(KATV) Little Rock — Eyelash extensions have become a staple of the beauty industry over the last several years. They’re individual lashes that are applied to a person’s real eyelashes by a licensed technician. There could be some hidden dangers you need to know about, after Channel 7 News pulled complaints submitted to the Arkansas Department of Health.
“Lash extensions are applied to each individual eyelash one by one, so it is a little bit of a tedious process,” said Tessa Martin, owner of Winc Beauty. “Lash extensions are our bread and butter here at Winc Beauty. We do them all day every day. They are so popular.”
With anything incredibly popular, there will always be someone trying to make a quick buck., even if it comes at the expense of your eyes. Channel 7’s Elicia Dover requested and poured through hundreds of pages of complaints sent to the Arkansas Department of Health over the last two years.
One complaint saying after getting lash extensions, “My eyes were burning, red as ever and my real lashes were all stuck together. After 2-3 days they were falling out.”
Another complaint said her eye was glued shut, complaining her eye was blurry watery, red and irritated. Later saying “My eye wasn’t doing any better, I was completely blind in the eye and my eyeball was grey.” Her lashes had to be cut off by an eye doctor.
Another complaint said eyes were burned and real lashes fell off. She ended up at the doctor with a hard, swollen ball on the eyelid, an infected gland. The only way to remove it is surgery, he said.
“It really just saddens me that there are techs out there who aren’t properly trained, who aren’t taking the same precautions we do,” Martin said.
Not only are some not properly trained, in some instances, they’re not even licensed. The health department is stepping in to stop one lash tech once and for all this month. After multiple complaints, and sending her ciest and objections, which were ignored, she’s been referred for criminal prosecution.
“You have to have a license to perform lash extensions. No ifs, ands or buts about it. If you have any questions about that, you should ask to see your lash techs license,” Martin said.
While some of these infections are caused by a few bad actors, it turns out, some of the grossest lash extension problems could actually be caused by you. It’s called lash mites.
“I have seen mite infestation, blepharitis, I’ve seen that quite a few times,” said Optometrist Dr. Mary Price at UAMS. She says believe it or not, we all have them.
“These parasites in a healthy amount, do help remove waste a debris, which keeps the eyelash follicles healthy and keeps the eyelashes growing. The problem is when these parasites overpopulate, it can start to cause a variety of ocular diseases,” she said .
Not cleaning your eyes well is what causes lash mites to overpopulate. Dr. Price says those with lash extensions are at a higher risk.
“Just making sure you get right at the margins, cleaning any debris off is the key to making sure you don’t have an infestation of these parasites,” Dr. Price said.
Lash mites can only be seen with a microscope so if you have any persistent eye irritation or problems, Dr. Price says it’s best to get your eyes looked at by a doctor to make sure you don’t have an eyelash mite infestation.
Martin says keeping the lashes clean is his biggest crusade. Clients lashes are washed thoroughly before application. Each person is sent home with special lash shampoo and told to wash them often.
“But I had to pick it out of lashes and that just grossed me out. I hate to see it. So it is super important to take your eye make up well at night. Let’s not give those myths anything to much on, Martin said.
Three things to remember:
1. Make sure your lashes are being applied in a clean, health department inspected, sterile environment.
2. Make sure your lash tech is licensed and experienced.
3. Do your part in keeping them clean.
“You just wash them a few times a week and pat them dry and if you take care of them, they’ll take care of you,” Martin said.
And another warning, the lash extensions can fall into your eye and scratch it. Dr. Price says they’re a lot more abrasive than getting a regular lash in your eye.
Inspections, citations and complaints made to the health department are public information so if there’s a particular business you’d like to know more about, you can request those records.