FDA approves Latisse: drug to lengthen your eyelashes
No, I'm not making this up. WebMD reports that the US Food and Drug Administration has issued approval to Allergan to market and distribute a new drug called Latisse that promotes longer, darker, thicker eyelashes.
Turns out that eyelash growth is a rather surprising side-effect of the glaucoma drug Lumigen, also made by Allergan.
Allergan states that "Latisse users can expect to experience longer, fuller, and darker eyelashes in as little as eight weeks, with full results in 16 weeks." If Latisse is stopped, eyelashes will gradually return to their previous appearance as new eyelashes grow in.
Um, err, my response is: WHAT?
Are we living in an age where people are really going to use prescription drugs to lengthen their eyelashes, even without us fully understanding the side-effects or potential interactions between Latisse and other drugs people might well take?
Common side effects? They'll be listed as "eye redness, itchy eyes, and skin hyperpigmentation."
Yech.
Reuters news service is also reporting on this story (albeit only in the UK) and they observe: "Allergan said it estimates global peak sales of Latisse solution could top $500 million a year..."
Theoretically it would only be used for people that have lost their eyelashes due to chemotherapy, etc., but you know as well as I do that it'll be just a few months before Beverly Hills plastic surgeons are prescribing this as a mascara replacement, then it'll spread across the United States. It's no coincidence that Allergan also makes Botox...
So, dear reader, would you use Latisse to lengthen your eyelashes?
Posted by Dave Taylor at December 28, 2008 11:09 PM
I wouldn't take a drug to lengthen my eyelashes, but I'm old fashioned. I only believe in taking drugs when it's absolutely necessary.
No, of course not...the horrifying part is that for many women my age, the answer is, "Sure where do I sign up??" I got invited to a Botox party for goodness sake...it's no long Mary Kay and makeovers, it's poisons injected into your face and nonfat canapes. I shudder for our country...drugs are the solution to everything, entertainment of the electronic variety is all encompassing and connecting with people is only done in the depth you can reach on a Facebook update. Drugs for Maybelline quality lashes is just another step into Dante's dreams.
I will be totally honest here--the idea is somewhat interesting. I would love to have longer thicker darker eyelashes. What woman wouldn't.The promise of beauty is irresistable to most in our society. Of course this will sell. For me the risk of bloodshot eyes outweighs the benefits though.
Fiona
OMG, I can't BELIEVE this is real. WTF?!! I lose hope for humanity when I read things like this. So, no I would not use this product. I find mascara does a pretty good job.
Fer crying out loud what next? I have a busy life and like what I see in the mirror. It's me, my familiar 66 year old face and not only do I not use mascara...there's no way I would use a chemical to grow my eye lashes!!! How shallow can we get? ACK!
BRUTAL!!!!
I would LOVE to have fuller, thicker eyelashes... but come on... a drug??? Sorry. I'll pass.
Thank you for a post that makes me smile...but also makes me so sad and shake my head.
Oh we'll be taking a drug...but then we'll need another one to help with the side affects...but oh my eyelashes they are just soooo beautiful and its just so worth it...I mean goodness Mother nature or God who ever you like just didn't do a good enough job on the eyes, the boobs, the hair, my nose, my teeth...oh oh and my kids bounce off the walls because they are uncontronable (I mean its not anything that I've given or done to them) so we'll give them drugs as well.
Sorry...roll eyes and shake head.
I suppose one of the side affects is that after 10 years of taking the drug all your hair will fall out or you'll be a hairy monster.
I would love to have longer eyelashes, but I would not take any meds to get there. I guarantee you there is some latent side effect, and in 10 years they will be saying Latisse not only causes longer lashes, but cornea cancer or something. No way dude.
Considering the toxic ingredients in many mascaras, I don't see how a prescription drug is necessarily any worse.
At least you wouldn't have garbage like petroleum and parabens floating in your eyes and entering your bloodstream.
If the drug can be proven "safe" with little side-affects, how much worse can it be?
Latisse is Lumagan. This is use for glaucoma patients. My mother has been using this for her glaucoma for 15 years and has had no side effects except for the fact that her lashes are now long. Thank God for lumagan, it saved my mother's eyesight!!!
