Many people like to get eye tattoos that will make you more beautiful during the Chinese New Year, but...

As the Chinese New Year approaches, in addition to the three-piece set of "perm, manicure, and eyelash extensions", many beauty lovers have also arranged for colored contact lens liner.

Eyeliner not only increases the natural beauty of the eyes, but also saves people from the tedious process of applying eye makeup every day, so it is loved by many people. However, many people wonder, isn’t eyeliner the same as the eyeliner that our mothers’ generation talked about? Some people are also worried that often tattooing eyeliner will harm the eyes? I heard that in addition to eyeliner, there is also eyelash liner. Are eyelash liner, eyeliner and eyeliner the same thing? Today, let’s learn about this “line” that girls love very much!

Copyright images in the gallery. Reprinting and using them may lead to copyright disputes.

Eyeliner, Lashliner and Eyeliner

I can't tell the difference

Eyebrow line belongs to the category of tattooing. It is a minimally invasive skin coloring . Pigment dye is implanted into the skin tissue of the eyelid margin to form a stable color block. The implanted color is permanently presented through the translucent epidermis to beautify the eyes.

Eyeliner, eyelash liner and eyeliner are very similar, but there are still differences in the position, length, thickness and shape of the eyelid . The following table and figure make a detailed comparison of the three to help everyone quickly understand.

Click to enlarge to view↑↑↑ Source: Author

Image source: Author

Want to be beautiful, we also want to pay attention to health

Is eyeliner tattoo harmful to the eyes?

So, does eyeliner tattooing really harm the eyes? Let’s discuss this question from multiple perspectives.

1

May cause dry eyes due to blocked meibomian glands

The eyeliner is located near the eyelid margin at the base of the eyelashes, which is the opening of the important meibomian glands. The meibomian glands are responsible for secreting oil, which lubricates the surface of the eyeball together with tears when blinking. Whether it is eyeliner, eyeliner or eyelash liner, it is very easy to cause blockage of the meibomian glands.

Image source: Author

Studies have found that the most common cause of dry eyes in modern people is blockage of the meibomian glands, which makes symptoms such as dry eyes, foreign body sensation, red and itchy eyes, and fatigue more likely to occur.

Shown below is a situation where the meibomian glands are blocked and subcutaneous pigmentation at the eyelid margins is stained and residual pigment that cannot be removed after eye tattooing many years ago.

Image source: Author

2

Can easily lead to cross infection

Eyebrow tattooing is usually done in beauty salons or tattoo shops. It is difficult to sterilize tools and instruments and perform aseptic operations by professional medical staff like in regular hospitals.

There is a pathogen that is particularly prone to breeding at the eyelid margins - Demodex. Follicular Demodex lives in the eyelash follicles, while sebaceous Demodex lives in the sebaceous glands and meibomian glands associated with eyelashes. They suck the epithelial cells of the eyelash follicles and the lipids of the meibomian glands, causing the eyelashes to fall off continuously, the meibomian glands to be missing and atrophied, and the metabolites after death will further block the glands, causing meibomian gland dysfunction and further occurrence of dry eye.

At the same time, as foreign antigens, they may also induce eye immune response, causing symptoms such as eyelid congestion and discomfort. After the worm enters the hair follicles or gland ducts, it will also carry other pathogenic microorganisms, such as Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Bacillus, etc., further causing eyelid bacterial infection and acute eye infection diseases such as sty.

Someone once experienced obvious eye discomfort shortly after getting eyeliner tattoos. After examination, it was found that both eyelashes were positive for Demodex mites, and as many as five mites were found under a low-power microscope. (The following are real high-energy pictures, you can choose to watch them ↓↓↓)

Image source: Author

In addition to the possibility of Demodex infection, it is unknown whether the shared tools during the invasive tattoo process carry other more serious pathogens, such as HIV, hepatitis B virus, etc. These pathogens may be transmitted through blood or body fluids.

3

Possible fading, discoloration, or skin scarring

Tattooing is an invasive procedure, the principle of which is to use a fine needle to puncture the skin and implant pigment into the skin tissue.

Image source: an e-commerce platform

Many people only know that the eyeliner is tattooed in the eyelid skin, but they don't know how deep it is tattooed. Why do we need to know the depth of the pigment implantation? In fact, this is directly related to the fading and blurring of the eyeliner.

