Beauty News: Following seizure of Age Intervention Eyelash by FDA Athena Cosmetics Withdraws RevitaLash from the Market

RevitaLash is a product which according to the manufacturer will help your own natural eyelashes to “look Longer, Thicker, Fuller, and Beautiful!”. However according to a press release published on the company’s official website it discontinued the product till a re-launch mid-December. The reason is that “as part of our continuing process of providing the highest quality product possible” the company has developed a new formulation for Revitalash. However according to some other reports Athena may have withdrawn Revitalash in response to the FDA's seizure of a similar product last week.

According to official FDA site U.S. Marshals have seized 12,682 applicator tubes of Age Intervention Eyelash. Age Intervention Eyelash, sold and distributed by Jan Marini Skin Research, Inc., of San Jose, was promoted as a product stimulating eye lash growth (termed by Jan Marini as “Eyelash Growth Factor”). Age Intervention Eyelash contains bimatoprost, an analog of prostaglandin – hormone-like chemical, used in a prescription drug Lumigan® to treat glaucoma. FDA labeling laws regulate any product marketed as “growth inducing”. Age Intervention Eyelash was not approved by FDA.

According to FDA, use of Age Intervention Eyelash can have such adverse side-effects as “macular edema (swelling of the retina) and uveitis (inflammation in the eye), which may lead to decreased vision.” In addition those who are using a prescription drug with bimatoprost and the Age Intervention Eyelash are under an increased risk of optic nerve damage “because the extra dose of bimatoprost may decrease the prescription drug's effectiveness”. Which can result in blindness.
FDA urges “consumers, dermatologists, and estheticians who may still have Age Intervention Eyelash discontinue using it” and to “discard any remaining product”. FDA also recommends that if you used Age Intervention Eyelash and experience any symptoms that you suspect are related to the product to consult your health care provider.

Jan Marini Skin Research has stopped manufacturing and shipping Age Intervention Eyelash containing bimatoprost last year. The company came out with a new version of the product with a slightly different name Age Intervention Eyelash Conditioner which however according to Jan Marini (as quoted by Elle US Aug 07) is “not really different from the original formula. That contained a prostaglandin analog, and this one also contains a prostaglandin analog. But a different one.”

As far as RevitaLash is concerned, Athena admits that it does contain bimatoprost in a concentration which “is very small and substantially lower than in Lumigan… Athena Cosmetics is confident that RevitaLash® is safe.”

It is not clear from Athena’s website if RevitaLash is FDA-Approved. If not, we can assume this may be one of the reasons behind discontinuation of the product.

PS: Not long after the incident, Athena Cosmetic launched a new version of RevitaLash. New RevitaLashis currently available for purchase on-line.

Sources:
NBC
Athena Cosmetics
FDA
Elle USA August 2007