:: Review:: Jan Marini Age-Intervention Eyelash Intervention
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Tue Oct 17, 2006 3:40 pm

Good afternoon to all of you. I have been using this product now for just over 3 weeks. I wear contact lenses. I was thinking my lenses were causing the eyes to itch and irritate me. I also was seeing alot of redness on the eyelids. After reading your reactions. I wrote an email to Jan Marini also, since I am also close to their corporate offices. I have not received a reply. I am VERY concerned about this connection to glacoma ingredient. I did not use it last night, and my eyes are still bothering me. I removed my lenses early in the day, and I am concerned because they still are bothering me. Please, ladies, be very careful here, we only get 2 eyes each. I am wanting to stop this stuff altogether if this is what happens. Thanks.

Tue Oct 17, 2006 7:55 pm

Hi,
I too have purchased the product, but after reading some of the posts I am somewhat hesitant to use it. I definitely do not want to hurt my eyes in any way. The official Jan Marini site does not mention much about adverse reactions, or dangerous side effects. Could it be possible to use a medical drug in a cosmetic product and be able to sell it without FDA approval? I don't know, but maybe someone does. So, I shall wait for answers. thanks to you all...

free skin care · Tue Oct 17, 2006 10:30 pm

oh no! maybe you should stop using it for awhile just to make sure it is the Jan Marini. I sure hope not because this stuff sounds like a miracle!

Tue Oct 17, 2006 10:44 pm

I work in an Operating room mostly with eye patients. I was cleaning a patients eye and I told her eyelashes were so full and thick and she said they came from a tube. So I asked her what it was she used and she told me Jan Marini. She also said the product was discovered when glaucoma patients used Xalatan.So i checked with some of my docs and It is used to decrease intraocular pressure. Xalatan is made of man-made version of a naturally-occuring prostaglandin. Like This JM product. Some of the side effects of this medication are eyelash and vellus hair changes (increased length, thickness, pigmentation, and number).And This medicine can cause your eye colour to gradually change by increasing the amount of brown pigment in your iris. I bought the JM product on Ebay and have been using it for about 3 weeks and have seen great results. I personally am not worried about the eye colour change. As long as you apply it in the proper manner I don't see a problem. If you would like to read side effects of Xalatan go to Netdoctor.co.uk and search for xalatan.

free skin care · Wed Oct 18, 2006 1:51 am

Jewlsgirl--i feel better about the serum now! i just applied it again tonight so hopefully my eyes won't hurt tommorrow. my sister was looking at my lashes today and she commented on how much longer they are now (i started on oct 2 i think). i saw my profile and my eyelashes are starting to get that long fake-ish look so i am happy!

free skin care · Wed Oct 18, 2006 5:29 am

Oh, for the love of Peter, Paul and Mary! I tried to hold my tongue and my temper following that other ridiculous and OTT discussion/debate/debacle in the other thread recently but this is getting to be too much.

People, we don't even know that JM AI Eyelash actually contains the synthetic glaucoma medication. I can't believe how quickly the hysteria has spread. Until Jan Marini herself confesses to what "EyeLash Growth Factor" actually is, I will continue to keep an open mind.

Afterall, I am personally well-aquainted with the fact that this glaucoma medication isn't the only "active" out there that can help one's lashes grow like weeds because it isn't an ingredient that I include on my own lash growth serum (but that is all I'm going to say on the subject so don't try to pry any details out of me!).

free skin care · Wed Oct 18, 2006 6:49 am

Jewlsgirl, I too am an Operating Room nurse, though I rarely work in the Eye room. Would you ask your eye docs if it is safe to use these synthetic prostaglandins on healthy eyes? Will it still decrease the IOP if someone with normal pressures uses it? Even if it is not the product used in Jan Marini, it would be interesting to know whether it is safe to use. Maybe a plastic surgeon, dermatologist, or opthamologist would prescribe it for eyelash growth. I have been using JM for 4 days and have had no adverse reaction.

free skin care · Wed Oct 18, 2006 11:02 am

dalibella wrote:

Could it be possible to use a medical drug in a cosmetic product and be able to sell it without FDA approval?

This possibility was previously debated in-depth last week until the discussion denigrated into a thoroughly tasteful name-calling, personal insult festival:
http://www.essentialdayspa.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=16861&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0&sid=d7e1845caed4db81180f0488594ac484 Read it for yourself and make your own decision.

