Megan Rixson, a student from Luton, Bedfordshire in England, recently went to a salon she hadn't been to before - and things turned out far worse than she expected.
On October 19, the 20-year-old went to an unnamed salon where she was hoping to get some eyelash extensions, but things went horribly wrong.
During the application of the lashes, she experienced some burning, and then found that she was unable to see for the next two hours. Speaking to BuzzFeed News, she explained how the salon had explained away her pain, and what happened next:
"When she was doing the first one my eyes were stinging lots. But she said, don't worry, it's normal, and told me to hold my eye open. It was burning so much my eyes were naturally closing, but she kept telling me to hold them open. After she was done, I sat up on the bed and couldn't open them. I said, 'this isn't normal', but she kept saying it was."
She left the salon and headed home, but things weren't getting any better. After she got through the initial discomfort and pain, she posted a video onto Twitter to make sure her story made it out there.
"Girls be very very careful where you get your eyelashes done!! I got my individuals done today somewhere new and it turns out they used nail glue on my lashes," she wrote on Twitter. "I genuinely lost my sight for 2 hours. Thankfully the swelling has gone down, but there still very sore. Be careful."
In the video, Megan's eyes are still streaming, as she explains what it feels like:
"This one is, like, on fire, but this one won't open as much, like this is as far as I can open them and this is, like, more closed. I'm not crying because I'm sad, I'm crying because, like, my eyes are continuously watering. Um, but, everything is very blurry, like very blurry."
Later on, Megan returned to the salon to inquire about what exactly happened to make her eyes react like that. When she asked what glue they used, the woman said 'that is for nails' before apologising.
Luckily for Megan, her eyes are doing better these days. They are still very sensitive, with some blurry sight and soreness, but otherwise they are "getting better every day". Speaking to Femail, she gave some advice for those seeking eyelash extensions:
"My first bit if advice would be make sure you always carry out a glue test. And second of all ask the beautician what glue they use ask to see it and definitely read up on it online, no pretty long eyelashes are worth your eyesight."
There are other dangers that could come with these extensions, whether its inflammation, irritation, allergic reactions, and even infections. Megan is just lucky that the damage to her eyes was not permanent.
