Healthy Hollywood: Try It On Tuesday – Lusting For Kim K’s Lashes!

Kim Kardashian is famous for her voluptuous curves – especially now that she’s pregnant. However, it is the reality icon‘s long and lush lashes that Healthy Hollywood has always admired.

“Long, thick lashes make your eyes “pop.” They enhance a woman’s appearance in so many ways,” states dermatologist Dr. Doris Day, who is also founder of My Clean Skin Dermatology in New York City.

Adele and Katy Perry also seem to be genetically blessed with naturally full lashes, which Dr. Day reveals adds instant sex appeal to a women’s look, adding, “Eyelashes are a symbol of our feminism and attraction and also can be sexy and seductive. Longer lashes highlight your eyes making them look bigger and more beautiful. Women strive to have gorgeous eyes and eyelashes to add that womanly touch.”

Unfortunately, most women, me included, don’t have the genetic gift of a lush lash line. Plus, as we get older, thinning lashes is part of the aging process. So, the quest for fuller lashes is a beauty asset many women increasingly crave.

In 2010, Women’s Wear Daily reported that while most beauty sales had been flat, false-eyelash sales were up about 6.2%, to $44 million annually. Lash extenders, miracle mascaras and both prescription and non-prescription lash growers were all must-have items to add into a women’s cosmetic collection.

So, what’s the best preventative way to take care of the lashes we have? Dr. Day suggests, “Taking care of eyelashes and maintaining them should be a daily routine. Extreme, crash or yo-yo dieting can cause hair shedding and accelerate the aging process including your eyelashes. Be careful not to tug at the skin or the roots of the lashes when using eyelash curlers and always take-off makeup at the end of the day.”

Also, Dr. Day recommends avoiding quick-fixes eyelash treatments, like tinting and extensions, because they could damage the lashes and follicles over time if overdone or done improperly. Also, try not to pull lashes when removing mascara and never curl lashes after using mascara.

Dr. Day, who was one of the principal investigators for clinical trials on Latisse says this is the only FDA-approved product for lash growth. The prescription treatment is proven to grow eyelashes longer, fuller and darker with 16 weeks of use. “At three months, for the first time ever, when I curled my lashes, they came out the other side.

The upside is that Latisse works, as attested by many of Healthy Hollywood’s friends. I have never personally tried it. But, I do know It can be costly for those of lash-seekers on a budget.

According to Dr. Day, a simple cost-effective eye-lash lengthener is “try to remember to brush your eyelashes; there are tiny combs that you can use to brush your lashes before you put on mascara.”

For more of Dr. Day’s treatments and tips, head over to www.myclearskin.com .

— Terri MacLeod