Jewlsgirl80 wrote:

And This medicine can cause your eye colour to gradually change by increasing the amount of brown pigment in your iris.

Speaking of which, did y'all know that EVERYONE's eyes are truly brown when you look at them under extreme magnification? It's true!

"How do you know, CareKate?"

I'm so glad you asked! I have this growth on the iris of my eye that the doctors liken to a beauty mark or mole. It doesn't bother me or affect my vision (I'm 20-15), but if you look closely at my left eye, you'll see that the pupil is oval/oblong rather than perfectly round. Because of this iris nevus, I'm required to get my eyes checked out by an eye specialist (actually, my doctor is THE most foremost authority in the world on these freaky little "eye moles"!!) to make sure that the 'beauty mark' hasn't grown in size or changed characteristics. You know, like they tell you to go to the doctor immediately if you have a mole on your body that suddenly changes appearance b/c it could be a sign of melanoma or something....

Anyway, these tests that they run are much more involved than your regular checkup with the optomologist. Among other things, they dilate my pupils, and then take closeup photographs of my eye. By "closeup," I mean that they actually put the lens of the camera against the surface of my eyeball and snap the pics!!

In order to be able to put the camera lens on my eye without scratching or damaging the cornea - here's the part that's gonna make you cringe - they actually coat my eyeball with K-Y jelly (yes, the same stuff the OB-GYN uses on the speculum when he goes "spelunking") and then I'm told to hold my eye open as wide as possible and I'm forbidden to blink while they proceed to shoot off about 4-rolls of 36-exposures 35 mm film, and if I *do* blink or flinch while the flashbulb is going off brightly at my defenseless, fully dilated pupil, then they have to start the process all over again!!

Needless to say, I dread when it's time for my yearly eye checkup...the exams aren't really painful, but they are EXTREMELY uncomfortable!! If that's not bad enough, during the 20-minutes that it takes for them to shoot off the pix while I sit in the chair tearing up but unblinking, I can actually feel the K-Y jelly m-e-l-t-i-n-g and running down my face. Obviously this is one day per year when putting on my makeup is an exercise in futility!

"What's the point of this meaningless ramble, CareKate, about photogenic eyeball moles?"

Well, my specialist eye doctor actually once gave me a Polaroid closeup photo of my eyeball and I hung it inside my cubicle at work. Whenever people notice the picture, they invaribly ask me if it's my mammogram!!!! Shock

Don't ask me how the hell they think my eyeball is my tit, but they always do!

So it turns out that up close (i.e.: the closeness it takes for them to photograph my eye-mole), EVERYONE's eyes are actually brown. I'm completely serious!

To the naked eye (no pun!), my eyes are greenish-grey with gold flecks, and when the eye doctor handed me that Polaroid picture, I told him that it must be a mistake, it couldn't be my eye in the photo, because the eyeball in the picture was actually brown.

He told me it wasn't a mistake, everyone's eyes are really brown under that degree of magnification. He said something about the way that someone's eye color is perceived to be blue, green or hazel is really just an optical illusion based on the composition of the "cones" and "rods" in the cornea of the eye. I thought that was fascinating but I was a little disappointed because I'm quite proud of the unusual color of my eyes....

So there's a little bit of useless trivia for you: those baby-blues that you are so proud of are actually mud-brown! Confused

To bring this seemingly pointless, meandering post back around full-circle, I would like to share the following:

I saw Dr. Milton Boniuk (my eye specialist) at the Baylor College of Medicine a couple weeks ago for my yearly "eyeball mole" checkup and he actually noticed the difference in the length of my eyelashes based upon comparing them to the photographs taken last year. When he asked me what was causing this, I told him about using JM and developing my own lash growth serum. He was quite interested and even remarked that he would have to share this info with a certain lady-friend of his who was always bugging him to write her a script for Xalatan. At no point did this world-reknowned eye expert express any concern or advise me against using this product even after he speculated that the active ingredient might very well be the same as in the well-known glaucoma medication (and I suggested an alternative possibility).

