Rebecca’s contact concern: I read at Consumer Reports.org that contact lens wearers should not use lash-extending mascaras because they contain microfibers that become trapped under the lens and scratch the cornea. What qualifies as a lash-extending mascara? Do the labels “lengthening” and “lash-extending” mean the same thing? Do they mean anything? If a mascara is labeled safe for contact lens wearers is it indeed safe?
The Left Brain’s cautionary contact connection: 
Excellent question, Rebecca. I’m a big fan of Consumer Reports so I tracked down the article you referenced along with a few other resources. It turns out that there is a real reason for concern in this case.
Contact concern
After reading what Consumer Reports said I found another source, The Look You Like: Medical Answers to 400 Questions on Skin and Hair Care, that describes the basic problem: lash extenders consist of tiny synthetic fibers in a liquid base. When the liquid evaporates the fibers are left behind on the lashes, making them look longer. But as these fibers become loose they can stick get in your eye and become stuck to your contacts.
I found additional details in a 1985 New York Times article that quoted Dr. Oliver H. Dabezies Jr., a clinical professor of ophthalmology at Tulane Medical School. Dr. Dabezies specified that the synthetic fibers used in masacaras are actually nylon fibers. I thought it was interesting that he notes using cosmetics with soft contacts is particularly risky because those types of lenses “are like sponges that absorb everything, including mascara.” So soft lenses are prone to clouding due to absorbed bits of mascara while hard lenses can trap nylon fibers that can cause painful scratches which can lead to eye infections.
Safety testing
What about mascara that claims to be safe for contact-lens wearers? According to the article, “even these claims, however, do not indicate whether the products have been tested with all types of lenses. Maybelline’s mascaras, for example, though labeled ”safe with contact lenses,” were not tested with the new extended-wear lenses. Nor has Max Factor’s ”For Your Eyes Only” line.” I recognize that this article is a bit dated, but it does make me wonder if these companies have updated their testing.
Which brands contain nylon?
I did a quick search and found several brands that use Nylon-6 or Nylon-12.
Yves Saint Laurent MASCARA VOLUME EFFET FAUX CILS Luxurious Mascara
Revlon Lash Fantasy Total Definition Primer & Mascara
You can do a quick check on your own brands by looking at the ingredient list for any chemicals that contain the term “nylon.”
The Beauty Brains bottom line
Based on what I’ve seen, if you wear contact lenses it might be wise to avoid using mascaras that contain nylon fibers. Product names like Longer Lash, Lush Lash, and Lash Lengthener, don’t really tell you very much, so to be safe you need to look at the ingredient list for any ingredient says “nylon.”
What do YOU think? Do you wear contacts? What kind of mascara do you use? Leave a lengthening comment for the rest of the Beauty Brains community.
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Thanks for answering my question, Left Brain.
I checked my Almay One Coat Lengthening mascara (labeled safe for contacts) and it does in fact contain Nylon-12. Almay One Coat Thickening does not appear to contain nylon though, so I’m going to pick that up the next time I buy a tube.
Thanks again.
I’m currently using Rimmel Eye Magnifier Eye Opening Mascara, Extreme Black. After checking the ingredients:
Water Aqua ,
Paraffin ,
Beeswax Cera Alba ,
Stearic Acid ,
PVP ,
Copernicia Cerifera Carnauba Wax Cera Carnauba ,
C18-36 Acid Triglyceride ,
Triethanolamine ,
Lecithin ,
Acrylates Copolymer ,
Panthenol ,
Propylene Glycol ,
Polyvinyl Alcohol ,
Phenoxyethanol ,
Methylparaben ,
Tocopheryl Acetate ,
Talc ,
Propylparaben ,
Benzyl Alcohol ,
Simethicone ,
Iron Oxides CI 77491 – CI 77492 – CI 77499 ,
Carmine CI 75470 ,
Chromium Hydroxide Green CI 77289 ,
Chromium Oxide Greens CI 77288 ,
Mica CI 77019 ,
Titanium Dioxide CI 77891 ,
Ultramarines CI 77007
I don’t see nylon listed.
Would anything else in there be bad for contact wearers?
I’ve been having a lot of problems with my contacts just of late, even scratched one eye. I took my contacts out (now I’m breaking out since I’m allergic to nickel =( ) I’m still getting things in my eyes, but it isn’t contact catastrophe like before.
So, I think I have my answer. I use Rimmel’s ‘NYLON IN YOUR EYES MASCARA’ or something like that. Sephora lists ingredients don’t they? Anyone have some recs for a good, lush, non-clumpy mascara?
I use Neutrogena Clean Lash Tint and I’ve never had any problems with it. I have not looked at the ingredients, and it doesn’t do a lot other than darken, but it is the only thing I’ve found that NEVER smudges and doesn’t flake off into my contacts or anything else. An eyelash curler and a couple of light coats make my lashes look pretty good.
Thanks for this information – who knew?? I’m going to check all of my mascaras now!
I just checked the ingredients for Too Faced Lash Injection Black mascara, and it looks like there’s no nylon. Yay!
Great article! I’m going to check all my mascaras asap now!
My Maybelline Define-a-Lash in the green bottle lists rayon as an ingredient. Is that the same as nylon fibers?
