How I stopped pulling my eyelashes out
I’ve been pulling my eyelashes out for over a decade, it was getting to the point earlier this year that I had fully bare patches on my eyelids and I was worrying about growing them back at all.
My triggers personally were physical - itchy eyelids, blepharitis/eyelid gunk, and the sensation of the odd eyelash growing back. This was obviously a bad negative feedback loop, both physically and mentally, as I found the inability to resist the urge to pull quite distressing.
I’d tried all sorts over the years - NAC, moisturising my eyelids, tracking pulling, none of which had a noticeable impact.
A few months ago I came across Optase eyelid wipes (I got them from Boots in the UK, I’m sure similar products are available elsewhere). These work wonders! They remove the eyelid gunk quite easily and are pleasantly cooling, and for hard to remove gunk (I still find myself compelled to remove all of it) I can use it as a barrier between my thumbnail and my eyelid. Previously I would find myself raking my nails over my eyelids in an attempt to clean them, which was very irritating to my poor eyelids.
In a few months of using these wipes I have found that I have barely pulled at all, and have nearly full coverage of eyelashes - not at full density, but without any gaps, which is a major step for me.
Optase ‘advise’ using one wipe per eyelid. I usually tear one wipe in half, and find this half enough for both eyelids.
I don’t have any pictures of this so you’ll have to take my word for it. I hope this can help anyone else as it has really changed my life.