The U.S. Customs and Border Protection says its officials have seized boxes of false eyelashes from smugglers after officials determined they were illegally imported from China. The agency said the seizure was made at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.
The four boxes of long eyelashes, numbering three thousand pairs, were seized Tuesday at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport were destined for a local beauty supply store, agency spokesperson Matthew Dyman said in a statement.
They hadn’t been approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration and weren’t labeled with the distributor’s name or the manufacturer’s name, he said.
That means there’s no way to tell whether the eyelashes had been exposed to disease during manufacturing or whether they were stored properly and kept away from insect-infested areas, Dyman told The Times-Picayune / The New Orleans Advocate.
“There’s no telling what’s on these eyelashes,” he said.
False eyelashes can be made of synthetics and are attached using adhesive, and unregulated or dangerous materials could lead to allergic reactions, eye irritation or worse, Dyman said.
No business or individual has been cited, the newspaper reported.
Unlabeled, non-FDA-approved false lashes are often seized in New Orleans but officials said this shipment was “particularly large,” WVUE-TV reported.
Meanwhile, False eyelashes can put your vision at risk. That’s because anytime you have a foreign object near your eye, there is the potential for something to go wrong. The most common problems associated with wearing fake eyelashes include: eye injuries and infections, allergic reactions, and damage to your natural lashes.
If you must wear false eyelashes, try to keep your eyes safe by:
- Limiting the amount of glue used
- Avoiding lashes with glitter or jewels
- Gently removing the lashes
- Cleaning the eyelid after removing the lashes
- Avoiding glue with formaldehyde
- Not sharing your lashes with others
