Eyebrows and eyelashes – what to know before your beauty appointment

Tinting your eyelashes, micro-blading your eyebrows… with all these enhancements available to the general public, what are the actual risks?

Enhancing your eyelashes and eyebrows via tinting or adding extensions could cause problems with the eyes and affect vision, as they all take place so close to the eyes. Repeated exposures to chemicals in dies and glues could cause sensitivities. Accidental slip-ups can cause permanent corneal damage and more.

The Food and Drug Administration has not approved any color additives for permanent dyeing or tinting of eyelashes and eyebrows. The agency says permanent eyelash and eyebrow tints and dyes have been known to cause serious eye injuries, including blindness. Despite issuing warnings, the FDA cannot regulate salons. That job falls to state and local governments, which can have different rules.