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Want Longer Eyelashes? This Drug Can Help

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Those turning to the drug for longer lashes can start seeing results in about four weeks.

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By CLOE CABRERA | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 20, 2009

Updated: 02/20/2009 12:19 pm

If eyes are the window to the soul, I want mine with long, luxurious window treatments.

I'm probably not alone.

Women will go to great lengths to get long, thick lashes.

Never mind that eyelashes have a real purpose — to protect our eyes from dust and foreign particles. Most women want long lashes that make them feel feminine and pretty. Unfortunately, lashes can get scarce as we get older.

Until now, the only way to achieve eyelash enhancement was to use mascara, false eyelashes, extensions or transplants.

Now, Allergen, the folks behind Botox Cosmetic, want women to bat their eyes at a new product. Latisse is the first and only federally approved drug for growing longer, thicker, darker eyelashes.

In a world that spends about $5 billion a year on mascara, Latisse would be the biggest thing to hit cosmetic medicine since, well, Botox.

Latisse is a variation of Lumigan, Allergen's eye drops for glaucoma. Eyelash growth is a known side effect for patients using Lumigan.

It works by acting on the growth cycle of the eyelash, says Dr. William P. Mack, the first cosmetic plastic surgeon in the area to offer Latisse.

"Patients are already calling and coming in for it," he says. "The product is safe and effective." During FDA trials, about 4 percent of subjects experienced redness and itching.

Mack has no problem prescribing the drug to grow eyelashes, but he advises patients using glaucoma eye drops to get their doctor's approval before using Latisse.

Latisse isn't an eye drop; it gets dabbed along the eyelash line every evening. The lengthening effects begin in about four weeks, according to Allergen, and they peak at around 16 weeks.

Latisse may cause darkening of the eyelid skin, which may be reversible, and it "may also cause increased brown pigmentation of the colored part of the eye, which is likely to be permanent." It also could promote hair growth on other skin areas that it frequently touches, so keep it away from areas where you don't want any hair growth.

Latisse runs about $120 a kit for a two-month supply at Mack's office. Health insurance doesn't cover the cost.

Alas, the results are not permanent. You have to continue to apply Latisse at least three times a week or your lashes will go back to their regular length.

David E. I. Pyott, Allergan's chief executive, told the New York Times he thinks long-term, worldwide sales of Latisse would exceed $500 million. And he suggested that many women would not blink at spending $120 for the drug. He compared the cost of longer lashes to a daily cup of coffee.

Too good to be true? Only time will tell. I may give Latisse a test drive someday (and write about it, of course). In the meantime, I'll keep piling on my MAC mascara.

Cloe Cabrera can be reached at (813) 259-7656 or ccabrera@tampatrib.com. Try on the blog at TBO.com, Keyword: Hot Pursuits.

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