First I want to say hey to everyone. I know I have been out for a minute but now that I am done with undergrad and have the summer off til medical school, I will try to holla at ya'll every now and then.

I want to write about this annoying ad for a product called Latisse that has been really bothering me. Props to Jill for writing about this before in her peice Taking A Stand from last year. Home girl is ahead of the game.

I have to say that I am still wrapping my mind around how I feel about Latisse and the condition of “Hypertrichosis” (lack or undergrowth of eyelashes). I understand that there is a legitimate purpose for human eyelashes beyond cosmetics and that this purpose needs to be protected. Especially after conditions such as cancer and the ensuing chemotherapy that can cause hair loss. However, I am concerned that we are also going through another round of medicalization of common problem for the gain of the medical establishment and/or the pharmaceutical industry.

The additional fact that this drug seems especially geared towards women is also disturbing and disappointing because it seems like it is playing into the ridiculous beauty standards expected of women in our society and the extreme lengths we sometimes go through to reach those standards. If you have not heard my feminist and sensitive sociological interpretation of news and events, be prepared because I tend to be quite skeptical. In my opinion, of the drug developers and researchers had meant for this to be a purely therapeutic drug why this type of advertisement?

It is not to say that I think it is unethical for their to be a cosmetic that helps grow eyelashes (read: women’s eyelashes) if that is what women want. I do think however, that there should be a careful balancing act so that it does not pathologize women who have eyelashes that are not as bushy and long as Brooke Shields (after all, homegirl is a PROFESSIONAL MODEL). I also think that there should be no diagnosing of the normal human condition and appearance as abnormal or “hypertrichosis” and thus needing this expensive, $120/month treatment. Instead, I want honest dialogue that says, “Hey women we created this drug and we want to sell it. there is nothing wrong with you but if you want thicker eyelashes - here you go.” I think people would also be less willing to buy this “wonder drug” if they know that a) scientists still do not know exactly how it works b) there is quite a risk of adverse side effects in up to 4% of users and c) this sexy drug is actually a glaucoma treatment.

Not to mention that the therpeutic effect of this drug for some conditions that cause hypertrichosis as indicated in this article by the National Institutes of Health: 

"...It seems that prostaglandin or prostamide analogs are only effective in promoting eyelash regrowth in patients with a mild form of eyelash alopecia areata.

Eyelashes regrowth in other causes of hypotrichiasis

Prostaglandin analogs, not prostamide, have been studied in animal model of hair injury associated with radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂) analog was shown to have a significant degree of protection against radiation- induced or doxorubicin-induced alopecia in mice.54–56 This protective effect has yet to be studied in human undergoing radiation therapy or chemotherapy..."

I do not think that we as physicians should have any other role to play in what is clearly just another Botox like medication. Let them get it if they want it, but please do not masquerade as trying to treat any sort of “problem” because we all know what the real problem is here and those problems with American gender roles, consumerism and the medical establishment’s eagerness to tango with all of that.