Avoid Eyebrow Tweezing & Plucking Infections!

Plucking or tweezing to shape eyebrows into a flawless, face-framing arch is a common grooming process used by many people-both women and men. Did you know that eyebrow hair removal of any type-plucking, waxing, tweezing, threading or even shaving-can be a source of serious infection called “preseptal cellulitis” and should be done with care and consideration of good hygiene in order to avoid infection risk. A study reported in the journal Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery examined patients who had eyebrow infections-either preseptal cellulitis or infected cysts-and identified both the type of bacteria and the patient history and event that resulted in the infection. More than 2/3 of the patients who had eyebrow infections had actual abscesses that were caused by forms of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (24%) and other very damaging bacteria. If you are going to personally have your eyebrows groomed please be aware of using good hygiene techniques including hand washing, washing and swabbing the eyebrow area before and after with alcohol, wiping and soaking all tools such as tweezers with alcohol before you use them. These are serious causes of eyebrow infection with potentially very damaging results.

If you or someone you know has an eyebrow infection or ingrown eyebrow and has been plucking, tweezing, waxing or threading please schedule and appointment at The Eye Clinic of Texas is an affiliate of Houston Eye Associates, the largest ophthalmology clinic in the nation. We are a leading eye care practice serving the greater Houston, Galveston & League City with offices at 1100 Gulf Freeway, Suite 114, League City, Texas 77573 and 2302 Avenue P, Galveston, Texas.