Penelope’s pain…I just had my second go round of fake eyelashes applied at a salon. My eyelids swelled up and got really red in the crease of the upper lids. It was painful!
The Right Brain responds:
Our blog post on “How To Remove False Eyelashes” has received tons of comments. But some women, like Penelope, have a problem even BEFORE they try to remove their ersatz eye hair. That’s because some of the glues used to attach fake lashes are preserved with formaldehyde, which can be highly irritating. The good news is that the solution to this problem could lie under the sea. (Cue music from the Little Mermaid…)
Magic from mollusks?
CosmeticsDesign reports that Kollodis BioSciences and Korean-based cosmetics company Lifeace are creating cosmetic glues based on mussel adhesive protein. Mussels, as we all remember from high school biology, are shell fish like oysters. They secrete a natural adhesive that bonds their gooey bodies to rocky undersea objects. This bit of savvy shellfish science could be used to formulate a non-toxic, irritant-free alternative to current eyelash glue products.
The Beauty Brains bottom line
Hang in there, Penelope! We’ll keep you posted when this new technology becomes commercially available.
What do YOU think? Do you have a problem with fake eyelash glue? Leave a comment for the rest of the Beauty Brains community.















{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Yes–32 years ago I was the glamour queen star of my high school play and had to forego the falsies. I learned to apply eyeliner and eyeshadow to get a smoky look that faked lashes well enough for the stage. For real life, mascara is it. Even so, until recently, I had to be careful of several of those!
Many people are allergic to the latex in eyelash adhesive, it’s the most common reason for a reaction that I have found. There are some latex free alternatives- i believe both ardell & duo make latex free alternatives.
I didn’t even know formaldehyde was in there. I am sensitive to that, so if I buy any glue, I will make sure to read the ingredients list carefully. I would like to try fakies, but I am scared they will come half off and look crazy in the wrong moment…