Drug grows longer, thicker lashes.
The makers of Botox are giving the billion-dollar mascara industry a run for its money with a new product that grows runway lashes and gives off the look of youth.
Allergan, the company that has women around the world lining up to get their faces frozen to smooth out their wrinkles, unveiled Latisse earlier this year. Latisse is the only FDA-approved prescription drug for growing eyelashes.
The drug is already drawing rave reviews and gaining a steady devotion of followers.
“I just love it,” said Cindy Ross, vice president of sales for Connecticut-based Young pharmaceuticals. “I can’t believe the difference in my lashes. It really makes a difference in the way that you look.” She says her lashes grew so long and thick after using Latisse that her mother asked her if they were false.
The product, she says, brings out her eyes and gives her a more youthful look.
Courtesy of Allergan
For Ross, the price of the drug—$120 a month—is well worth the benefits. Continuous use of the drug is required to keep the lashes long.
Ross, who is 57, participated in the Latisse clinical trial.
Eyelashes grew 25 percent longer, 18 percent darker and a whopping 106 percent thicker during the trial. The product, however, is actually not new. It’s the same formula as Lumigan, a drug that’s been used for years to treat glaucoma. Lumigan was formulated to reduce the pressure that builds up on the eye in glaucoma patients, but doctors found that one of its side effects was longer and thicker eyelashes.
Latisse is not without its own side effects. It can cause itching and redness in the eyes and a darkening of the eyelid. The company also warns that there is the potential for the drug to turn the iris permanently darker. That was a side effect for a few of the glaucoma patients who used the Lumigan eye drops. Unlike, Lumigan, Latisse isn’t placed directly in the eye. It’s applied on the lash line of the upper lid.
Allergan found no darkening of the iris during the clinical trial of Latisse, a company official said.
“As for potential side effect, Latisse was also well tolerated in the clinical study and the most commonly reported side effects after using Latisse are an itching sensation in the eyes and/or eye redness,” Heather Katt, a spokeswoman for Allergan said. “This was reported in approximately four percent of patients.”
When it comes to enhancing the eyelashes, other products also have their problems, one doctor points out.
“There are risks with Latisse, but in talking to patients, some of the things that patients do to enhance their eyelashes also involve risk,” says Andrew Iwach, spokesman for the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
He says women interested in Latisse should go to an ophthalmologist. Unlike other doctors, Iwach says, an ophthalmologist can prescribe and monitor Latisse, as well as give a comprehensive eye-disease screening recommended for patients over 40.
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