We pile products onto our eyes daily; mascaras, eyeshadow, eyeliners. We rarely give a second thought to how hygienic our actions actually are. We will borrow a friend’s mascara if we’ve forgotten ours, it’s ok, right? We’re even more prone to getting home super late and finding ourselves too tired to remove our makeup; what difference does it make if we just take it off in the morning? What we are completely unaware of is that we’re increasing our chances of getting eyelash mites.
It’s true, mites can be found in your lashes and makeup lovers are most prone to getting them. If this whole concept is entirely new to you, keep reading to protect yourself and avoid coming face to face with them!
What are eyelash mites?
What are eyelash mites? Well, basically they’re as terrible as they sound. Eyelash mites are known as demodex which are parasitic mites that can be found in the follicles of your face- most particularly the eyelash region!
Now don’t be too alarmed, more often than not they are harmless. The truth is that most adults can have eyelash mites without even realizing or being bothered by them feeding off your oils. You can tell that you’re suffering a serious number of eyelash mites if you notice your eyelash area getting irritated or inflamed, if you notice this then you should head to the doctors immediately before it gets more serious.
What causes them?
As with most medical ailments, there are a number of reasons that can contribute to getting eyelash mites. However, the most prevalent one found has been mascara. Women that regularly wear a lot of mascara are most prone to getting an unhealthy amount of eyelash mites. This occurs in a number of ways.
First of all, using random mascaras or those that belong to others can only worsen the case. The same goes for using expired mascaras. But the most important cause of eyelash mites is not removing your mascara thoroughly.
Sleeping in your makeup or not properly removing it is a very common cause for increased levels of eyelash mites. It is incredibly important that you remove your makeup every single night, no matter how tired you are. You should also really give your face and eyes a thorough cleanse after removing your makeup to really protect yourself against getting eyelash mites.
How do you know you have them?
If you think you’re prone to getting increased levels of eyelash mites due to your mascara habits, it’s important to detect the symptoms and get help as soon as possible. There are many symptoms of having eyelash mites; here are a few.
Itching Skin
If the skin on your face or around your eyes is itching, it can be as a result of an eyelash mite bite. These bites can cause inflammation but most importantly itching in the mornings.
Rosacea
While this one may be disgusting, it’s important to be aware that if you notice increased redness in your cheeks or even around your eyes it can be caused by the bacteria in eyelash mites feces!
Your Eyelids
Noticing this symptom would be cause for concern regardless of whether you have eyelash mites, so definitely get yourself checked out. This symptom is seeing that your eyelids are getting crusty or swollen, or that they’re reddening and burning.
Losing Eyelashes
If one single lash has too many eyelash mites on it, your eyelashes can begin to fall out. So it’s important to pay attention to the patterns of your eyelash losses.
How to get rid of them?
If it’s too late for any precaution, it’s important to be very careful with how you move forward. You need to do whatever you can to keep your eyelash area clean. Here are a few tips on how to treat eyelash mites (aside from whatever your doctor suggests, of course)
- Use a baby soap to wash your face. These are very gentle and their tear-free formula really helps out with getting deep into your lashes.
- Tea tree oil can work miracles when applied to your lashes, it helps soothe and heal them
- Avoid any makeup until you are in the clear. It can be difficult, but the more you irritate your eyes with makeup, the more eyelash mites you’ll get. It’s imperative that you take a short makeup break.
- When the rough patch has passed, make absolute sure that you buy entirely new makeup. Going back to your previous mascaras can only make matters worse.
- Buy new pillow covers, and keep them clean. It’s so important that you’re very strict with how often you clean your pillow covers to avoid getting exposed to eyelash mites again.
