Eye doctor issues stark warning over nasty side-effect of sleeping in waterproof mascara as she urges people to take their make up off before bed

A doctor and influencer has revealed a skin-crawling side-effect of leftover mascara on your eyelashes which proves you really do need to remove your make-up before bed.

Speaking in a clip on Instagram, the influencer shocked her followers with an image of the inside of a woman’s eyelid covered in dark spots after she failed to remove her eye makeup over a consistent period.

‘If you sleep in your waterproof mascara, flip your eyelids,’ the influencer, who goes by @eyestheticsofficial, said to the camera, before moving away to show an image of a flipped eyelid with what looks like chunks of mascara – or as followers commented, possibly mold – embedded into the lid. 

Waterproof mascara can be harder to take off compared with standard mascara and needs a more heavy-duty makeup remover, meaning it’s more likely for some of the formula to remain on the lashes and lead to build up. 

Followers reacted with horror to the video, with one writing, ‘Looks like legit mold wtf is that.’

While another said, ‘Well I almost had a panic attack thankyouverymuchhhh but mine are spotless. Don’t scare me like that lol (I rarely do this anyway but wanted to make sure).’

And a third wrote, ‘I used to sleep with it on it caused me so many problems, I only use waterproof for funerals, never sleep with any mascara on.’

The @eyestheticsofficial Instagram account is managed by board-certified optometrists Dr Gurleen Dhanoa and Dr Aysha Chaudhry, who use the platform to raise awareness around eye health, as well as offering skincare and beauty advice. 

The image used in the video is part of a study published by the American Academy of Ophthalmology, which details a 50-year-old woman from Australia who went to the eye doctor with pain in both eyes.

After flipping her eyelids, eye doctors were able to identify black clumps of product – called concretions – embedded within the eyelid that was beginning to erode the patient’s conjunctival surface.

The woman then admitted the concretions were the build-up of 25 years of bad makeup hygiene, as she regularly went to bed with mascara on.

Luckily, doctors were able to remove the buildup but warned that if the damage to her eyelids had continued and led to an infection, there was a high risk the patient could go blind.

Some followers had picked up on the reference point of @eyestheticsofficial’s video, with one writing: ‘Hey guys, just so you know this is kind of a ridiculous reel because she decided not to inform you that the woman pictured here was sleeping in mascara consistently for 25 years!

‘No, don’t sleep with mascara on all the time but also don’t be scared if you forget sometimes or are too tired. Essentially what happened here was she was not removing her mascara properly and the mascara accumulated under her eyelids and hardened. It caused something called ‘Follicular Conjunctivitis’.

‘While this case is UNCOMMON, and most of these scratches heal without long-term issues, any scratch on the surface of the eye can lead to an infection of the cornea.

‘So please, do wash your mascara off well, but don’t let this kinda thing scare you this is not misinformation but it certainly is excluding important pieces of info. Don’t risk your eyesight though, get good makeup remover.’

Doctor Ed Robinson, a certified NHS doctor specialising in skincare and aesthetics, explained what’s going on in the picture used in the video – and why we should always remove makeup thoroughly.

‘Cosmetics, including mascara, when not regularly removed can migrate onto the surface of the eye (or the subconjunctiva),’ he told FEMAIL.

‘This can lead to an accumulation of pigment, which as a foreign body drives inflammation as the immune system attacks it. This results in irritation and in the worst cases, nasty infections.’

The build-up of bacteria in makeup products is common over time, so it’s important to keep on top of the shelf life of your products, ideally replacing a mascara every six months.

Makeup artist Laura Fairley explains, ‘Mascara, when not changed regularly, is a real breeding ground for bacteria which also contributes to the likelihood of having issues with your eyes if you sleep in your eye makeup.

‘I always advise clients to treat their lashes to a new mascara every six months and it goes without saying, you should never share it with anyone else!’

Dr Gurleen Dhanoa is a big advocate for eye health using the Instagram account she shares with Dr Aysha Chaudhry as a platform to champion the importance of thorough makeup removal – often with some visual shock tactics.

The doctor also recently shared a video of lashes under a microscope showing an overpopulation of ‘lash mites’.

‘If you do end up going to bed with your mascara on, I will tell you what you can do to maintain your lid hygiene – just take it off,’ Dr Dhanoa began, before continuing to explain how lash mites, tiny bugs that live around the hair follicles on humans and other mammals, can multiply if exposed to too much bacteria.

Dr Gurleen Dhanoa and Dr Aysha Chaudhry are on a mission to educate the masses on eye health with their account @eyestheticsofficial

‘Now hear me out, we need a healthy amount for them to eat our dead skin cells, excess oils, excess bacteria,’ she continued. ‘They love feasting on bacteria – that is the speciality on the menu.’

Before saying, ‘And what makeup product is going to carry the most bacteria? Dark and moist environments – your mascara. Imagine you’re just serving them a feast of bacteria on a platter, all night long. When they feast, that leads to overpopulation. 

‘If something’s going in, it also must come out. They’re pooping in your lash follicles, you can see the poop building up,’ the doctor continued, pointing at a close of the lashes.

Dr Dhanoa went on to say that the effect of this is that the ‘lids will start to become inflamed’, ‘irritated,’ and ‘red’. She also warned that over time the ‘follicles will weaken,’ which increases the chance of lash loss.

Dr Ed Robinson agrees that an overpopulation of lash mites is bad news for our lashes. ‘Eyelash mites – or Demodex folliculorum – are very small parasites that live on humans usually going unnoticed, but overpopulation in the eyelash follical can cause red, dry irritated eyes, blepharitis or even rosacea which can be very sore and itchy,’ Dr Robinson explains.

‘Repeatedly leaving mascara on overnight can worsen the situation as it creates an environment on your follicles that mites and bacteria love. A hypochlorous acid cleanser or spray like Thochlor will kill mites and bacteria, and is also anti-inflammatory.’