I would certainly accept the opinion from someone like Dr. Boniuk rather than put any weight in a rumor that somebody heard in a chatroom where some anonymous poster stated that s/he heard from her esthetician who heard from her brother-in-law's step-cousin who's married to a beauty magazine editor who heard from her uncle's second wife's dog-groomer who knows somebody in the cosmoceutical business that is a CEO who thinks that Jan Marini is illegally using a prescription glaucoma medication in a product labeled for cosmetic-use only without FDA approval but turns out that this CEO is actually a Jan Marini-rival who intentionally invoked a witch hunt regarding the product because he was jealous of Jan Marini's incredible success with the product and who is now kicking himself because he vetoed his own company's board of directors' when they suggested that the company create a lash growth serum product of their own because this CEO didn't think there was enough interest in such a niche product to make the venture profitable so he decided to start a vicious rumor discrediting Jan Marini's product while his own research scientists work feverishly to develop a lash growth serum of their own to rush to market in hopes of cashing in on the American woman's obsession with having the longest, lushest lashes of her dreams.

Did you get all that? Sounds ludicrous, doesn't it?

Furthermore, I would also like to offer the following observation: Jan Marini isn't going to simply release the details of the much speculated-upon "EyeLash Growth Factor" to the general public because it is most likely considered prepriatory knowledge. In addition, given my own experiences and difficulties in navigating the world of product liability in my quest to bring my own lash growth serum to market in even a small-scale to my EDS friends, it is HIGHLY UNLIKELY that Jan Marini would risk her company's entire reputation and financial well-being by knowingly selling a product known to cause adverse reactions or dangerous side effects -- there is simply too much at stake. Perhaps that is a naive view, but I prefer to give the benefit of the doubt because I realize that even a single product liability lawsuit (remember, we Americans are just about the most litigious society on earth) could completely wipe out her entire company. Just like malpractice insurance for doctors, product liability insurance doesn't come cheap and --thanks for certain tort reforms, at least in TX -- there is a cap on the amount of damages that they will cover so if a jury awards a consumer/victim more than that amount, guess where it'll come from?

Just like the stupid woman that sued McDonald's (and won) because a drive-thru attendant handed her a cup of the coffee that she had ordered, which the woman then promptly spilled in her own lap because she didn't have sense enough to know that "coffee = hot," I have to agree JewlsGirl80 and say that if you utilize common sense and don't poke yourself in the eye with the application wand, then using JM AI EyeLash is perfectly safe most people.

As for those members who have posted here to report itchy/burning eyes after using JM, while you probably ARE experiencing some sort of allergic reaction that doesn't mean that the automatic assumption should be that the "Eyelash Growth Factor" ingredient is the cause -- afterall, EGF isn't the only item listed on the ingredients panel!

Oh, and Candy? I tried to stay out of it -- I really did! Embarassed

I was hold back for an entire 48-hours so you should commend me on my restraint. Bad Grin

free skin care · Wed Oct 18, 2006 11:31 am

Wow Carekate,

I thought I was the queen of run-on sentences Laughing

Thanks for directing me to the other thread, the claws sure did come and kept me entertained for at least a good 10 min Very Happy

free skin care · Wed Oct 18, 2006 12:19 pm

I was staying out of this too but this cracked me up.

carekate wrote:

a rumor that somebody heard in a chatroom where some anonymous poster stated that s/he heard from her esthetician who heard from her brother-in-law's step-cousin who's married to a beauty magazine editor who heard from her uncle's second wife's dog-groomer who knows somebody in the cosmoceutical business that is a CEO who thinks that Jan Marini is illegally using a prescription glaucoma medication in a product labeled for cosmetic-use only without FDA approval

Common sense tells me that Jan Marini would not include an illegal drug. She's not some get-rich-quick one-man operation. I mean, c'mon - how could she even purchase enough to make her products? Consider drugstores hiding OTC decongestants and limiting purchases ... do you really think JM could use a prescription drug?

One other thing I wanted to note ... there ARE people who claim that this did not work for them. It's not a miracle product and shouldn't be shot down with such fervor.

That said, I am convinced that cocaine is the secret addictive ingredient in Cadbury's milk chocolate. At least, that's what I heard from .....

free skin care · Wed Oct 18, 2006 12:35 pm

giraffegirl,

i love your username! interesting.

i am sorry to hear about your eyes. maybe give it a rest or use it when you are not wearing contacts/eye cream/makeup etc

those of us that had reactions to JM like myself posted our personal experience of the product to help others who may also be experiencing them. for those that did not have reactions i am in utter envy.

in the end it is a personal choice to keep using this product. whatever is the active ingredient in JM, in the absence of factual info, each person should go on their own instincts.

good luck!

free skin care · Wed Oct 18, 2006 2:21 pm

Ok I've sat back about as long as I can too, first off, I was the one called a complete and bumbling idiot for saying, no one should be slamming this company with "second hand information", as Carrie so entertainingly pointed out, alot was even 5th hand!! I personally think a few things are going on here:

1. Competition is trying to harm her sales and or
2. They want our brains to do the research for them in coming up with the "real" ingredient, so they can make their own and make tons of money.

