Longer Lashes in a Tube? Maybe Not

Source: New York Times
CALL it the Great Eyelash Coup. In November 2007, at the request of the Food and Drug Administration, United States marshals seized 12,682 tubes — about $2 million worth — of Age Intervention Eyelash, a lash enhancer then sold by Jan Marini Skin Research. The F.D.A. considered it an “unapproved and misbranded drug” in part because it contained bimatoprost, which is approved for glaucoma treatment but not for cosmetic use.

Since 2001, ophthalmologists have found that hair growth was a side effect. Others included optic-nerve damage and blindness — hardly worth the risk if you didn’t have glaucoma.

Age Intervention was “making a medical claim,” said Rita Chappelle, an F.D.A. spokeswoman, and its label didn’t disclose bimatoprost, which “is not to be showing up in cosmetic eye products, period.”

After the raid, Ms. Marini, the chief executive, reformulated her product to leave out the offending ingredient. Concurrently, Allergan, which sells bimatoprost as an antiglaucoma drug called Lumigan, filed suit against her company and others for patent infringement. Ms. Marini pulled her new formula.

But last month, Marini Lash, her latest eyelash enhancer, joined several products like neuLash, RevitaLash and MD Lash Factor that supposedly condition and lengthen lashes. The makers of these four products say they don’t contain bimatoprost. Allergan plans to seek F.D.A. approval for an eyelash grower that does use bimatoprost.

Whether eyelash lengtheners in a tube, which are applied to the lash line like eyeliner, work is another matter. The makers say yes — with qualifications. A $140 tube of MD Lash Factor comes with a disclaimer that says it’s not intended to “prevent, cure, relieve, resolve, stop or reduce hair loss or to promote the growth of hair.”

Neulash.com may boast that it “promotes healthy, natural lash growth in just 4 weeks!” But Richard Carieri, the chief executive of Skin Research Laboratories, its maker, is more careful. “We do not claim neuLash grows eyelashes, but invite users to judge the results of their lashes and brows after four weeks of use,” he said.

The F.D.A. has an ongoing investigation into eyelash products, Ms. Chappelle said.