Did you know you could get an ingrown eyelash?
I mean, everyone has heard of getting an ingrown hair, but an ingrown EYELASH??!
Don’t google it. It’s gross. REALLY. I promise you… just use your imagination and DO NOT go to google images. Trust me on this one.
Anywhoo. One day a few weeks ago as I applied my daily serving of eyeliner, I noticed that one of my eyelashes had taken a wrong turn and decided to poke under the fragile skin of my eyelid.
Obviously, I did what I typically do when I’m not sure how to fix something… I ignored it.
A week or so passed and it didn’t magically go away, so I did what I always do next… I googled it. And, yuck. Apparently ingrown eyelashes are a thing. However, there were WAY worse cases out there because ingrown eyelashes can point TOWARDS YOUR EYE and STAB YOU!
That’s right. You’ll just be going along living your life and an asshole eyelash will grow toward your eyeball and then STAB you in it until you find the little bugger and pull it out. But they can be microscopic, so you might not even see that invisible butthead and just go freaking crazy at the annoyance.
Luckily, my eyelash – although it was obviously still an asshole – did NOT point into my eyeball. So, that’s something to be happy about.
However, it just sat there and didn’t go away.
It grew right under the skin, so I could see it every day when I applied my makeup and put in my contact lenses. Every so often I’d screw up some courage and try to rip it out with either a sharp needle or a pair of tweezers.
Um… do not do this at home.
Normal people don’t try to stab themselves in the eyelid with a sewing needle.
As it was, I’m pretty sure we are programed to NOT stab ourselves in the eyelid because I couldn’t do more than make a slight scratch before whimpering and putting the needle away.
The skin around the lash was a little puffy, but not infected. I was still worried about whether it would end up getting infected, so I made an appointment with my dermatologist. I figure if I trust her to cut pieces of cancer off my skin, I can trust her with this too.
I had my appointment on Friday and the lovely Sharon attacked the eyelash with a vengeance. I’m not going to lie, it hurt. Like, really bad. I was squirming around, holding my breath, clenching my fists and making some super embarrassing whining noises. In the end, she was able to remove it and the crowd cheered.
Okay, maybe it was just in my head where the two of us broke into a happy dance and she spiked the hair to the ground like a touchdown celebration.
It’s out though. YAY! My poor little eyelid was super red and swollen for a few days, but is finally almost back to normal. So here is your public service announcement of the day: Ingrown Eyelashes are a Thing. A bad thing. If you have one, don’t ignore it. Also, it is totally acceptable to go shopping afterwards to treat yourself.
Now, if you excuse me… I need to run slowly through a field to be reunited with my eyeliner.
Ouch. I totally have poked my eye area with a needle. A few years go I got these little water blister type bumps along the waterline of my eye as a reaction to a cheap eyeliner I had bought. Don’t know why it happened but those little bumps hurt because they would rub up against my eye every time I blinked. I had the great idea I’d pop them to make the swelling go down. It worked but it probably wasn’t the smartest thing I’ve ever done.
I’ve actually gotten something similar before as an allergy to pollen reacting with my contact lenses. My eye doctor told me to break a Qtip in half and use the rigid side to rub over the bump to pop it. So, now you know… 😉
I had it happen as reaction to a new contact lens solution once as well. I have since used the edge of my tweezers because a needle has too much room for error. Nice to know I’m not the only one whose ever had those little bumps!!!
Since you specifically told me not to, I did a Google image search for ‘ingrown eyelash.’ OUCH and eek. I’m glad yours is out and that the little jerk didn’t stab you in the eye!
This is one of the scariest things I’ve EVER HEARD. I can’t even imagine. Lord, please don’t let it happen to me. I’m glad you conquered it!