Health and Medicine
PUBLISHED
Modern humans are blessed to live in an era of self-expression. Want green hair? You got it. Fancy some tattoos on that arm? Why not. And if you want lashes on fleek, then hoo boy, do we have a selection of falsies for you.
It’s fun to shake things up from time to time, but on occasion our grooming habits can be sabotaged by uninvited guests. Case in point: face mites.
It’s thought that pretty much everyone has face mites, known to science as Demodex, living rent-free on their skin. The most common hitchhikers are D. folliculorum and D. brevis, who live in hair follicles and sebaceous glands.
The thought of having microscopic spider relatives embedded in your skin might seem a little daunting to an arachnophobe (especially given, you know, their penises), but for most people they’re harmless.
In some cases, however, they can give rise to demodicosis, a skin condition caused by an overabundance of these mites. It’s therefore important to keep tabs on any factors that could contribute to their overgrowth.
A recent study took a closer look at the eyelashes of women who regularly get extensions. It surveyed 345 women aged between 16 and 28, a quarter of whom had previously had eyelash extensions, 58 percent of whom reported they got extensions every three to four weeks.
Just under half of those with eyelash extensions reported experiencing discomfort, redness, itching, and tearing after the procedure. To find out what might be causing this, the investigators used meibography to examine the meibomian glands through the eyelids using infrared light.
These glands are found along the edge of the eyelids and keep the eye moisturized by producing an oily lipid layer that sits in a film over the eye. When it goes wrong, in a condition known as meibomian gland dysfunction, you get dry, irritated eyes.
The examinations found that of the women who had had eyelash extensions at least 10 times, 85 percent had meibomian gland dysfunction.
Then came the time to look for face mites. The investigators used a microscope to examine lash samples from 25 women who regularly had extensions. They found D. folliculorum in 24 of the women, and 18 showed signs of a type of skin irritation caused by the mites known as demodicosis.
It sounds scary, but it’s worth noting the study was a small sample size and didn’t compare them against samples from women who didn’t get lash extensions.
The presence of mites also isn’t enough to indicate disease, but the findings could be significant for any person who regularly gets lash extensions and experiences symptoms such as itching, inflammation, and scaly skin around their lashes.
“Our findings do not suggest that people should completely avoid eyelash extensions,” said Dr Tetiana Zhmud, from National Pirogov Memorial Medical University, Ukraine, in a release.
“However, they highlight the importance of proper eyelid hygiene, awareness of symptoms and timely assessment when symptoms arise.”
The researchers also note that Demodex are one for clinicians to keep in mind when treating patients with eyelash extensions. It’s also useful information for beauty professionals who may be able to recommend proper eyelash extension aftercare to their clients.
The research was presented at the 44th Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS).
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