I find stating unfactual information as factual just unacceptable period, on any product and completely unfair.

If one is concerned using this or any product, I can not ever fault that, and everyone should always make up their own minds as to what they use.

Wed Oct 18, 2006 2:32 pm

Quote:

At no point did this world-reknowned eye expert express any concern or advise me against using this product even after he speculated that the active ingredient might very well be the same as in the well-known glaucoma medication

Uh, the M.D. behind a person's name doesn't stand for "Medical Deity'. They're not omniscient. A person shouldn't allow someone else to do their thinking for them.

I think I'll follow the advice given to me by wise father, who said, "The best safety device ever invented rests a little ways above your shoulders." Touché daddy. Hercule Poirot called it using the "little grey cells".

I think it's nothing short of daft folly to put blind trust into doctors, companies or anyone else and expect or believe them to be looking out for your best interest.

Here's part of the warning from the FDA data sheet that Priscilla previously linked to:

http://www.fda.gov/cder/foi/label/2000/20597s14lbl.pdf

Xalatan may gradually change eye color, increasing the amount of brown pigment in the iris by increasing the number of melanosomes (pigment granules) in melanocytes. The long-term effects on the melanocytes and the consequences of potential injury to the melanocytes and/or deposition of pigment granules to other areas of the eyes is unknown.

Until more information about increased brown pigmentation is available, patients should be examined regularly.

In short: The research hasn't been done to see if it's SAFE to routinely put this in, near, or around the eyes.

Quote:

Futhermore, I think the entire idea is completely preposterous! Absolutely nothing in my extensive research into various eyelash growth serums and their individual active ingredients has ever even hinted at such a thing happening

And someone on this board keeps presenting themselves as some sort of self-appointed authority on all this, but I'm not at all convinced.

Quote:

my extensive research

Yeah, extensive research...I'll keep saying that until I can do it without laughing.

free skin care · Wed Oct 18, 2006 2:50 pm

carrie, i do love you! nobody rambles quite like you.... thank you!!!

p.s. what took you so long???

free skin care · Wed Oct 18, 2006 2:50 pm

You know, leyel, you're doing it again, insinuating/calling long-time members idiots. I really don't know how you expect to be taken seriously CONSIDERING you and no one else REALLY knows what's in the JM product.

So, give it a rest. I wish there WAS an ignore option.

free skin care · Wed Oct 18, 2006 2:56 pm

scalawaggirl wrote:

I wish there WAS an ignore option.

i think as far as any of us that have been subjected to her threads, there is an IGNORE button....

free skin care · Wed Oct 18, 2006 3:09 pm

Up to this point, none of us know what's in JM for sure, and so even though I really want this, I will hold off ordering until I see more substantial evidence about its long-term safety. I think the least JM can do is to conduct studies for safety if they want to continue concealing this miracle ingredient.

free skin care · Wed Oct 18, 2006 3:21 pm

leyel wrote:

Quote:

At no point did this world-reknowned eye expert express any concern or advise me against using this product even after he speculated that the active ingredient might very well be the same as in the well-known glaucoma medication

Uh, the M.D. behind a person's name doesn't stand for "Medical Deity'. They're not omniscient. A person shouldn't allow someone else to do their thinking for them.

I think I'll follow the advice given to me by wise father, who said, "The best safety device ever invented rests a little ways above your shoulders." Touché daddy. Hercule Poirot called it using the "little grey cells".

I think it's nothing short of daft folly to put blind trust into doctors, companies or anyone else and expect or believe them to be looking out for your best interest.

Here's part of the warning from the FDA data sheet that Priscilla previously linked to:

http://www.fda.gov/cder/foi/label/2000/20597s14lbl.pdf

Xalatan may gradually change eye color, increasing the amount of brown pigment in the iris by increasing the number of melanosomes (pigment granules) in melanocytes. The long-term effects on the melanocytes and the consequences of potential injury to the melanocytes and/or deposition of pigment granules to other areas of the eyes is unknown.

Until more information about increased brown pigmentation is available, patients should be examined regularly.

In short: The research hasn't been done to see if it's SAFE to routinely put this in, near, or around the eyes.

