Too good to be true?

August 11, 2010 6:44 PM

Can anyone vouch for eyelash growth serums? RapidLash?

I have really short eyelashes and I would like to do something about them. [Please don't mention anything about fly legs ugh]

There's something called RapidLash that I'm particularly interested in because, after having poked around on the net, seems to work. It's also a lot cheaper than most of the other serums.

I read through some Amazon reviews and blog reviews and the consensus seems to be that though it works, there may be irritating side effects such as eye redness, swollen and puffy eyelids, darkened hair around your eyes, eyelashes falling out and iris discoloration (wtf?)

There are people who say, however, that they don't suffer from any of the above symptoms and the product works just fine. There's no way to tell if I'd be one of the luckier ones or not but what I'm most interested in are the long-term effects.

Have any mefites used this product/similar product before? Did you suffer from any side effects? And what happens when, after you attain the desired results, you stop using the product? Do your eyelashes retain that same length/luster?

posted by pulled_levers to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (17 answers total)

There's a prescription for this called Latisse, which, when I first saw the commercial, I couldn't help but wonder "who would risk putting that sort of chemical so close to their eyes for longer lashes, instead of just using mascara?"

Alas, they list the side effects as:

LATISSE® may also cause other less common side effects, which typically occur on the skin close to where LATISSE® is applied, or in the eyes. These include eyelid skin darkening, eye irritation, dryness of the eyes and redness of the eyelids. Eyelid skin darkening is a result of increased melanin in the skin, making your eyelid skin look a little darker close to where the solution is applied to the skin. This is expected to reverse after several weeks to months if you decide to stop using the product. Also, it is possible for hair growth to occur in other areas of your skin that LATISSE® frequently touches.

Although not seen in the LATISSE® clinical studies, LATISSE® may cause increased brown iris pigmentation of the colored part of the eye which is likely to be permanent. Increased iris pigmentation has occurred when the same formulation of bimatoprost ophthalmic solution was instilled directly into the eye.

That last part is just a bit terrifying.
posted by disillusioned at 6:50 PM on August 11, 2010

I've used Revitalash (more expensive than Rapidlash. Cheaper at Drugstore.com than at their own website) and I was shocked that it actually worked. No side effects for me. I haven't stopped using it, so can't answer that question, but it definitely lengthened my lashes.
posted by cecic at 6:51 PM on August 11, 2010

My mom is on some eye medicine (for glaucoma, I think?) and it most certainly makes her eyelashes longer and thicker and darker. Noticeably so. It's wild.

The stuff also costs something absurd like $300/ml or something.
posted by dpx.mfx at 6:51 PM on August 11, 2010

more

just like i wouldn't inject Botulinum toxin into my face, i probably wouldn't put something in my eye that could change the color of my iris, no matter how remote the chance.

for me, that price of beauty is just too high.
posted by nadawi at 6:51 PM on August 11, 2010

Response by poster: @dpx.mfx Most eyelash serums actually do contain chemicals used in medicine for glaucoma
posted by pulled_levers at 6:56 PM on August 11, 2010

My Mom uses glaucoma meds, and they've made her eyelashes grow longer.

She hates it.

They grow so long that they brush up against her glasses and leave oily streaks on the lenses if she doesn't trim them. She's gotten the discoloration on her eyelids too, and it's not really flattering. She hasn't had the iris color change, but that's just about the only thing she's avoided.

So if this cosmetic actually has the same ingredient, yes, you absolutely could get the side effects.
posted by MsMolly at 7:05 PM on August 11, 2010

I use this stuff. Yeah, call me vain, but I love it. I use generic bimatoprost from All Day Chemist. It's like $10 a bottle, but the pharmacy is in India, so it's a flat $25 shipping fee. So I usually buy a few bottles to make the shipping fee worth it.

I use a small paintbrush. I apply it before bed, maybe two or three times per week. I have never used it every night (like they tell you to in the beginning) but since I started using it this past January, my eyelashes have grown noticeably. I also use Swiss O Par eyelash dye, and I only ever wear mascara now if I'm going out at night. Sunscreen, powder mineral foundation, chap stick, and I'm out the door. It's nice.

My eyes were light blue, and are still light blue. Then again, I use it sparingly on my lid, and have never gotten any in my eye.
posted by Leta at 7:25 PM on August 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

I tried the L'Oreal lash serum and it did seem to work: I definitely noticed more short lashes that indicated new growth, without noticing a loss of lashes (so I can't chalk it up to breakage from the product). I can't really speak to whether my lashes grew longer using the product--my lashes are lighter at the tips, so it's hard to gauge, but they definitely grew in more thickly.

However, it was kind of an asspain. You're meant to apply it morning and night, and I woke up with crusty eyes in the morning and it didn't work well under mascara during the day (even though it's supposed to, and is available in a duo-pack with mascara)--which would be fine, I often skip eye makeup and just go for really bold lips, but the product would kind of flake off over the course of the day. So, not really worth the effort.