What is wrong with you people? I've been using it for 6 weeks and my eyes look amazing! It is a gel you put on your eyelases, like moisturizer. get a grip. We live in a world where everything you touch is covered in chemicals or germs. from the second you wake up, until you go to sleep, you are putting "drugs" into your body of some sort. Welcome to the human race. It's ok to want to look good. That's normal. That is what makes men want to have sex with you, and then you can make more babies.
Well,i am really excited about this product and i am dying to try it out but i am also very scared about any other side effects that might show up in a few years. Oh, and what happens when you stop using it? Do your eyelashes go back to being short?
I have used this for 6 weeks without side effects. I am sooooo looking forward to not having to wear mascara to work anymore and removing it when I come home. I had long thick eyelashes when I was young and the Latisse or Lumigan solution has restored my youthful eyelashes and made me feel so much better about myself at the same time. My eyelashes are already thicker, longer and darker and curly. Come on ladies ......to each her own! I bought it from my Dermatologist who has been prescribing it for the last two years without any negative reactions. I work in the dental industry and many patients use Lumigan for their glaucoma and I have alway envied them for their beautiful eyelashes (especially the men as they don't wear mascara ad you can totally tell what's real). They haven't had any horrible side effects and they have been using the same chemical IN THEIR EYES for years. Latisse is not supposed to go into your eye. It is supposed to be applied sparingly on the lash line only. What else can I say....this is a wonderful product for me.
I'm one of those patients who has been using Latisse, prescribed by my dermatologist. I don't have any eyesight problems; I'm doing it strictly for beauty.
I understand that full results are shown in 16 weeks, and I'm only at the seven week point. Some of my individual lashes are really very much longer, like double the length they were before, and some of them have not changed yet. I'm not yet showing any change in darkness or thickness. I'm sticking with it for another 9 weeks to see how it goes.
Just FYI, it doesn't go into the eye, you just paint a little bit on at the base of the lash line. You apply it like eyeliner only it has no color to it. You use it once a day at bedtime.
Among my girlfriends, who are very much concerned with beauty and style, I am the point person for this product. You might say it's my turn to take one for the team. If it works for me, they will all go to their doctors and ask for it.
Not everyone has the self discipline to stick with a regimen for 16 weeks before they see full results, though. I think that will be more of a problem with patients, rather than the cost. The company making it could charge even more for a product that would work faster, in my opinion.
I'm happy with it so far. No side effects whatsoever for me. My blue eyes are still blue, too.
if anyone objecting to this product had a child with trichotelimania, you may feel differently. To have your child called a "freak" because they only have about a tenth of their lashes able to grow...if this works it could be a blessing for children like mine, or perhaps those with alopicia (sp?).
Just in case anyone reads this thread at all, here's an update on my Latisse experience.
About five weeks after my post in March, my eyelashes came up to speed and got really long and gorgeous. I am putting on my mascara and thinking, This is absurd, my eyelashes are too long now. No, they're not.
No side effects.
I'm disappointed that none of my friends have tried it. Oh well!
I have been using Latisse for 11 wks and have found the results to be remarkable. I am a fair redhead that always looked exhausted due to very few eyelashes. My lashes have doubled in length, thickness and darkness. I don't really need to use mascara at all. I also think it's ok to want to look good. It's very convenient to not have to appy mascara.
I think Latisse is ridiculous. We as a society are getting concerned far too much with every little bit of our bodies. Mascara is good enough and I rarely wear that.
Let me tell all of you....Latisse is simply a luxury for those who can afford it. Women who put this on their eyelashes are obviously doing it out of vantiy and because THEY CAN. I have been using it for 6 months now and not because I am from Beverly Hills or anything like that but because I prefer to not wear make-up piling up two inches thick of foundation on my skin like so women do but rather because I like to be natural. I am a pilates instructor and sweating with make-up is disgusting and unsanitary. So anything that i can do to myself and maintain a natural complexion is well worth it! And it has been...my eyelashes are ridiculously long! I can't tell you how many compliments I get and for those of who are against it and never even tried it are just JEALOUS!