Our skin can be simply divided into the epidermis, dermis and subcutaneous tissue. The epidermis grows and splits from the basal layer until it falls off after the stratum corneum, with a cycle of 28 days. If the tattoo puncture depth stays in the epidermis, the pigment will fall off after 28 days as the epidermal cells grow, resulting in discoloration.

Image source: Author

Therefore, if you want the color to last after tattooing, the depth of the pigment must break through the epidermis and enter the shallow dermis. Sensory nerves and capillaries only appear in the dermis, which is why you need to use surface anesthetics to relieve pain before doing eyeliner, and why there is slight bleeding during tattooing. Since there is trauma, there will be slight bleeding, which once again shows that it is very important to sterilize the instruments to avoid the transmission of pathogenic microorganisms.

In addition, the skin around the eyes is the thinnest in the whole body, with a total thickness of only 0.3mm~0.5mm. Tattoo artists are human beings, not machines. It is difficult to control the puncture depth perfectly and accurately. It all depends on the touch. If you are not careful, you may puncture deep into the dermis. If the puncture is too deep, the basal cells of the epidermis will be destroyed and lose their hair growth function. The dermis will produce a large amount of collagen fibers to repair the wound, and the eyeliner will appear blurred, discolored, or even scarred.

4

The quality of pigments varies and may harm your health

An organization and official authoritative media have jointly investigated the safety of six popular tattoo pigments on the market. Lead, arsenic, chromium and nickel were detected in all of them, and the arsenic content of two of them was significantly exceeded. Arsenic and inorganic arsenic compounds have long been listed as Class I carcinogens by the World Health Organization.

According to the survey results, tattoo agencies on the market generally do not disclose the specific brand names and ingredient details of pigments. At most, they describe them as "natural plant essential oil ingredients", "imported from Germany", "imported from South Korea", etc. However, the actual product quality is unknown and depends entirely on the self-consciousness of the merchants. Therefore, even if consumers choose expensive pigments, it does not mean that they are absolutely safe.

Having said so much, I would like to give you some sincere suggestions:

1. Natural beauty is the most beautiful. If you can use eyeliner, try not to use invasive methods that harm your eyes and body.

2. If you are determined to do it, please confirm whether you have the following contraindications to tattooing before doing it: such as scar-prone constitution, allergic constitution, autoimmune disease, infectious disease patients, active skin diseases, coagulation dysfunction, severe conjunctivitis, keratitis, severe dry eyes, etc. Women who are menstruating, pregnant or breastfeeding should also stay away from it.

3. Try to choose a qualified medical beauty institution that is relatively reliable. Before tattooing, please check whether the operator has the corresponding qualifications, check whether there is a safety report for the colorant, and whether the tattooing tools are disposable medical devices.

In short, there may be some safety risks in getting eyeliner tattoos frequently, but you don't need to be too anxious if you go to a formal institution to get tattoos occasionally. The Chinese New Year is coming soon. Have you arranged to get eyeliner tattoos? Welcome to share in the comment section.

References

[1]Bron AJ, Tiffany JM The contribution of meibomian disease to dry eye. Ocul Surf 2004; 2:149-64.

[2]Bron AJ, de Paiva CS, Chauhan SK, Bonini S, Gabison EE, Jain S, et al. TFOS DEWS II pathophysiology report. Ocul Surf 2017;15:438-510.
[3] Czepita D, Kuźna-Grygiel W, Czepita M et al. Demodex folliculorum and Demodex brevis as a cause of chronic marginal blepharitis. Ann Acad Med Stetin. 2007;53(1):63-7; discussion 67.

[4]Jingbo Liu , Hosam Sheha, Scheffer CG Tseng. Pathogenic role of Demodex mites in blepharitis. Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol. 2010 Oct;10(5):505-10.

[5] “2020 Chinese Dry Eye Expert Consensus”

[6] “Expert consensus on the diagnosis and treatment of Demodex blepharitis in my country” [7] https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MzI5NDAzMzY5NQ==&mid=2652510230&idx=1&sn=ad82137268f4b5a22a985fc1f1afd066&chksm=f787b866c0f03170fee80e4f331a159292a9829a5c4adc240b79d2b8c2355a1d94088b55a68f&scene=27

Planning and production

Author: Zhang Qi, deputy chief physician of ophthalmology department of Zhuozheng Medical

Review丨Jin Xiuming, Deputy Director of the Ophthalmology Center, Zhejiang University Second Hospital

Planning丨Yinuo

Editor: Yinuo Zhong Yanping

Proofread by Xu Lailinlin