Ocular Side Effects of Eyelash Extension Use Among Female Students of the University of Benin, Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria

Introduction Eyelash extensions have become a trendy cosmetic procedure, especially among young female students at various universities. This study assessed the relationship between the usage pattern of eyelash extensions and the ocular side effects arising from eyelash extension use. Methods The study was conducted using 400 female undergraduate students at the University of Benin with an age range of 15-30 years and a mean age of 22.50 +/- 3.79 years. This observational cross-sectional study was conducted by evaluating the usage pattern of eyelash extensions, ocular side effects, and the relationship between them. Data obtained from the participants were processed using the Pearson correlation analysis in the Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) (version 22.0; IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Armonk, NY) software. Results The results showed that only 16% (n=64) of the participants had any side effects before fixing eyelash extensions, while 54% (n=216) of the participants had experienced one or more side effects during/after artificial eyelash wear. The most common side effects experienced were itching (n=152, 38%), lashes pulling out (n=144, 36%), heavy eyelids (n=136, 34%), and red eyes (n=136, 34%). Other ocular side effects were grittiness/foreign body sensation (n=128, 32%), tearing (n=96, 24%), burning sensation (n=96, 24%), pain on the eyelids (n=88, 22%), misdirected lashes (n=40,10%), eyelids swelling (n=24, 6%), a boil on eyelids (n=16, 4%), and discharge (n=8, 2%). Moreover, the result showed statistically significant correlation between the usage pattern and the ocular side effects such as pain (r=0.22), itching (r=0.23), tearing (r=0.21), burning sensation (r=0.17), a boil on the eyelids (r=0.21), heavy eyelids (r=0.16), misdirected lashes (r=0.22), red eyes (r=0.15), lashes pulling out (r=0.12), eyelids swelling (r=0.18), grittiness (r=0.10), and discharge (r=0.10) (p<0.05). Conclusions It is concluded that there is a relationship between the usage pattern of eyelash extensions and the ocular side effects. Adequate and proper attention should be paid to this ever-growing cosmetic procedure's potential visual health risks.