Allergan, the makers of Botox, announced that the FDA has approved LATISSE (bimatoprost ophthalmic solution) 0.03% as a treatment to increase eyelashes in length, thickness, and darkness.
Bimatoprost, the active ingredient in LATISSE™,was first approved in 2001 as a medical product to lower intraocular pressure in people with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension.
Available only through a doctor, LATISSE™ is a once-daily prescription treatment applied to the base of the upper eyelashes with a sterile, single-use-per-eye disposable applicator.
According to LATISSE™, users can expect to experience longer, fuller and darker eyelashes in as little as eight weeks, with full results in 16 weeks, BUT in order to maintain long, thick, dark eyelashes, you have to continue using LATISSE. If you discontinue using it, eyelashes will gradually return to where they were prior to treatment over a period of weeks to months (average eyelash hair cycle).
COST: For a year's worth of long, thick, dark lashes, expect to pay almost $1,500 a year -- or $120 a month.
SIDE EFFECTS:
- Eye redness (3.6%)
- Itchy eyes (3.6%)
- Skin hyperpigmentation (2.9%)
WARNINGS:
- Allergan warns against applying LATISSE to the lower eyelid because it may cause darkening of the eyelid skin which may be reversible.
- LATISSE™ use may also cause increased brown pigmentation of the colored part of the eye which is likely to be permanent.
- It is possible for hair growth to occur in other areas of your skin that LATISSE™ frequently touches.
- It is also possible for a difference in eyelash length, thickness, fullness, pigmentation, number of eyelash hairs, and/or direction of eyelash growth to occur between eyes.
- These differences, should they occur, will usually go away if you stop using LATISSE™.
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STORY:
It was a media frenzy last year when the FDA had U.S. Marshals seize over 12,000 tubes worth $2 million of Jan Marini's Age Intervention Eyelash, which contained bimatoprost that caused swelling of the eyes in some users -- including us! -- although Jan Marini Skin Research denied that the product contained bimatoprost.
The jury is still out for us, but we will keep you posted if we use it or discover any new information. Do you think you would be interested in using LATISSE on your eyelashes?
Please see comment section for a response from Jan Marini Skin Research.
