ATLANTA — Eyelash extensions are a big trend in the beauty industry right now.
But as more and more salons are offering the service, one eye specialist is warning customers to be very careful.
She said more and more patients are getting mites in their eyelashes.
Dr. Keshini Parbhu, of Orlando Eye Institute’s Dry Eye Center, said to be wary of the extensions that are individually applied lash by lash by a technician.
If you don't take care of them properly you could be in for a surprise, from some nearly invisible invaders.
A woman named Ashley said she went to a salon three or four times to add extensions to her eyelashes. But she then woke up with her eyes swollen and irritated.
She then went to Dr. Parbhu.
“She went ahead and put the lash and put it under the microscope and told me that I did have the demodex,” Ashley said.
The demodex mites are so small that you can only see them under a microscope. They live off the oils in a person's eyelashes.
“They burrow to the base of the lash follicles and they feed off this material,” Parbhu.
We may have them on our bodies naturally but Parbhu said they're prone to flock to eyelashes and eyebrows.
If they overpopulate, infection can set in.
Parbhu said she's seeing more and more patients with this issue from extensions that are individually glued on each lash
“In the younger people, especially women, it tends to occur with eyelash extensions or people that wear eye makeup and tend to not take it off,” Parbhu said.
Parbhu believes salons that see consecutive clients and don't properly clean tools could also harbor this mite.
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While the condition is treatable, that process takes time.
Each individual lash is cleaned with a special tool, followed by up to three months of after-care and anti-parasitic medication -- all at a cost of more than $300.
For Ashley, who's now happily mite-free said she'll be staying away from lash extensions.
“I don't want them, no,” Ashley said.
Even if you don't have extensions, doctors say you can still get the mites if you don't change out your eye makeup or clean your eyes before you go to sleep.
Parbhu recommends doing that, as well as changing your pillow case often.