Mascara Induced Milphosis, an Etiological Evaluation

CONTEXT: Eyelashes play an important role in one's personality and builds confidence. Now-a- days, mascaras are used very commonly as an eye cosmetic. Mascara induced loss of eyelashes has been evaluated in this study. AIM: The aim of this study is to determine the effect of mascara on eyelashes and to find an association between the usage of mascara and fall of eyelashes. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Cross-sectional questionnaire based study done on medical students. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Medical students were interviewed with a semi-structured questionnaire on mascara usage. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: MedCalc 9.3.6.0 version. RESULTS: A total of 128 medical students who used mascara were included in this study. Mean (standard deviation) age of the students was 23.7 ± 2.0 years. Nearly 31% of the subjects faced the eye problems. Eyelash fall was observed in 19%. Higher mean years of use of mascara (5.17 ± 3.8 vs. 3.19 ± 2.6, P = 0.027, t-test) influenced the fall of eyelashes in the subjects. Itching of the eye prior to fall of eyelashes was observed in all subjects (P = 0.0002, Fisher exact test). A higher percentage of eyelash falls was observed in subjects who used water for removal of waterproof mascara (27%). CONCLUSION: There is a significant positive association between long-term use of eye cosmetics like mascara and fall of eyelashes. Furthermore, use of water for removal of waterproof mascara was associated with a higher incidence of eyelash fall.