Clogging the meibomian glands with eyeliner can exacerbate existing dry eye symptoms in individuals, a recent Scientific Reports study has stated.
Looking at a diverse public sample made up of survey respondents from 28 different countries, the Wuhan, China-based team of researchers employed the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI), alongside data on cosmetic usage, to determine the association between the use of eyeliner and dry eye symptoms.
With OSDI scores 13 or higher taken as evidence of pre-existing dry symptoms, the researchers report that patients who used eyeliner had significantly higher rates of dry eye symptoms than those who reported using no eyeliner at all. Of the respondents who didn’t use eyeliner, 33.38 percent had scores of 13 or over on the OSDI. In comparison, 42.93 percent of eyeliner users had OSDI scores of 13 or above.
The team’s findings suggest a possible link between eyeliner usage and ocular surface health, with the study authors noting that this harmful impact “is often overlooked in routine assessments and discussions.” Approximately half of the practitioners questioned by the researchers responded that they did not check a patient’s cosmetic usage habits.
Interestingly, it was found that application of eyeliner specifically to the inner side of the lash line contributed significantly to elevated OSDI scores. The authors speculate that because the inner lash is closer to the eye surface, contact between cosmetic particles and both the ocular surface and tear films could “compromise the integrity and function of the ocular surface and the meibomian glands.”
Going forward, the authors propose that practitioners follow a set of guidelines when encouraging eyeliner users to maintain their ocular health, including avoiding inner lash application, regularly removing residual makeup from eyelids and eye lashes, and selecting hypoallergenic and preservative-free makeup products.
