Edit:
May 27th, 2016 Update:
I notice a lot of people still find this post in particular and find help and ask me questions, even though this post is so old. I am happy to answer all questions so please ask! I’ll add a FAQ and more info to a new post on things I’ve learned in the past 4 years since haha…
I was born with one double eyelid and one monolid lol. It used to be very pronounced when I was younger, and even more so when I got older. I have tried many things and hopefully you can benefit from my experience.
After I used eyelid glue every single day only on the right eye for about 3 years it finally stayed! Yay! Except the problem was my natural double-eyelid turned into a parallel eyelid and my mono eyelid turned into a tapered eyelid… As you can see here below, it just looked like I have two tapered eyelids, one is just bigger, however when I look down, the creases suggest a tapered eyelid.
The differences between eyelids:
Before you start, be sure your face is washed and your eye is free from any oils (moisturizers, serums, creams) or that your face is not wet (water, rain, sweat) as these will change your end results.
EyeTalk Eyelid Glue:
I originally started using the orange bottle, but I liked the pink one so much better, plus the little fork thingie has a loop to stick onto the bottle. EyeTalk contains Kojic acid which is safe and supposed to overtime create double eyelids by reducing and shifting the small fat deposits around the eye. I also liked the Kojic acid thingie because my brother’s nickname is Koji 8). I have tried the Clear EyeTalk, however I can’t tell when it’s done drying; the other ones go on white and turn clear when they are done drying, indicating it’s time to create the eyelid. The average cost for eyelid glue is about $7~$12. I have tried other brands, but I found that EyeTalk works best for me.
See my parallel eyelid! I told you D:. But you just brush on a thin layer (the thinner, the less time it takes to dry, but it also affects how long it will last.) It takes about 30 seconds to dry clear. In the promotional video, it suggests you can use a hair dryer to speed this up, but I found a regular hand-fan works fine and you save electricity, eye irritation, and looking dumb with the hair dryer up to your eye <;_<;. If you are inexperienced or are using it for the first time, it would be a good idea to do a few practice pokes with the stick to see how your eye will look with an eyelid. It is absolutely painless. They have glue you can use a string to make the eyelid, but the stick just allows you to fold your eyelid without using dirty fingers and will not mess up the glue if you do it correctly.
Eyelid glue is not for everyone. For example, my mom. Lol. My brother and I have tried many times to try and put on eyelids on her for fun, but it just doesn’t work :/. She isn’t self-conscious whatsoever about her eyelids, but I just thought it’d be fun. I even tried it on my boyfriend before LOL. He said he hated it and it was itchy. The best example to tell you if you did it wrong is it will look like you glue two pieces of paper together and try to pull them apart or if you poke it incorrectly, the fold will be deeper in the spot in which you poked.
Double Eyelid Tape:
Double eyelid tape comes in sheets and are cut for two sides of the eye (which already wasn’t great for me since I only need one side) they come in multiple, multiple brands of different shapes and cuts, stickiness, applications, prices, you name it. They can go from $0.99 and up; some come with a pronged fork thingie like my pink one. The one I have currently does not have the fork thing or an application tab (makes it easier to take off the sheet) and it’s stickiness is terrible. I think it was about $1 for 2 sheets (20 applications).
You just apply it on your eyelid while looking down and when you look up, the tape will create a new fold. Unlike the glue, it does not pull or stick together the skin. Absolutely painless, except for when you stick on wrong, then it’s a pain in the butt T_T. But no really, there’s no pain. To get it correctly, it takes some trial and error, so I suggest buying cheap tape at first to get used to it, and once you feel comfortable, wear the better tape.
Wrong application vs. correct application:
My aunt had the same results with tape as I did with glue; after so many years of using it, her eyelids shifted and she has permanent eyelids. However she didn’t have the luxury of these sheets. She had to use regular Scotch tape and scissors!
These results are not typical for everyone. But it is a good alternative (and a lot cheaper and painless) than surgery. Tape is also good for beginners or who people who don’t want to use eyelid glue.
