It was early autumn of 2006, the start of my naive teenage years. I was blossoming into an awkward and rebellious teen ready to face the challenges of the world head-on. I began experimenting with makeup and all the tools of the trade that came with it. I thought I was going to be a master in the art of illusion. I thought that it was OK to wear pink lipstick AND blue eyeshadow. I thought I could trust all the wisdom of the makeup hacks I found on the internet. I believed my Sephora makeup pallet was my world and my nylon fibre eyeshadow brush was my sword. I was ready to take on the world! I thought wrong. Little did I know that the beauty hacks of yesteryear were going to teach me the value of patience and a lesson I wouldn’t forget.
I went through countless Teen Vogue issues, consuming all I could about makeup and the newest trends. When I couldn’t get enough, I started searching for information on the internet, it seemed like a reliable information source at the time. The knowledge of the world was at my fingertips and there was so much valuable information to be had.
What I learned was that you can safely use a clothes iron as a makeshift hair straightener; that if your face mask burns that means it’s working, and lipstick never expires! Yes, this was all false information and in my innocence, I believed it. Luckily, I didn’t try or experience any of these beauty myths until I came across an eyelash curling hack that I HAD to try. Much like today, long thick lashes were the rage and every young girl with short and straight lashes dreamed of having them! I was in a frenzy trying to find the perfect lash curl tutorial. I finally came across the “perfect” hack: to achieve a long-lasting eyelash curl, apply a generous amount of mascara, heat up your eyelash curler with a lighter, let it cool down for a few seconds and curl your lashes for results that will last all day! That was it. I read this and immediately tried it out and boy did it last. Three months to be exact.
Believe me when I say, DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME. As I pulled my eyelash curler away, to my shock and horror, my eyelashes went with it! Not just a few strands but a whole row! Who knew that mascara, an eyelash curler and heat was a recipe for utter disaster? I was basically bald over one eye!
I spent months trying to regrow them. I tried using everything from revitalash and other serums, to nightly castor oil applications, and even conditioner to speed up the growing process. It took three long months to grow most of my lashes back. Never have I appreciated my lashes until I had none. It was a lesson I would never forget – don’t trust everything you read on the internet!