Hello,
I am wearing soft contact lenses (Acuvue Oasis) and using Yves Saint Laurent MASCARA VOLUME EFFET FAUX CILS Luxurious Mascara and I have never ever experienced any problem
Is Loreal’s Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara safe for contact lens wearers? It definitely is meant to lengthen lashes, but i do not see nylon listed in the ingredients. it does list rayon as an ingredient, i’m not sure if thats okay or not.
this article really helps a lot.thanks.i’ll be more cautious on buying mascara next time as i wear contact lens too(sometimes cosmetic lens,sometimes soft lens)
I don’t wear contacts but I do have a problem with mascara fibers they seem to build up despite scrupulous cleaning. I have a residue of black thread like debris in my eyes.The eye doctor suggested not wearing any but he is a male and unarare of how much I miss it. It seems to me Clinique has been a problem though I am told their simplest mascara has no fibers.Fresh makes a good one but it is expensive- I tried neutrogena OK not much oomph basically I need something that washes off easily not waterproof and has some lash building without fibers- thanks linda
This isn’t a comment about mascara, but about the person who had thread-like debris in her eyes. It ‘s possible that the debris (but not the black color) may be the result of an allergy. I had that sort of uncomfortable debris in my eyes for years. I thought it was protein deposits, but it was an allergic response to thirmasol etc. in the contact lens solutions I was using. Clean and Clear or any solution that’s hydrogen peroxide based (the kind that burns if you get it in your eyes before it’s neutralized) might help.
I think that basing your reasoning on a 1985 article in this case is a really, really BAD IDEA!!! Why? First of all, microfibers have gone a long way since 1985 (actually “Microfibers were first publicized in the early 1990s in Sweden and saw success as a product in Europe over the course of the decade.[4] In 2007, Rubbermaid began a line of microfiber products for American markets, the first major company to do so.[4]” from Wikipedia. Can add that we got microfiber products for consumers at around 1990 in Norway also, I remember going to microfiber homeparties at that time, modern microfiber cloths and floor mops for professional and home cleaning was the big thing that more or less exploded on the market here then, but it’s use for other consumer applications, e.g. clothing and probably mascara too, came quite a bit later). They recently also began making microfibers out of several different materials, which were not possible back in 1985, so just thinking that it has to be nylon microfibers, is not even good reasoning today. ALSO, a lot has happened to contact lenses since 1985. Back in 1985, day lenses were not used, not even month lenses were used – I would think that a large portion of lens wearers today, use these types of lenses which came quite a few years later (in the 90′s). A set of lenses were to last a long, long time and for that reason, make-up absorpsion and clouding of the lenses were much more of a huge concern, something that probably is not even a concern at all for most lens wearers today. Also, in 1985 it was still quite common to wear hard lenses, e.g. it was still common for people who had cataract surgery to have to use such lenses if they preferred to not (or just could not take!) wearing the “coke bottle bottom” thick eye corrective eye glasses (I remember my mother became sick to her stomach if she had to wear her glasses instead of lenses after her surgeries, the thick lenses on the glasses literally make her sick, while the lenses felt much more natural. Later she had lenses operated in, something that soon became the norm. She had surgery on her last eye in the spring of 1985. Her contact lenses were + 15.5 and + 14.5!). These hard lenses are very rarely used today, for lots of reasons, but in some cases, hard lenses is still the choice (maybe even for some with cataracts, if they for some reason can’t fit them with that permanent lens? Not sure)…
For these reasons, I would not look to advice given by a professional that far back. His arguments may have changed considerably since then, because of developments both in lenses, lens cleaning and make-up (incl. the use of microfibers). Also, the most serious injuries caused by fibers trapped behind lenses, was about hard contact lenses. These are
But, still, had it been me, I would use fiber mascaras with some caution (and look out for loose fibers that can come loose easily after application). I do not think, however, that using such a mascara e.g. when you go out for the evening, could cause much damage if you use day lenses, if the mascara is marked safe for lens wearers (would think that well known brands have done testing etc. before taking the chance of liability because of their marking – so I would stick to those brands). Most of us would start the next day with a fresh pair of lenses anyway – so a fiber caught in between a lens and the eye would not be allowed to sit for very long (if it is small enough to not cause real discomfort so you wouldn’t know of the need to take the lens out and rinse the eye/lens). If it is a fiber of a certain size, it sure would cause discomfort though, and prompt you to do something about it then and there…
Another thing is that the fibers used in fiber mascara back in 1985, were huge fibers (certainly not microfibers!)! They were easy to see in the mascara, looked like shorter eyelashes that had fallen off. One of those fibers into your eye, sure caused you to do something then and there – we all know how it feels to get an eyelash into an eye, it hurts, your eye gets red and runs horribly!
This subject sure reminds me of a mascara I had at that time. I could never find it again later, but it was sooooo great. It had those huge fibers (which looked great) and the mascara left your lashes as soft as if you weren’t wearing anything at all. Never could find one like that one since then, it was just so much more comfy to wear than “normal” mascara!!! I mean, who wouldn’t want to have great long and full lashes AND feel like you aren’t wearing any make-up at all? That was exactly how that mascara was! New products doesn’t always mean progress, at least it didn’t in that case (but I can’t even be sure if it may exist still, as I couldn’t remember the brand and the writing on the tube wore off before I could get a new one)…
Anyone try the bright red tube Maybelline with the brush that is short and looks almost like a ball? I loved the look of that brush, and something tells me that it may be great (always liked to apply one lash at a time and want to keep lashes nicely separated), but it is waterproof. I don’t like waterproof mascara for every day use! Wish they could make another one with the same brush! Maybe I have to buy two, and swap brushes? Silly to have to do that, but if that’s the only way to get that cool brush…