TikTok is full of beauty hacks, but just because they seem fun and easy doesn’t mean they’re safe. Like the hack some users are posting videos for that details how to curl your eyelashes overnight by simply using a sleep mask. They claim they’ve been “training” their lashes to stay lifted by putting on a sleep mask while their eyes are open, then they close them, sleep, and wake up with “naturally” curled lashes. The idea is that the lashes stay in that upright position long after you wake up, thanks to the pressure of the sleep mask while you snooze.
User @allyrbackus seems to have first popularized the trend, showing the “natural lash lift” she achieved with the sleep mask hack. She says it’s worked so well for her that it’s replaced chemical lash lifts and her video has racked up more than 7.6-million views, so clearly lots of people are paying attention. But just because it works for her and other TikTokers, the real question remains: Is it safe?
Celebrity makeup artist Nydia Figueroa says while the hack “can definitely work,” she says it would be tough to achieve evenly curled lashes this way unless you sleep on your back the entire night. But Dr. Diane Hilal-Campo, a board-certified ophthalmologist, has bigger concerns. “This is very dangerous for the eyes,” she explains. “Your eyelids are meant to close completely when sleeping. Any exposure from a lack of complete eyelid closure can cause drying and scarring of your corneas (the transparent layer at the front of your eyeball), which can cause infections and potential blindness.”
- And if that’s not bad enough, she says if the fabric from the mask hits your corneas, it can cause painful abrasions and scarring.
- Hilal-Campo also warns that the hack isn’t great for your lashes either because an artificial lash lift can keep your lashes from being able to shield your eyes against damage, which is what they’re actually there for.
- Because of all that, she says, “Please avoid this dangerous trend. You are submitting your eye structures to unnecessary trauma and harm.”
Source: Shape