Quote:

Futhermore, I think the entire idea is completely preposterous! Absolutely nothing in my extensive research into various eyelash growth serums and their individual active ingredients has ever even hinted at such a thing happening

And someone on this board keeps presenting themselves as some sort of self-appointed authority on all this, but I'm not at all convinced.

Quote:

my extensive research

Yeah, extensive research...I'll keep saying that until I can do it without laughing.

Ummm...Carrie - I beleive the gauntlet has been thrown. I am letting go of your reins cuz 'nough is 'nough.....

The discussion of the 'secret ingredient' is fascinating & I'm awed by the amount of work put into it by all contributing.

Leyel - I am bowing out of this 'discussion' as it is not my expertise. That being said, I believe your demeanor & condesending tones here are not only rude and uncalled for, but downright ignorant. There is NO reason to be so combative. Debates are open & welcome. Snide, nasty remarks are not and quite honestly aren't warranted. Difference of opinion is fine, nasty remarks are not. You've been asked previously to refrain some such behavior. Apparently you think only YOUR opinion counts and anyone disagreeing with you is a dolt. If you can't 'play nice', take your ball & your friends & go play someplace else.

We are onto you & what your ulterior motives here are. We are friendly & open, not stupid. You confuse our kindness for weakness. I know it would be too much to ask you to leave, and take your minions with you. I suppose we'll have to wait til you {& your little friends} get bored of noone responding to you anymore.

free skin care · Wed Oct 18, 2006 3:26 pm

la vie en rose wrote:

carrie, i do love you! nobody rambles quite like you.... thank you!!!

p.s. what took you so long???

I asked her sit still & be a good girl...lol

Several of us beleive we know what the motive here is AND if any research of the personalities on this board has been done they would know our darling Carrie has a weee bit o temper and the much desired information would be blurted out in an attempt to finally squash the mad ramblings here. Carrie has treaded carefully & admirably and I expect her to continue to do so.

free skin care · Wed Oct 18, 2006 3:30 pm

Rjez wrote:

That said, I am convinced that cocaine is the secret addictive ingredient in Cadbury's milk chocolate. At least, that's what I heard from .....

touche!

Wed Oct 18, 2006 3:37 pm

Quote:

i admire your gusto in trying to alert us to a safety issue of a much beloved product here in EDS, but I hope you realize that your premise will be completely thrown off should it appear that Xalatan is not an ingredient in JM

I have emailed JM, but as yet have not received a response. Will update everyone if/when they do.

I specifically asked if the AI contained an analogue prostaglandin, which is used in treatment of glaucoma - AND - if safety tests were performed.

I'm hopeful that they'll let us know something soon.

free skin care · Wed Oct 18, 2006 3:46 pm

leyel wrote:

Quote:

i admire your gusto in trying to alert us to a safety issue of a much beloved product here in EDS, but I hope you realize that your premise will be completely thrown off should it appear that Xalatan is not an ingredient in JM

I have emailed JM, but as yet have not received a response. Will update everyone if/when they do.

I specifically asked if the AI contained an analogue prostaglandin, which is used in treatment of glaucoma - AND - if safety tests were performed.

I'm hopeful that they'll let us know something soon.

Just to clarify- that quote was from my previous post, which i edited to remove, because I thought the Xalatan issue was put to rest. But hey, the more (relevant) information we can get, the better.

free skin care · Wed Oct 18, 2006 4:14 pm

Candy8865 wrote:

I asked her sit still & be a good girl...lol

free skin care · Wed Oct 18, 2006 6:01 pm

Candy8865 wrote:

Rjez wrote:

That said, I am convinced that cocaine is the secret addictive ingredient in Cadbury's milk chocolate. At least, that's what I heard from .....

touche!

Yeah, I figure since we seemed to have digressed into conspiracy theories, I'd share my own!

In the end, maybe this is a blessing. JM is now selling for $200. Stay away - all of you - and maybe I can buy some at a reasonable price.

free skin care · Wed Oct 18, 2006 7:17 pm

Rjez wrote:

Candy8865 wrote:

Rjez wrote:

That said, I am convinced that cocaine is the secret addictive ingredient in Cadbury's milk chocolate. At least, that's what I heard from .....

touche!

Yeah, I figure since we seemed to have digressed into conspiracy theories, I'd share my own!

In the end, maybe this is a blessing. JM is now selling for $200. Stay away - all of you - and maybe I can buy some at a reasonable price.

!! now theres a great thought

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