.
Commercials aimed at a general audience make the product seem more like make-up than a powerful prescription drug, Consumer Reports associate editor Jamie Kopf Hirsh wrote in Adwatch.
The Food and Drug Administration warned the manufacturer, Allergan, that promotional materials on the drug’s Web site omitted or minimized certain risks.
"The Latisse commercial embodies pretty much everything that’s wrong with direct-to-consumer advertising," Kopf Hirsh wrote.
Hirsh doesn't just mean using celebrities such as Brooke Shields to sell prescription drugs, or manufacturing a need by "taking a legitimate medical condition and broadening its definition to the point where it could apply to almost anyone." The commercials also downplay dangers while promoting the drugs as lifestyle enhancers.
Kopf Hirsh wrote, "Unlike other consumer products, like refrigerators or toasters, drugs have side effects—sometimes nasty ones."
In his article "Lashing out at Latisse", science blogger Abel Pharmboy points out that the drugs used for eyelash enhancement have a very good purpose for being—they help lower the interocular pressure in the eyes of glaucoma patients.
The FDA does not recognize "cosmeceuticals" as a product class but stepped in because cosmetics companies were selling unapproved drugs. About the same time, Allergan, manufacturer of the Lumigan brand of bimatoprost, sought approval for a product called Latisse, comprised of the same compound, but applied to the eyelash line with a sterile brush rather than into the eyes as ophthalmic drops. The FDA regulates this latter product because it was approved to treat hypotrichosis, the lack or paucity of eyelashes.
Nevertheless, it was clearly being sold as a cosmetic, judging, if from nothing else, that their advertisement used Brooke Shields.
In the FDA's ongoing surveillance of promotional claims for approved drugs, Allergan received a warning letter from the agency in 2009 citing several offenses. It appears that the company was judged to have underemphasized the risks of the drug in changing iris color, causing darkening of the eyelash line, or in growing hair on other parts of the skin where the drug might be accidentally applied.
The company does appear to have responded to the FDA letter. The following text is now displayed prominently at the bottom of the Latisse.com:
Important Safety Information
If you are using prescription products for lowering eye pressure or have a history of eye pressure problems, only use LATISSE® under close doctor supervision. May cause eyelid skin darkening which may be reversible, and there is potential for increased brown iris pigmentation which is likely to be permanent. There is a potential for hair growth to occur in areas where LATISSE® solution comes in repeated contact with skin surfaces. If you develop or experience any eye problems or have eye surgery, consult your doctor immediately about continued use of LATISSE®. The most common side effects after using LATISSE® solution are an itching sensation in the eyes and/or eye redness.
If all of this sounds a little scary to you (it does to us), please consider a safer route to gorgeous lashes that we offer here at Believe: eyelash tinting.
Vegetable-based dye (black, brown, blue, gray or a combo to suit your complexion) is used to make your pale lashes dark and bold. A patch test is performed to make sure you have no allergies. When that is done, upper and lower lashes both are painted (this takes about 15 minutes), then the dye sets (penetrating for about five minutes).
When the dye is washed away--voila! Darker lashes!
The color lasts for 3-5 weeks and means you'll have glamorous eyes around the clock. If you have light lashes, not a minute to spare in the morning or an active lifestyle (skiing or snowboarding anyone?) lash tinting is perfect for you. Best of all, it is safe (even for contact lens wearers.) After getting your lashes tinted, say goodbye to streaks, smears, or raccoon eyes.
Give us a call at Believe to set up an appointment for lash tinting (or we’ll be happy to add on the service to your next hair appointment). Get perfect lashes to frame those windows of your soul.