A common misconception of trends is they're frivolous creations of bored teens and young adults who've run out of ways to express themselves. From the brash style codes of grunge to the low-hanging pants seen on American youths.
Recently young men have taken to social media to show off their lash shaving in revolt against a beauty ideal that has been linked to femininity. While female TikTokers have started the trend for a mix of “accidental” and experimental shaves, eyelids are losing max factor in the name of reasserting one's masculinity.
This is not the first time bizarre trends have stemmed from men attempting to stamp out their masculinity. Seventeenth century men did this with ghostly powered makeup while men in the 1970s got their boogie on. To make things worse, these trends have gone down to be queer-coded with the late 2000s skinny jeans craze.
The trend goes as far back as the 2010s when the beauty industry was booming and aesthetic treatments were all the rage. Young women started plucking their bottom eyelashes and it didn't get the usual rage until 2022 when it experienced a resurgence.
Is lash-cutting safe? Short answer: no — but here’s why some men love it
The latest trend brings back a TikTok favourite made popular by teens, but is it really as harmless as it looks?
Image: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Schic
A common misconception of trends is they're frivolous creations of bored teens and young adults who've run out of ways to express themselves. From the brash style codes of grunge to the low-hanging pants seen on American youths.
Recently young men have taken to social media to show off their lash shaving in revolt against a beauty ideal that has been linked to femininity. While female TikTokers have started the trend for a mix of “accidental” and experimental shaves, eyelids are losing max factor in the name of reasserting one's masculinity.
This is not the first time bizarre trends have stemmed from men attempting to stamp out their masculinity. Seventeenth century men did this with ghostly powered makeup while men in the 1970s got their boogie on. To make things worse, these trends have gone down to be queer-coded with the late 2000s skinny jeans craze.
The trend goes as far back as the 2010s when the beauty industry was booming and aesthetic treatments were all the rage. Young women started plucking their bottom eyelashes and it didn't get the usual rage until 2022 when it experienced a resurgence.
With at-home face beats becoming more popular, followers of the trend cut off their bottom lashes to highlight falsies on the eyelids.
A pioneer of the trend, Carrie Madders, said in an interview she had been cutting her bottom lashes since she was a child. She started to do so not only to make her eyes appear bigger but to prevent them getting tangled.
Image: Evening Standard/Getty Images
Following this trend are videos of men and women trimming their lashes to achieve bushier brows under the guise that it would help them grow back in bigger volumes. A number of experts spoke out about the invalidity of the trend, including plastic surgeon Charles S Lee who uses TikTok as a debunking and information tool.
“This doesn't work,” he said in a post, sharing that if no hair follicles are damaged everything would be fine.
On a simpler level, eyelashes keep dirt and debris out of the eyes. According to Malik Eye Care, the hypersensitive feel found in lashes also comes from their ability to trigger a reflex should anything in the air make it near your eyes. While false lashes limit these actions, lashes have the appropriate length to keep eyes from losing moisture and drying out too quickly. A study also found lashes play an important role in protecting the cornea from the sun's harmful rays.
While trimming them down as per Dr Lee's suggestions is harmless, beauty experts at The Lash Professional warn against jumping on the trend. One of the downsides to cutting or trimming eyelashes is it can take six to eight weeks for them to grow back, if they ever do.
Much like bygone trends of men wearing powder makeup or hipsters, perhaps the followers of the lash-cutting trend can leave their lashes on rather than remove them altogether.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
Delulu after work: how your destress habits make things worse
2024's top fashion & beauty trends
From Trevor Noah to Siya Kolisi, here's how to groom and stay fit like a pro
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most read
Latest Videos