Tinting your brows and lashes is about as safe as drinking raw milk. Both aren't officially approved by the Food and Drug Administration. In fact, a food scientist once told me drinking raw milk was like playing Russian Roulette. The same could be said by cosmetic chemists about lash and brow tinting. "This is not something I'd recommend people do," cosmetic chemist Perry Romanowski tells Allure.
Despite warnings from the FDA and experts, brow and lash tinting are taking over Instagram. Feeds are filling up with videos of people getting the services done or photos of DIY kits. The hype could be contributed to tinting being one of the most low-maintenance ways to make brows and lashes appear fuller and more prominent without makeup. Plus, it allows you to grow out your brows and lashes on your own without more intensive services like microblading and lash extensions, adds Skyy Hadley, a lash expert and owner of Blink Beauty Boutique in New York City.
What exactly is brow and lash tinting?
If you're unfamiliar with brow and lash tinting, dye is brushed directly onto eyelashes or eyebrows to darken them, explains Los Angeles-based brow expert Kelley Baker. The color usually lasts about a month. Why do so? In the case of brows, "Tinting looks much more natural [than a brow pencil]," New York City- and Los Angeles-based makeup artist and brow expert Stevi Christine told Allure in a past interview. "You won't see any of the little marks that your pencil can leave behind."
Many different kinds of dyes may be used. Christine, in particular, uses a vegetable dye. However, vegetable dye, as well as every other dye available for tinting, isn't approved by the FDA because they haven't been proven to be safe, Romanowski says. Food-coloring dyes, cosmetic colorants, and coal-tar dyes are some other options he lists off. The latter, which are made from burnt coal, are prohibited by the FDA. There's even an import alert on them that allows the FDA to seize any coal-tar dyes found in a salon.
Hadley says she avoids permanent dyes for lash tinting that she does at her salon. "I use a semi-permanent dye that is multi-use and can be used for various parts of the body including brows and lashes," she explains. Baker, on the other hand, used to use RefectoCil, a cream formula made specifically for brows and lashes. Again, neither has been deemed safe by the FDA, though.
What states can you get brow tining done in?
Baker no longer uses RefectoCil because she legally can't offer brow or lash tinting at her Los Angeles-based salon, Kelly Baker Brows and Beauty. The rules and regulations for tinting vary from state to state. In New York, for example, it's legal as long as the dye isn't permanent.
However, tinting is banned in California. Reason being? California law forbids salons from using or supplying any product that isn't approved by the FDA. With not even one lash or brow dye approved by the FDA, salons in California have nothing they can legally use for tinting.
Before the law was put into place, Baker tinted her client's brows and loved doing so. "It’s such a bummer that we can no longer do it," Baker says. "I definitely lost clients due to the ban. Tinting has become very popular via social media, and the salon gets calls daily asking if we tint." She even points out that you can still buy RefectoCil in California, but you can't use it.
Baker prays that California will change the law soon. In Massachusetts, a similar law was overturned. The state began prohibiting salons from using any dyes for lash and brow tinting in January 2001. However, the ban was lifted in 2016 after a petition was filed. Now, the services are legal under the circumstances that only dyes manufactured specifically for tinting brows and lashes are used.
An official list of which states permit tinting and which ones prohibit the services doesn't exist, so we advise calling the FDA or your local health department to check the status in your state.
What are the side effects of brow tinting?
The FDA hasn't approved any dyes for tinting because it has the safety of your eyes in mind. "Permanent eyelash and eyebrow tints and dyes have been known to cause serious eye injuries," the federal agency says on its website. Experts agree.
Other than the possibility of getting dye in your eyes, you have to take the whole eye area into account. The skin of your eyelid is the thinnest on the whole body, making the area particularly susceptible to allergic reaction and irritation, Nava Greenfield, a board-certified dermatologist at Schweiger Dermatology Group in New York City tells Allure. Preservatives and unapproved ingredients in the dyes pose the biggest risk in this situation. Add in the fact that there's no standard for what is used for tinting (meaning each salon may use its own formulation), and you have cause for concern. Greenfield hasn't seen any patients coming in specifically because of adverse reactions to tinting. However, she is well aware of the issues it may cause.
"The problems are irritation to the actual sclera of the eye, which can be very uncomfortable and last days," she explains. It can also cause an allergic reaction, complete with redness, scaliness, and extreme itching, that could last several days and need medication to treat.
And those are just the temporary side effects. "You could also suffer chemical burns to your eyes and possibly permanent eye irritation," Romanowski adds. No, thank you.
What are some alternatives to brow tinting?
Even if you live in a state where tinting is offered, alternatives should definitely be taken into account before booking an appointment.
Since tinting was banned in California, Baker launched what she calls the next best thing: the Kelley Baker Brows Tinted Brow Gel. "It covers grey hairs, blonde hairs, and will tint your hairs a shade darker than they are," she explains. "It will also stain the skin wherever you have holes." Maybelline New York released a similar waterproof formula called the Tattoo Studio Brow Gel, which lasts for up to two days.
For lashes, many beauty brands have lightweight, tint-like mascaras that look natural and are clump-free. Try Glossier's Lash Slick or Perricone MD's No Mascara Mascara. As lash and brow tinting becomes more popular, I have a feeling we'll see even more mascaras and brow products like these launch in the near future. They may still be makeup at the end of the day, but at least you won't be playing Russian Roulette with your eyes in an attempt to lessen the time your beauty routine takes.
Follow Devon Abelman on Twitter and Instagram.
Source: Read Full Article