Who Wants an Eyelash Transplant?
I preface this entry with two admissions. The first is that I think women spend entirely too much time and money on their looks when a few quality products, lots of Omega 3s, water and exercise are all that’s really needed. The second is that I have really long eyelashes.
Now, with that disclaimer out of the way, I give you the latest in cosmetic surgery (drum roll please): the eyelash transplant. Yup, you read right, CBS News reports that women are electing to have pieces of hair from their heads surgically implanted into their eyelids in order to get the effect of long, full lashes. One at a time, the follicles are implanted with a surgical needle to create permanent, growing lashes. The whole procedure takes about an hour per eye, and the recovery is pretty minor. The cost is about $ 6,000.
This news comes on the heels of the revelation in a recent New York Times article “Who is the Real Face of Plastic Surgery?” that 1/3 of people opting for cosmetic surgery have an average household income of below $30,000. In order to pay for the cosmetic procedures they desire, these Americans are borrowing money (often through high interest loans) or charging the procedures to their credit cards.
Interestingly, the women in both reports say they just wanted to fix something that’s always bothered them–small boobs, paunchy tummies, sparse eyelashes, etc.–and who among us doesn’t get that? I get that. I’d love to erase a few stretch marks, de-flab a few areas and look young forever, but that desire is more about the brain than the body if you ask me.
I just wonder what the long term affects will be on the American psyche (female and male) as such procedures get more an more routine and socially acceptable. It seems weird that we’re working toward perfection, an unattainable goal, when self-acceptance is so much more feasible and, though time consuming, a lot less expensive. I mean, $6,000? Sheesh!
Am I completely off? What do you think?
Comments
Comment from Marz Barz
yuck, yuck, yuck….that creeps me out!!!!!!!!!
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Comment from FoxGirl
I don’t see what the big deal is. If it makes you more confident then just go ahead and do it. I know people who’ve gotten other stuff done and some are happy with it and some aren’t but the ones who are happy are really happy. I wouldn’t do it but it’s not a big deal if it makes you happy and more confident.
Comment from Christine
Oh my goodness, everything in me just revolts against this. As a doctor I can’t imagine doing something so crazy to the eyelash area, the risk of infection, risk of injury (especially so close to the eyes!), I just can barely seem to think about it!
However, as a fellow beauty blogger, all that I can think is, what happens when those hairs get too long? Who is going to trim them for you? And, what if your hair is fine? Your eyelashes are going to just droop down and hang into your eye like Snuffulupagus on Sesame Street and no amount of mascara is going to hold that up for you.
See, both ways there are downsides. Not good!
Comment from acuanette
I really like this editorial was posted here. It really shows a different and fresh perspective on the beauty world as it can sometimes be poorly perceived. I learned a thing or two also. Thanks!
Comment from valentina
Christine- about the trimming, in the article, the woman who got the eyelash transplant said that yes, that’s a problem. She has to trim them frequently, a prospect I find totally creepy. However, she said it was worth it. I don’t know……
Comment from Jen K
Oh my god! Thank you for posting this. I feel like everyone’s gone crazy and now people are willing to do anything to make themselves feel attractive. It’s so crazy. I think it started with botox because suddenly it was a quick fix and lots of people could afford it. When I first heard about that stuff I kept thinking it wouldn’t catch on because it’s poison and all that but lo and behold, so many people do it. I think it is so sad, and really shows how people think that fixing things like eyelashes (btw i can’t remember the last time i noticed a person’s eyelashes) is going to make them happy. HELLO! If you can’t accept your wrinkles or eyelashes then you are NOT HAPPY.
Comment from MST
I agree with foxgirl and disagree with christine. We do lots of things to make our selves look better everyday. we shave, we use makeup, we pluck so i don’t see the difference. i think yoour just being judgemental. i think if you can afford something like this and if makes your life better then its a good thing. if its something you think about everyday, then fixing it will help you focus on other things instead of what you look like
Comment from Nicole
I don’t think there is anything wrong with eyelash transplants. I too want longer eye lashs. I have went to get the individual lashs done at a salon but it just left me with less lash then I started with so now I just use a lash conditioner that will help my eyelashs grow .
Comment from valentina
Who would do that to themselves on purpose? Even after all this discussion, I’m still not convinced.
Comment from bridgette
THAT SOUNDS PRETTY COOL!
I would do it.
If I just HAPPENED to have $6,000 lying around.
Comment from Lori
For someone like myself with an ailment that causes me to not grow my own eyelashes, I think this is a great idea. I struggle constantly with how I look, not having my own eyelashes. I would love the opportunity to know what it feels like to look somewhat normal, I can’t see it happening for $6.000, but it sure would tempting.
Comment from Dr. Alan Bauman
Eyelash transplant procedures are certainly NOT for everyone and I’m not here to convince you otherwise. However, eyelashes do perform important functions, like keeping dust and dirt out of your eye, as well as enhancing the appearance of the eye-area of the face. Many women (and the occasional man, btw) have sought eyelash transplant procedures when they have damaged or traumatized lashes, missing lashes, or simply ‘weak’ lashes. Yes, the living and growing lashes do require some maintenance (trimming for sure, sometimes tinting and perming too). When you calculate the expense of other replacement options (like several hundred dollars every few weeks for temporary false eyelash extensions) which can sometimes damage weak lashes, many have seen that the one-time expense of the eyelash transplant offers a permanent solution. Eyelash transplants are virtually painless, performed under local anesthesia. Non-invasive options, like eyelash medications, are also available now to enhance the growth of your existing lashes, for those who do not want to undergo the procedure, or just see if their existing lashes were longer, if that would ‘do the trick.’ Our favorite eyelash medication is the MD LASH FACTOR which we prescribe to our patients. Some patients choose to use Lumigan (bimatoprost) on their lids at night for increased lash growth. Every choice comes with a risk/benefit ratio and it is up to the well-educated indivdual patient to decide what is most appropriate for them…
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