THE LOOKING DOWN TEST:
Eyelid glue the left picture, Eyelid tape the right picture
Eyelid glue sticks the skin together to create a fold whereas eyelid tape goes ontop of your eye to create a new fold. Eyelid glue will also cause your eye slightly open a bit more, but when you look down and raise your eyebrows, it’s good for putting on mascara because it angles your eyelashes lol!. I hate eyelid tape specifically because no matter what brand I get I can always see one or both corners peeling off, even if it’s a good quality tape. I’ve also seen girls who are very obviously wearing tape because it does not blend well with make up because tape it must go on before make up; glue can be applied before or after. Personally, for eyeliner either works, but I put on eyeshadow BEFORE the glue because if you put powder eyeshadow on top of glue it will be lighter in the spot in which the glue was applied.
Eyelid Clips:
Eyelid clips claim that if you wear them for 15 minutes you will have eyelids all day! What a big lie. They cost about $5, so I thought, why the hell not, but to be honest, I fell for it, especially after watching this Korean talk show video explaining how it works and trying it on someone. I bought a Japanese brand. It comes in two colors so you don’t transfer germs between your eyes (the same reason you don’t want to put your left contact lens in your right eye and vise-versa).
It’s not painful, but its quite annoying. Plus you look absolutely ridiculous and scary wearing them.
Results, if any will last about 10 seconds and blinking will get rid of your eyelids. LOL. Also if you clip it wrong, it can make an eyelid you don’t want D:
Botox and Surgery:
If you are truly miserable and have exhausted every possible way or if your eyelids are affecting the way your vision, you can talk to your optometrist (eye doctor) AND a dermatologist (skin doctor) AND a cosmetic surgeon that can assess your eyelids ALWAYS GET SECOND OPINIONS. I have never had either of the two, but I had the option to, instead I decided to wait it out, and eventually I grew double eyelids by using glue.
Why optometrist?
Since eyelid surgery is classified under cosmetic surgery, your eye doctor call examine your eyes to see if your eyelids are affecting how you see, i.e., covering part of your eye, blocking your vision; this usually occurs with aging from your eyelids sagging due to a multitude of different reasons (pollution, gravity, the way you sleep, facial expressions the list goes on). Also, sometimes people, like I used to, have double eyelids only the crease is so low when you open you eye it will fold into a monolid.
Why dermatologist?
A dermatologist can sometimes recommend/prescribe retina (a stronger version of retinol) or kojic acid (found in EyeTalk) which will shift the fat deposits in your eye, or in my case, he recommended a little bit of botox because my eyelids were sagging and by injecting some botox into my temples it would raise the sagging skin and make my eyes open more, however these results were not noticeable and not permanent so I did not proceed. Your dermatologist might also be able to recommend some cosmetic surgeons to you.
Why cosmetic surgeon?
Well, obviously if you want to have cosmetic surgery, you wouldn’t go to an eye surgeon*, but a cosmetic specialist, specifically one that has preformed many eyelid surgeries and if you’re Asian, ONE THAT KNOWS HOW TO PERFORM ON ASIANS! So many times have I seen Asians who have gotten eyelid surgeries that compliment a Caucasian eye! NO! He or she should walk you through the procedure (if he/she can’t or is obviously inexperienced, then you should run). The guy I went to see had a booklet of eyelids. Take pictures of eyelids with you if you don’t know if they will have this. Make sure they are eyelids that will suit you; if you have 1/2″ of space between your eye and eyebrow, obviously deepset thick eyelids might look strange. Tapered is probably your best bet; parallel I think is a relatively new concept and you might be very unhappy with the results.
*Eye surgeons are probably capable of doing this, but cosmetic surgeons are able to stitch you up in a way so there is no significant scaring and to make it look exactly how you want it
I almost went through with the surgery. It was not covered by my insurance because it was cosmetic, but we got one hell of a deal since I only needed surgery on one eye lol… plus only small changes were needed in order to make my eye look like the other eye. Pineapple is supposed to reduce scarring, swelling, and pain. I don’t know if that’s true, but why not? The procedure is done while you are still awake and they’ll inject you with medicine so you don’t feel it. I don’t know personally, but I have done a lot of research and almost went through with it myself >;_<;… The pain is supposed to be relatively mild and a couple ibuprofen (Advil) will help and you should be able to do everything as you do normally, but they suggest wearing glasses while you heal if you wear contacts. If you are afraid of scarring and swelling, try asking about Boiron, its a medicine that disolves under your tongue (it’s sweet like candy) and you take it a week before surgery daily until about a week after or until you run out and it’s supposed to help significantly, especially for double eyelid surgery.
I hope I have helped you in any route you wish to achieve your eyelids~ Please feel free to ask me any questions
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