To be clear, not all eyelash serums exacerbate under-eye problems. It’s the ones that contain prostaglandin analogues (PGAs) that you may want to avoid, Youn shares in a recent tiktok video.
These ingredients were Initially used to treat patients with glaucoma. (with a drug called Bimatoprost), before researchers realized that these patients had grown much thicker, fuller eyelashes. They found that the actives could actually extend the hair growth phase; As a result, PGAs became the star ingredients of more than a few clinical eyelash serums on the market.
But here’s the problem with those PGAs: They’ve also been associated with periorbital volume loss, or, as Youn puts it, “melting” the fat around the eyes. “There was a recent study published in the Aesthetic Surgery Magazine that found this to be true,” he shares.
And fat loss in this area can make the blood vessels under your eyes more visible since there’s no longer a layer of cushioning tissue, so you end up with darker circles.
