Orbital Fat Loss Due to Lash Serum

This may be by far the worst side effect any eyelash serum may have. While its great that some of these eyelash serums work faster and you can see results, there are potential long term side effects that you may not be aware of.

Most blogs do not talk about orbital fat loss, and only focus on the fact that these eyelash serums work faster.

These are the Lash serums that have been reported to us that have orbital fat loss:
1. Grandelash
2. Lattisse
3. Revitalash

Orbital fat loss can occur as you get older (but can also get larger), can occur following inflammatory conditions, injuries, certain medications (including drops of prostaglandins on the skin and steroid injections), and can occur with some medical conditions. Medical imaging has shown that the earliest loss of fat occurs in an area under the orbit that extends toward the nose, possibly leading to a darker lower circle, the bare bone orbital rim, or formation of a tear trough. Upper lid fullness is lost as we grow older, resulting from the redistribution of fat toward the lower area of the orbit. Closed eyelid images do not capture upper lid volume loss from fat atrophy, which is seen only in images of open eyes.    

By not using images before and after eyes opened, it is impossible to distinguish hollowing and atrophy of the eyelid tissues caused by Lastisse(r) and Grandelash. While this is a potential long-term side effect in patients with glaucoma who use eye drops, no recorded events have occurred of this occurring in users of Latisse, and would not have occurred as Latisse is not used on the eyes themselves. This caught my eye, and I was surprised to discover that when I started looking for prostaglandin-related periorbitopathy in my patients using the eye drops with the prostaglandins to treat their glaucoma, I found this effect nearly 100% of the time. My patient had a history of pseudoexfoliation glaucoma only in her left eye, and she had been using prostaglandin analog (PGA) drops only in this eye for over 5 years (travoprost for 3.5 years, and then bimatoprost for 1.5 years).    

If the patients two eyes are treated with omidenepag isopropyl, an observer judges the right eye to look better. These individuals were treated only with bimatoprost on only one eye, highlighting contrast caused by volume loss of upper lid folds. Loss of volume in the upper orbit is seen with all of the glaucoma prostaglandins, but the effects are greater for bimatoprost, a drug in Lastisse(r).    

Jayaprakasam and Ghazi-Nouri reported the MRI features of atrophying orbital fats in one patient using bimatoprost , but did not demonstrate quantitatively that loss of orbital fat was caused by bimatoprost. This study quantifies that enophthalmos may have been caused by a decrease in orbital fat caused by bimatoprost. The aim of the present study was to employ magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to reveal the quantitative relationship between a bimatoprost-related decrease in orbital fat and the occurrence of enophthalmos. Using MRI, we quantified that bimatoprost decreased the orbital fat volume and decreased enophthalmos values.  

Furthermore, orbital fat volume showed a statistically significant positive correlation with enophthalmos value in both treated and untreated sides. However, results showed similar trends across patients: i.e., the orbital fat volumes and exophthalmos values were smaller on the treated than untreated sides for all patients. Each patient suffered a deepening of the sulcus of the eye as a result of orbital fat depletion (Peplinski, 2004). In 2004, two eye doctors, Peplinski and Smith, published a paper reporting three of their patients, who were using bimatoprost to treat glaucoma, who developed the deepening of the top lid sulcus. Three of their patients, who were using bimatoprost to treat glaucoma, who developed the deepening of the top lid sulcus Bimatoprost Deepening of the top lid sulcus.    

In the glaucoma studies where these methods of recording were used, as many as 60% of bimatoprost users were found to have changes in the color pigmentation of the iris color and sulcus deepening of the upper eyelid sulcus. However, they have certain local adverse effects, for example, they induce periorbital protaglandin-associated pathology (PAP), including periorbital fat atrophy, enophthalmos, deepening of the upper eyelid sulcus (DUES), and upper lid ptosis [14-19]. Prostaglandin analogs have been used in the treatment of glaucoma (including Bimatoprost — the primary active ingredient in Latisse) for decades, and studies confirm their strong association with late-onset dry eyes. Tripathi, the plastic surgeon, notes a number of side effects may arise with lash-growth products, such as changes to the persons eye colour and reduced fat tissue around the eyes. 

Tripathi went on to explain that while losing the monolids might appeal to some women, using the drug-based lash serum often results in an asymmetrical loss of fat around the eyes. People who suffer from high eye pressure notice a side effect from their medication is longer, thicker eyelashes, to the extent that some need to have theirlashes clipped back (now this is a side effect I would like!). Patient #5s open-set eyes might decrease the upper lids ptosis, leading to an owl-like look. In addition to the desired effects of lengthening lashes, eyes may have sunk further; some patients may appear better, while others may appear worse. 

The reduction in peri-orbital cells of the eyes causes enophthalmos — the eyes becoming more sunken. The result is the sulcus of the top eyelid becomes deeper, and periorbital fatty tissue appears to vaporize. Fat atrophy results from a cumulative effect of reduced size, reduced function, and impaired fat cell development — changes that only happen on the face, whereas other regions of the body can very well experience the reverse, which is the buildup of fat. Among Paps signs, DUES, FLEB, involutional dermatochalasis, orbital fat atrophy, and slight enophthalmos are thought to result from fat atrophy caused by PGF2a,[3,6,14] induced by the inhibition of adipocyte differentiation and adipogenesis .  

Among PAPS signs, DUES, FLEB, involution dermatochalasis, orbital fat atrophy, and mild enophthalmos are thought to be the result of PGF2a-induced fat atrophy [3,6,14 ], which is caused by the inhibition of adipocyte differentiation and adipogenesis [16 ]. However, upon closer inspection, the patient had only a slight left upper lid ptosis, but he also showed marked enlargement of the supralar superior lid, relative toe-thalmos (measured at 2 mm), scleral ecchymosis, scleral ecchymosis.