How to get the most from Latisse

May 1, 2011

There is just no doubt about it, Latisse is the best way to get longer, thicker and fuller lashes. In this post I will give you the inside scoop on how to get the most out of Latisse. Complications from Latisse tend to be rare and mild, but who wants even mild complications, so we’ll discuss how to avoid those problems, too.

Longer Lush Lashes with Latisse

In this post I will be saying some things that are “off label”. In other words , ideas that are different than the official FDA recommendations. To read the official FDA medication guide click here.

Hair (including eyelashes) goes through a growth phase and a resting phase. The longer the growth phase, the longer and thicker the hair. As you might expect, the growth phase of the hair on your head is much longer than the growth phase of your eyelashes. That is why the hair on your head grows long and full, and your eyelashes are much shorter and thinner. Latisse works by stimulating hair growth by keeping it in the growth phase for longer.

The trick to getting the best results from Latisse is to make sure that you get just enough of it on the base of your eyelashes. Any Latisse that gets onto other skin is just a waste of money. Even more importantly, Latisse placed in the wrong place can cause side effects (like unwanted hair growth and darkening of the skin).

Here are the special instructions that we tell our patients (after a good eye exam) when they get Latisse. Please remember that these are “off label” suggestions.

1. The brush that comes with the Latisse is not ideal. It is a bit too thick. For that reason we suggest that you use a thinner brush to apply the medication. Your two choices are: a) Buy a good lip liner or eye liner brush at the drug store and use that (just keep it clean) b) Carefully cut about 75% of the bristles off of the brush that comes with the Latisse, to make it thinner. The result of using a different (or modified) brush is that you will be able to target the Latisse to the exact spot it is needed (at the base of the lashes) without wasting any of the medication or getting the medication on the skin where it can cause side effects.

2. You can get your bottle of Latisse to last much longer if you get the most out of each drop. The way you do that is to use just one drop each day. Here is how to do that: a) Place one drop in the cap of the bottle b) dip the brush in the cap and apply to one upper eyelid c) dip the brush in the cap again into the cap and apply to the second upper lid.

3. There is no need to apply the Latisse to the lower eyelashes. Just by blinking some will get to your lower eyelid and that is enough to make those lashes grow.

4. If you get any Latisse on the outside corners of your eyelid (past where you want lashes) or on the skin under your eye, wipe it off. Remember, Latisse can make hair grow where you don’t want it and it can make your skin temporarily darker. If either of those things do happen, don’t worry because those problems are reversible if you stop putting Latisse on that skin.

I hope you find these Latisse tips helpful. We’ll be talking more about Latisse in future posts. If you would like read some more about Latisse click here.

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Posted by Dr. Cohen

Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue

January 30, 2011

The song’s a classic.  But when it comes to Latisse, the real question is “Will it make my blue eyes brown?”  If you have read anything about Latisse, you probably have come across discussions about eye color.  When we lecture to doctors about Latisse, and when we speak to our patients about Latisse, we always get questions about this topic.  So what’s all the fuss about?

The FDA has required advertisements about Latisse to carry the following statement: “Although not seen in LATISSE® clinical studies, may cause increased brown pigmentation of the colored part of the eye which is likely permanent.”  Wow!  What does that really mean?  

As I mentioned in our last post, there is a glaucoma drop called Lumigan.  Like many medications, it had an unexpected “side effect.”  Lumigan makes your lashes grow.  Because so many people want longer, fuller and thicker eyelashes, a new product was born, and it was named Latisse.  Latisse is the same as Lumigan (except that Latisse comes with neat little brushes to apply the drop directly to your eyelashes.)

Here’s the rub.  Some patients who use Lumigan for glaucoma developed darkening of their irises (the colored part of the eye).  It didn’t happen very often, but the change was permanent.  When this was carefully studied, we found that it wasn’t noticeable in patients with brown eyes, and it didn’t happen at all in patients with blue eyes.  It happened most commonly in people with hazel colored eyes, people who have light eyes with some brown pigment.

It only makes sense that Latisse, which is the same medication as Lumigan, could have the same problem.  While darkening of the eyes with Lumigan is rare, darkening of the eyes with Latisse seems to even more rare.  It is so uncommon, that we have never seen it happen.  And none of the doctors we have talked to across the country have seen it happen to even one of their patients.  We lecture all over the country about Latisse, and we talk to a lot of doctors about this, and it just doesn’t seem to be happening. 

So why don’t patients using Latisse have trouble with darker eyes?  The answer lies in the fact that even though Lumigan and Latisse are the same medication, they are used very differently.  Lumigan (the glaucoma drop) is an eye drop.  It is placed in your eye.  Latisse is applied to your eyelid with a special brush.  Now to be clear, when you put something on your eyelid, a little bit is bound to get into your eye.  The difference is that when you put Latisse on your eyelid, less than 1/20th of the drop gets into your eye.  We think that Latisse is so unlikely to cause your eye color to darken, because when used properly, very little Latisse ever gets into your eye.

So you have to decide for yourself. Is it worth it?  Here are the important points to help you make your decision.

  1. Latisse is very effective in giving you longer, thicker and darker lashes.
  2. Lumigan, the twin sister of Latisse, can cause irises to get permanently darker.
  3. It is very rare for patients using Latisse to have darkening of their eyes.  It may be reasonable to say that it virtually never happens (but it is still possible)
  4. We think the difference is that Latisse is put on your eyelid and very little gets in your eye.

Well, that is the story.  We think that Latisse is one of the coolest things in the world of cosmetic treatments.  If you would like to read more about Latisse click here.  If you have more questions, just post a question, and we will answer you.

By the way there are many other products on the market to make your eyelashes grow.  We wouldn’t touch them with a ten foot pole.  In future posts, I’ll tell you why.

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Posted by Dr. Cohen

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