Many of my patients have started asking me about using something using castor oil on their eyelashes.  They want to know if it is safe to use and if it is okay for dry eyes?  Castor oil is used to condition the lashes.  Eyelashes are like other hairs on your body.  They do better when they are conditioned just like the hair on your head.

We coat our eyelashes with mascara all day.  Many mascara brands, especially waterproof formulas, are drying to the lashes.  Then, we remove the mascara, but rarely do we put anything on the lashes to nourish and strengthen them.  This would be like washing your hair without ever using conditioner.  You can imagine how your hair would get dry and brittle.

The same thing happens to our eyelashes.  Coating the lashes with mascara and removing the mascara w...

A few weeks ago, we talked about Demodex mites in the eyelashes and how I don't recommend the use of tea tree oil anymore to remove those Demodex mites. There is a new study out of Harvard Medical School indicating that Tea Tree oil is toxic to the cells of the meibomian glands. You can read the original article here.

Demodex mites normally live on human eyelids and lashes. These are microscopic and you can't see them with the naked eye. Below is a super magnified image of the Demodex mite. They have little mouths and they bury themselves inside of the lash follicle. Their little tails hang out at the top of the follicle. If you know you have an overgrowth of Demodex mites you will need an in office treatment or use a daily cleanser to get rid of them.

How do you know if you have a Dem...

I love taking care of my eyes.  it makes them feel great when I do my daily treatment to them.  Then, I feel great knowing I've done something to help myself look and see my best.  I bet someone in your life loves to do that too.

My holiday gift guide contains all of my favorite products that I use to take care of my eyes on a daily basis. So, you can think about giving them as a gift to a loved one. The first two are brand new products that were just launched this year in 2020.  You can no longer say nothing good came out of this year.

#1) Optase Dry Eye Intense Drops 

I love this artificial tear. It's not like any other artificial tears on the market.  With most artificial tears it feels great at first, but then you feel just as dry as you did before you put it in.  Optase is differe...

This past weekend, I was able to attend a great event for dry eye practitioners in Central California. Some of the industry's greatest thought leaders were there including Scott Schachter, OD, Peter Pham, MD, Tim Trinh, OD, and Lisa Wahl, OD.

It was really great to reconnect with some of my colleagues and people who have influenced my career greatly.  I was re-introduced to a product that I have been using in my office for about a year now. It is called Zocular.

If you have been reading this blog for a while, you know that I often recommend using a lid and lash cleanser.  Lid and lash cleanser is an important step in my 4 step process to alleviate your dry eye symptoms. Please check out my book, Alleviate Dry Eye, to learn more about this process.

Zocular is a gentle but powerful lid ...