Would you try Botox to boost your lashes?

I know many friends who have had fillers and peels etc in order to look more youthful.

Certainly I see the benefits, but I also see the downsides and as yet they haven’t really appealed to me.

Botox seems to have become almost a staple beauty buy for a lot of people, with celebrities firmly leading the way.

But it isn’t just being used to help smooth over wrinkles and fine lines, no, in fact a healthcare company called Allergan are planning on releasing a product called Latisse into the UK market, which is designed to boost weak eyelashes.

It’s already been used extensively by people in the US, Canada and India and is claimed to help those with trichotillomania, which causes people to pull their eyelashes out.

According to its makers it can leave lashes 18 per cent darker and 25 per cent longer in eight weeks.

At the minute it’s a prescription treatment for those with conditions causing them to have less eyelashes, which can also be a consequence of ageing.

It’s certainly dangerous to not have eyelashes or for them to be thinning so I can understand the benefits, however there are risks, and I wonder how long it will be before other people cotton on to it.

Unpleasant side effects could include increased brown pigmentation of the coloured part of the eye, eyelid skin darkening and hair growth on skin which is frequently touched by the product.

Other more common issues associated with it are itchy and red eyes, according to the company’s website.

It can also be used on eyebrows to gain a thicker brow, however after you stop using it the effects will soon fade away.

While I certainly think it’s interesting to develop such products and they can be highly useful in prescription cases I worry it’s just another beauty fad.

Cosmetic surgeon Alex Karidis summed it up as “very effective”, claiming that as many women in the UK already use false lashes it will “appeal brilliantly”.

He added: “There have been some known side effects but these can be minimised by applying it accurately.”

Would you consider Botox for your lashes?

Posted by Elsa Pienaar