Latisse.

"Latisse has prostaglandins. So for most people, I do not recommend it. Now there are some people who have a lot of excess skin around the eyes that have a good amount of fat around the eyes, they're going to be fine with using something like Latisse. But if you've been using Latisse and you're noticing like, hey, my eyes are looking darker or more hollow, that is often why. The prostaglandins are incredibly effective for growing longer, thicker lashes, but for some people will cause fat loss around the eye and discoloration around the eye, which as you get older can be a lot more obvious and be more of a detriment to your appearance."

"I use Latisse for eyelash serum. I found a place online where you can get a prescription for it. Instead of using it every day, I use it every two days or every three days, and I don't notice that my lashes are getting any shorter by doing it that way. It helps my eyes stay a little bit more hydrated because I find those can be kind of drying. I apply it after I do my eyelashes, and I put a little bit on each brow with one drop. I haven't noticed any negative effects on my lashes by doing it every two or three days instead of every day."

"While effective, these serums have several risks and it is really for every individual to decide if these are the risks that they're willing to take or not. One of the really common side effects are things like irritation and redness. About 4% of users experience redness or itching around the lash line. While this number seems really low, I'm a perfect example of that. I have used the prescription and developed significant itching, redness of the eyelid, and redness of the white part of my eye. I just really could not tolerate it. Another side effect is hyperpigmentation, which is where the skin around the lash line gets darker, though this usually resolves after you stop the serum. Another more serious side effect is things like periorbital fat loss, which is around your eyes. This is very rare but it can be concerning, where fat around the eyes diminishes and can create more of a hollowed appearance, almost makes you look like you're older than your actual age. Another side effect, also really rare but not amazing, is changing the eye color. This is more common in patients with lighter eyes and there's a risk of permanent darkening of the iris."

"Latisse is the prescription one with bimatoprost, which is a prostaglandin analogue that can grow hair. We don't fully know why that is, but it seems to be perhaps related to compelling the hair follicle to get back in the growing phase of the hair cycle. Latisse is FDA-approved for lashes, but it can be used off-label in the brow area for brow growth. We do use it that way for patients who have certain health conditions that cause them to lose their brows, for example chemotherapy. It's been shown to be helpful for getting the brows to come back after chemotherapy."

"The predominant benefit of using Latisse is that you're going to get longer looking lashes. When your lash is in that growing phase it has more blood supply and nutrients, it may grow thicker and may appear fuller, but usually that's not the case. In general you're going to have longer looking lashes. From personal experience I did use Latisse for like a year many years back and that's what I experienced: my lashes fell out less, grew longer, but weren't really fuller. One of the side effects is that prostaglandin can actually induce pigment or melanin synthesis, which is why one of the side effects that we warn patients about when prescribing a prostaglandin serum like Latisse is that you may get brown eye color. So if you have like green or blue eye color, your eye color may actually turn brown to some degree, and that may be permanent, though usually it's reversible. If you have light colored lashes it may darken them as well. When it comes to effectively lengthening eyelashes, nothing is going to beat prostaglandin. Regardless of what other serums that don't contain prostaglandin market and claim, nothing is going to be as effective. However, prostaglandin does come with side effects that can be more serious, including irritation, since eyelid skin is very thin and delicate and anything we put on there could potentially cause irritation, reaction, redness, and dermatitis."

"There are two main categories of eyelash serums: those that contain prostaglandins and those that do not contain prostaglandins, and all of the serious side effects, some of which are permanent and some of which are temporary, come from the lash serums that contain the prostaglandin ingredient. Latisse is prescription, and these work. I am not telling you not to use them; I am simply wanting you to know the risks here so you can weigh these pros and cons before you start using them. If you are considering an eyelash serum, you need to thoroughly evaluate the label to see if your product contains a prostaglandin. Often times, probably all of the time, this is actually not even clearly listed on the box or the packaging and instead it's only mentioned or hidden in the ingredients label of the packaging."