Medioimages/Photodisc
DCL
I'm always ranting about unnecessary beauty products on our store shelves. Since we've got an increasing supply of needless product, I can only presume that somewhere, there is a demand. Yahoo! news recently wrote about yet another ludicrous product hitting the market soon: Latisse. Latisse was approved by the FDA on December 26th, 2008 to be sold for, (drum roll, please): eyelash enhancement. The key ingredient in Latisse, bimatoprost, was initially designed to treat eye disorders, such as glaucoma. Through the treatment of these eye disorders, it was discovered that bimatoprost has an unexpected side effect: it creates thicker, longer eyelashes. So, of course, this ingredient has been repurposed and repackaged to suit a beauty-obsessed culture.
The concept that we need to have long and thick eyelashes is fundamentally flawed. Who is feeding us this image of beauty? Unless a person is absent of eyelashes and needs them to function, I can't see the purpose for this product.
Even if you have fallen victim to a mass media image of long-lashed beauty, do yourself a favor and use any sort of oil you've got around the house on your eyelashes instead. Any commonly-found home ingredient, like butter, olive oil, or baby oil, will do a number at making your eyelashes stand out if that is what you want. You certainly don't need to buy a new product, especially not one that will cost you $120 during a recession.
Refusing to buy products specifically designed to lengthen and thicken eyelashes will not only save you money, but it will save all of us the resources that go into a nonsensical industry like this one.
