Can You Really Have Thicker
Longer Lashes Without Mascara?
Woman have always wanted to have
beautiful eyes in order to feel better about
themselves. Attractive eyes, skin
and teeth make a beautiful face and are a sign of good
health. A striking way of making the eyes more
attractive is to have thicker longer
eyelashes. Men have always been attracted to women
with beautiful eyes and eyelashes play a significant part in
enhancing a woman's appearance.
In ancient Egypt both men and woman
applied "eyepaint" made out of a mixture of soot and
powdered metal to their eyebrows and lashes. The Greeks made
formulas out of plants and minerals and as they spread their
influence throughout the ancient world the tradition of
enhancing their eyes with these products also spread. In the
early Christian era, until the Roman Empire fell, cosmetics
came into common use. For about 500 years, during the dark
ages, cosmetics fell out of use until they were re-introduced
by the Crusaders from the East. They flourished
throughout Europe during the Renaissance - at first only used
by the aristocracy - but by the 1700's all classes of society
were able to afford to do so.
In the 1800's the desire for
alluring eyelashes encouraged many creative woman to make
their own homemade concoctions out of ashes, castor oils and
berries. The first commercial mascara was invented by a London
perfumer in 1840 and gained popularity throughout the rest of
the 19th century because of easily available
compact mirrors and photography. An American chemist
formulated the first modern day mascara and called it
"Maybelline" - after his sister Mabel and Vaseline ( the
products main ingredient along with coal dust.) Furthur
advances were made in 1938 when a waterproof formula was
patented.
What women really want is to
have thicker longer
eyelashes. Then they feel more beautiful and feminine and
sexually desireable. The only way to get thicker longer lashes
until now has been to apply modern day versions of
mascara. This results in dirty, greasy eyelashes especially
when viewed up close. Artificial eyelashes or eyelash
extenstions are sometimes applied but they also result in
an unnatural appearance and can be a hassle to maintain
.
Introducing
LATISSE™
A new prescription product on the
market is LATISSE™ (bimatoprost ophthalmic solution) 0.03%
. LATISSE™ solution is a prescription treatment for
hypotrichosis used to grow eyelashes, making them longer,
thicker and darker. Hypotrichosis is the medical term for not
having enough eyelashes.
Precautions and
Usage
You should not use LATISSE™
if you are allergic to one of its ingredients. Its main
active ingredient is LUMIGAN® (bimatoprost ophthalmic
solution) .
LATISSE™ solution is intended for
use on the skin of the upper eyelid margins at the base of the
eyelashes. DO NOT APPLY to the lower eyelid.
If you have a history of abnormal
IOP (eye pressure that can cause glaucome) you should
only use LATISSE™ under the close supervision of your eye
doctor (ophthalmologist or optometrist) .
LATISSE™ may cause darkening of the
eyelid skin which may be reversible. (The darkening may fade
with discontinuation of LATISSE™ ).
Although not reported in clinical
studies, LATISSE™ use may also cause increased brown
pigmentation of the colored part of the eye (iris)which is
likely to be permanent. If you have blue or hazel eyes this is
something you should strongly consider.
You should tell your physician you
are using LATISSE™ especially if you have a history of eye
pressure problems. You should also tell anyone conducting an
eye pressure screening that you are using LATISSE™. The reason
for this is LATISSE™ may mask the presence of glaucoma that
you are unaware of. In clinical trials, in patients with
or without elevated IOP, LATISSE™ lowered IOP, however, the
magnitude of the reduction was not cause for clinical concern.
In ocular hypertension studies with LUMIGAN®, it has been
shown that exposure of the eye to more than one dose of
bimatoprost daily may decrease the intraocular pressure
lowering effect. In patients using LUMIGAN® or other
prostaglandin analogs for the treatment of elevated
intraocular pressure, the concomitant use of LATISSE™ may
interfere with the desired reduction in IOP. Patients using
prostaglandin analogs including LUMIGAN® for IOP reduction
should only use LATISSE™ after consulting with their physician
and should be monitored for changes to their intraocular
pressure.
The most common side effects after
using LATISSE™ solution are an itching sensation in the eyes
and/or eye redness. This was reported in approximately 4% of
patients. LATISSE™ solution may cause other less common side
effects which typically occur on the skin close to where
LATISSE™ is applied, or in the eyes. These include skin
darkening, eye irritation, dryness of the eyes, and redness of
the eyelids.
You are encouraged to report
negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit
www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call
1-800-FDA-1088.
Adverse Reactions: The most
frequently reported adverse events were eye pruritus
(itching), conjunctival hyperemia (red eyes), skin
hyperpigmentation (eye lid and skin surrounding eyelids
darkening), ocular irritation, dry eye symptoms, and erythema
(redness) of the eyelid. These events occurred in less than 4%
of patients.
We don't know exactly why
Latisse promotes eyelash growth, but Allergan speculates that
the drug may increase the length and amount of hair that
sprouts during the lash growth cycle. The drug may
also stimulate eyebrow and scalp hair .
The cost of Latisse is about $125
dollars a month. Latisse is the only FDA approved
eyelash enhancer promising to give you thicker
longer eyelashes in 8-16 weeks. In order to get
a prescription you must see a doctor. The best doctor to
see is an eye
doctor (optometrist or ophthalmologist) . They have been
using bimatoprost for years since it was first made available
as LUMIGAN® for the treatment of glaucoma -an eye
disease - and who have always been aware of the side affects
and are able and experienced in treating them.
Littlefield Optometry
913-498-1363
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