I stopped using it and now my lashes are pretty much the way they were before.
posted by padraigin at 8:02 PM on August 11, 2010

If one could make eyelashes grow longer one could make one's hair on one's head grow longer.

I call BS.

Long, lush eyelashes are a known side effect of certain glaucoma medications (eye drops). I can't tell you why they don't work the same on other body hair, but their effect on eyelashes is not at all bogus.
posted by qwip at 11:53 PM on August 11, 2010

The active ingredient in RapidLash is isopropyl cloprostenate; there hasn't been any research done to prove that it affects eyelash growth (1, 2). There are only anecdotes. The active ingredient in Latisse is bimatoprost, which has been proven to enhance growth. Although the two active ingredients are similar, the efficacy and the side effects of RapidLash are not definitively known, while they are known for Latisse. RapidLash may or may not work, and may or may not have similar side effects to Latisse, but there is no proof.
posted by neushoorn at 1:23 AM on August 12, 2010

I used to use Talika Lipocils. It worked so well that I didn't need to use eyeliner anymore. I never experienced any side effects. The only reason I don't use it right now is that I'm on a very, very tight budget.

By the way, you might want to skim through the reviews on MakeupAlley. From what I remember, Talika Lipocils got very good reviews on there, and RapidLash seems to have an 88% "would buy again" rating.
posted by larkin123 at 3:16 AM on August 12, 2010

Like Leta, I got a small supply of Lumigan from All Day Chemist in India in July of last year. (If you're unfamiliar, Lumigan is Allergan's original glaucoma medication that was rebranded Latisse for cosmetic use. The active ingredient is bimatoprost and it's the same strength in both formulations.)

I received the actual Lumigan produced in the US, with the hologram sticker on it and everything. Except it cost a fraction of the price it does here. One 3ml bottle lasted exactly three months of twice-daily application to both upper and lower lids. I used a thin eyeliner brush to apply it.

I believe they no longer carry Lumigan, but have replaced it with Careprost, which is presumably their generic version.

These are my before and after pics.

I stopped using it about five months into it because I wasn't happy with how it darkened the edges of my eyelids along the lashline. You can see it on the middle picture (the last one was taken with makeup on so it's not as obvious). It looked like I hadn't quite taken my eyeliner off before going to bed at night, if you know what I mean. I felt it was a bit aging, to be honest. Other side effects I experienced were redness and stinging when swimming in salt water. The redness was more intense initially but it never really went away altogether. I always looked slightly tired and bloodshot.

Almost a year later, my eyelashes are completely back to how they were before, and I never had a stage where a lot were falling out. The darkening on my eyelids is also gone.

When I look at other people's before-and-after shots now, I can spot the eyelid darkening easily. It's actually a pretty common side-effect. It took about a month to disappear for me after I stopped using the Lumigan.
posted by Dragonness at 7:31 AM on August 12, 2010

I forgot to mention, once you attain the desired results, you need to apply the product every three days to maintain the length.
posted by Dragonness at 7:37 AM on August 12, 2010

I believe the Latisse instructions specifically say *not* to use it on the lower lids, for the very reason Dragoness mentioned.
posted by Evangeline at 7:43 AM on August 12, 2010

Evangeline, if you meant about the darkening, it was much more noticeable on the upper lids, actually.
posted by Dragonness at 7:47 AM on August 12, 2010

This cross-dressing Avon rep says her test with the Avon formula was a success. I'd like to see more before & after pics, ideally by someone who knows how to take a decent macro photo.
posted by chairface at 9:52 AM on August 12, 2010

As some others have mentioned, one can order Latisse by a different brand name from companies in India. I know it as Careprost. I've used it for a few months, applying on the lashline of the upper lid with an eyeliner brush before bed fairly consistently for the first few months, more erratically these days. For the first few days of use, I definitely experienced some itching, and perhaps slight eyelid discoloration. However, for *me*, these effects disappeared fairly quickly.

I didn't notice much for the first few weeks, but after about 4 weeks, the results became quite obvious. My lashes are thicker in appearance (more numerous?), longer, and now curl up slightly at the ends, which they never did on their own before. I have had people ask if I am wearing false lashes when I've curled my lashes & applied mascara. Granted, my lashes were already dark & not super-short to begin with, but they were not thick, and had no curl.

I've experienced no iris darkening, and there are in fact no reports of this side effect occurring in people using bimatoprost cosmetically (applying on the lid as indicated for such use), rather than dropping directly into the eye for glaucoma treatment. A few months in, my lashes now maintain the bimatoprost-induced appearance with sporadic applications (a few times a week).

I've also used Mavala Double-Lash, and felt that the conditioning did help my lashes to "grow" longer & seem fuller by reducing the rate of breakage/fallout. The results were not nearly as dramatic as the bimatoprost, but still worthwhile if you'd rather avoid the side-effects of bimatoprost.
posted by tigerbelly at 10:23 AM on August 12, 2010