Be it beauty vloggers, influencers or celebrities such as Lena Dunham through to Kourtney Kardashian, it’s likely you’ve seen women of influence sporting the latest LED Therapy face masks all over Instagram, hash tagging #selfcaresunday and boasting about the benefits of blemish-free skin.
Yet, in some rather shocking news, it turns out that what we see or are ‘influenced by’ shouldn’t always be believed to be true (or safe!) and in fact could result in damaging how we see… literally.
In breaking news, the popular Neutrogena Visibly Clear Light Therapy Acne Mask and Activator has been urgently recalled in Australia by the Department of Health’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) after cases have come to light that some consumers have suffered eye-related damage as a result of using the mask.
According to the statement released by the TGA: “It has been identified that, for a small subset of potentially susceptible people (including people with certain eye-related disorders e.g. retinitis pigmentosa, ocular albinism, other congenital retinal disorders).”
Further to this, an additional long list of symptoms associated with the mask were also detailed, including everything from eye pain, eye discomfort and eye irritation to tearing, blinding, blurring of vision, seeing spots/flashes and other changes to vision (such as seeing colour).
Eek! If our eyes weren’t bulging or scarred before, they are now.
As part of the recall, all current consumers have been urged to discontinue use and can return to the device and be issued a full refund by heading to this link.
In the meantime, while Neutrogena has released the above refund link in accordance with the TGA, in their own statement they suggest only ‘a theoretical risk of eye injury for a small subset of the population with certain underlying eye conditions or those taking medication which could enhance the eye’s sensitivity to light’ and report they personally have not received any reports of eye injury from this subset of people.
With the likes of celebrities including Hollywood actor Lena Dunham previously promoting the benefits of the Neutrogena LED mask to her 3 million + followers, it’s safe to say the news is not only alarming but poses worldwide risk.
For those concerned or experiencing any eye associated symptoms, it’s recommended to contact your healthcare professional and report the incident or seek further assistance and enquiries via Johnson & Johnson Pacific Consumer Care Centre on 1800 789 348.