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Effect of Eyelash Extension Hygiene Education on Eye Infection Prevention Practices among Young Women in Nigeria

Abstract

Eyelash extensions have become increasingly popular among young women in Nigeria for cosmetic enhancement, personal grooming, fashion, and appearance modification. Although eyelash extensions may provide cosmetic benefits, inappropriate application, poor hygiene, contaminated tools, prolonged wear, improper removal, and exposure to adhesives or other cosmetic substances may increase the risk of eye irritation, allergic reactions, blepharitis, conjunctival inflammation, and other ocular complications. Young women who frequently use eyelash extensions may have limited knowledge of appropriate hygiene and safety practices, particularly when services are obtained from informal or inadequately regulated beauty providers. Eyelash extension hygiene education provides an opportunity to improve awareness of eye-health risks and promote safe practices before, during, and after eyelash extension application. Against this background, this study investigates the effect of eyelash extension hygiene education on eye infection prevention practices among young women in Nigeria. The study will be anchored on the Health Belief Model, Social Cognitive Theory, and Health Literacy Framework. The Health Belief Model explains how young women's perceptions of susceptibility to eye infections and cosmetic-related eye problems, perceived severity, perceived benefits of appropriate eyelash hygiene, perceived barriers, and cues to action may influence their preventive practices. Social Cognitive Theory emphasizes observational learning, peer influence, self-efficacy, reinforcement, and environmental factors in developing and maintaining safe eyelash extension practices. The Health Literacy Framework emphasizes young women's ability to access, understand, evaluate, and apply information concerning eyelash extension hygiene, eye health, and appropriate healthcare-seeking. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how eyelash extension hygiene education may influence eye infection prevention practices among young women in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental or analytical cross-sectional research design. The study population will comprise young women aged 18–35 years residing in selected urban, semi-urban, and rural communities across Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select geopolitical zones, states, local government areas, communities, universities, workplaces, beauty salons, and eligible participants. Eyelash extension hygiene education will be assessed using indicators such as exposure to educational sessions, frequency and duration of education, information on hand hygiene, application-tool cleanliness, adhesive safety, preparation of the eye area, safe application procedures, maintenance of eyelash extensions, duration of wear, safe removal, avoidance of contamination, recognition of eye irritation and infection symptoms, selection of hygienic beauty providers, and appropriate healthcare-seeking. Eye infection prevention practices will be assessed using indicators such as maintaining clean eyelash extensions, avoiding touching or rubbing the eyes with unclean hands, ensuring that application tools are appropriately cleaned and handled, avoiding sharing personal cosmetic tools where appropriate, selecting hygienic beauty facilities, following recommended maintenance procedures, avoiding inappropriate exposure to water or contaminants where relevant, avoiding forceful removal, monitoring for redness, swelling, discharge, pain, itching, or visual changes, discontinuing use when significant irritation occurs, and seeking appropriate professional eye care when symptoms persist. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, standardized eyelash-extension hygiene knowledge and practice assessment tools, beauty-salon observation checklists where appropriate, symptom assessment instruments, and relevant health records where available. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize participants' characteristics, eyelash-extension use patterns, frequency and duration of use, sources of cosmetic information, exposure to hygiene education, and eye infection prevention practices. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, t-tests, correlation analysis, and logistic or multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the effect of eyelash extension hygiene education on eye infection prevention practices. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, prevention-practice scores before and after the educational intervention may be compared with those of a comparison group to determine changes associated with the intervention. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that eyelash extension hygiene education has a significant positive effect on eye infection prevention practices among young women in Nigeria. Young women exposed to structured and practical eyelash extension hygiene education are expected to demonstrate safer practices than those without comparable exposure. Education may improve understanding of how contaminated tools, poor hand hygiene, unsafe application procedures, prolonged wear, and inappropriate removal may contribute to eye irritation and infection. Practical demonstrations may encourage participants to select hygienic beauty providers, maintain appropriate eyelash hygiene, avoid unnecessary touching or rubbing of the eyes, and recognize early symptoms requiring attention. Education may also improve awareness of warning signs such as persistent redness, swelling, itching, eye discharge, pain, blurred vision, or increased sensitivity to light and encourage timely professional eye assessment. However, beauty trends, peer influence, social-media promotion, cost considerations, informal beauty services, limited regulation of cosmetic providers, and easy access to eyelash extension products may reduce the effectiveness of education alone. The study therefore expects accessible, practical, culturally appropriate, and sustained eyelash extension hygiene education, supported by improved cosmetic hygiene standards and accessible eye-care services, to contribute significantly to improved eye infection prevention practices among young women in Nigeria. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on eyelash extension safety, cosmetic hygiene, eye infection prevention, ocular health, women's health, personal grooming, dermatological and eye health, health education, consumer safety, and public health in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Federal Ministry of Education, universities, university health centres, optometrists, ophthalmologists, dermatologists, healthcare professionals, cosmetologists, beauty practitioners, environmental health officers, public health practitioners, women's health organizations, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for promoting safer cosmetic practices. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for integrating cosmetic eye-health and eyelash hygiene education into community and university health programmes, improving awareness of ocular risks associated with eyelash extensions, strengthening hygiene standards among beauty providers, promoting safe application and removal practices, encouraging early healthcare-seeking for persistent eye symptoms, and developing culturally appropriate health communication strategies for preventing cosmetic-related eye complications among young women across Nigeria.

Keywords: Eyelash extension hygiene education, eye infection prevention practices, eyelash extensions, ocular health, cosmetic hygiene, young women, eye infection prevention, women's health, health education, Nigeria, public health.