Ladies (or gentleman): Do you use mascara? Me too, which is why I think this topic is important because it will affect your opinion on a product you use in your everyday lives.
Mascara is one of the most commonly used pieces of makeup out there. I don’t know about you, but it can really brighten my eyes on a day when I look dead tired. I am sure many of you can agree with that! If you don’t have time to do makeup, you can throw a little mascara on, and you are good to go! For the few of you out there who don’t know what mascara is, it is a black liquid substance that comes in a tube, and you use the brush to give your eyelashes volume and length. But after using mascara for years, my eyelashes have seemingly become thinner and smaller. I am curious if this is because I clean my eye makeup off too roughly or because the mascara is doing harm to my eyelashes. Or is it a combination of both?
After doing some research, I kept stumbling across the term eyelash mites; this word makes me cringe as I type! Apparently your eyelashes are a popular place for bacteria to grow, and mascara only worsens the situation. According to Healthy Body Daily, older people are more prone to having eyelash mites because their immune system is weaker allowing an easy entry for bacteria, causing them to catch bacteria more easily . You might have eyelash mites if your eyes are itchy or your eyelashes fall out often. This really makes me worry that I might be carrying these tiny parasites! Read more on Eyelashes here
Apparently the adult mites are .4 mm long and have a semi-transparent body. The body looks somewhat like an ant’s body; it has two fused body parts stuck together with about 8 hairs on the first part of the body. The mites are covered with scales to help themselves attach to the eyelash. The mites have a sharp, point like mouth, which eats away the dead skin cells and hair follicles on the eyelash.
These bacteria that also grow on the sebaceous gland of the eye, ALSO attach themselves onto the nose, forehead, cheeks, and chin, according to Steady Health! I wonder why that is so! Our faces are honestly a party for bacteria; we put all sorts of products on our faces, we touch our faces, other people touch our faces, and so on… Maybe these parasites attach themselves on the peach fuzz hairs on our faces. But do these mites grow on other parts of our body with hair? They are like a mixture between lice and termites! They grow on/in hair and they eat away whatever it is they want.
More about Eyelash Mites and What to do About Them
On certain occasions, I don’t wash my eye makeup off because I am too tired. After not washing the mascara off for one night, these mites have already started eating at your mascara. You do not need to wear mascara to get eyelash mites, but it certainly increases the chance that you might have them. Does your mascara start to become dry and clumped up the day after you don’t wash it off? It is best just to clean your makeup the night you wear it because after that is when it starts to become crusty and even harder to wipe off.
The female mites are shorter and rounder than males. They fertilize and lay eggs on your eyelashes, which eventually hash and create their own eggs. Your eyelashes are a breeding ground for eyelash mite eggs! A female can lay up to 20 eggs in one eyelash! I read earlier that each eye can have about 200 eyelashes, but this seems somewhat exaggerated. I think I could look at my eye and count my eyelashes, and there certainly are not 200, let alone 100! Maybe I have fewer eyelashes than the everyday person because I do wear mascara, but 200 seem like a lot more than we can see on each eye. Anyway, if we have 200 lashes on each eye and 20 eggs on each lash, then that means we have 4,000 eggs on each eye. They can survive up to a few weeks. Hope your eyes are not hurting reading this!
Who knew there are so many small components to things that are seemingly harmless? Remember you do not have to wear mascara to have eyelash mites. But, if you do wear mascara and are losing your eyelashes like me, there are probably reasons other than the eyelash mites. Apparently, the amount of usage, the type of mascara, and the application and application and removal process are all big factors of how mascara can affect your eyelashes, according to Consumer Health Digest. It is all pretty simple. The more you use mascara, the more likely it is to negatively affect your eyelashes. The more layers you apply, the more likely your eyelashes are to dry out or clump up. I am about to tell you something that I bet you did not know! Pumping the tube twice is worse for you because it allows air to be pumped in the tube, which permits more possibility for contamination. So, only pump the tube once or your eyelashes become more prone to getting infected! In addition, much mascara contains petroleum, which slows down eyelash growth. Your eyelashes could be falling off because you are allergic to the ingredients inside the mascara, which there are also hypoallergenic ones to buy.
But there are so many mascaras for sale; I can imagine it is hard to choose one. Do you use waterproof mascara? I have that now, but the next time I buy mascara, I am not going to buy that kind. Apparently, waterproof mascaras contain a chemical called dimethicone copolyol that sticks to lashes and makes it even harder to remove the mascara. Next time I have both waterproof and non-waterproof, I’ll have to test out which one is harder to take off! Have any of you noticed the differences in how mascara comes off depending on brand or style? The best type of mascara to buy is all natural. Read more about Lashes here
The makeup you use is very important; your face is the only thing you have that will stay with you through time and reflect what how much time you have been through! It is worth spending a bit more money than in the future having wrinkles or no eyelashes because you did not wipe your makeup off and gave into these mites! I am disgusted now knowing what is really growing on my eyelashes. Truthfully, am I going to stop using mascara? No, but I am going to continue cleaning my makeup off every night and encouraging my friends to do so. I hope this article convinced of how important it really is to take care of your skin and the consequences of neglecting it. More Tips Here
Source: Paulina Moussavy in Science in our World: Certainty and Controversy
