Based on the research provided by the Tear Film and Ocular Surface (TFOS) Society, there are 4-simple steps all dry eye patients should take on a daily basis to alleviate their dry eye symptoms. 

In 2017, TFOS published a report called the Dry Eye Workshop that utilized the expertise of 150 clinicians and scientists around the world.  These doctors compiled all of the available research and wrote a consensus on how to treat dry eyes.  

The TFOS DEWS2 report advises using 4 steps to care for your dry eyes daily.  No matter if you have just been diagnosed with dry eyes or you have had them for years, there is a 4-step treatment process to get relief fast.  I recommended these 4 steps to all of my patients to do at home for the maintenance of healthy eyes and eyelids. 

Utilizing these 4 s...

Labels.  Companies use the labels on products to bring our attention to something about their product that may make them better or different from their competitor's products.  In the beauty industry, sometimes the labels are misleading and you think you are getting benefits that might not really be important.

 Let's take a look at three common labels placed on beauty brands and find out if they are truly important.

Cruelty-Free

This moniker is meant to indicate that no animal testing has been done on the product.  However, the FDA has not approved a legal definition of the label.  In practice, a brand could use this label whether it is true or not.  

Again, in practice, the label is usually used to indicate that the final product has not been tested on animals.  However, this does no...

What Does It Mean to be CLEAN?

CLEAN makeup refers to a brand that is free of toxic ingredients.  Unfortunately, there are toxic ingredients hiding in some of our favorite makeup brands, which leave residues on our lids and lashes and lead to inflammation. 

These toxic ingredients are like anything else that you can think of being toxic, like eating food that is spoiled. If we eat toxic foods, our stomach would become inflamed and it would be toxic to our insides leading to inflammation, discomfort, and bloating.

What happens with toxic ingredients on the eyes?

When toxic ingredients come into contact with your eyes, they become red, swollen, watery, and irritated.  There are 26 ingredients, which are commonly found in makeup that need to be avoided on the eye.  You can download a lis...

Here in the United States, women love mascara.  We use it every day. In fact, studies show that women apply mascara nine times a week.  That's more than once a day.  And, it's the one makeup we just can't live without.  It's very important to us, but most of us don't know how to care for our mascara.  We don't know when to throw these little beauties out.

Why do I need to throw out my mascara tube?

This is not actually a question I get that often from my patients.  But, it's one that I should get, because not many of us women know the answer.  Mascara, just like a jug of milk or a loaf of bread, has a shelf life. There are preservatives in it to keep it fresh, but they only last so long.

Mascara is applied to our eyelashes, and then the wand is put right back into the tube.  We do thi...