Eyelash Extensions Bulleen: What Happens If You Get a Cold or Flu?
If you have an eyelash extension appointment booked and you wake up with a cold or flu, our advice at Lena Utmost Beauty is straightforward. Please do not come to the salon while you are actively unwell. Victorian health guidance currently recommends staying home when you are sick with a respiratory infection, and Healthdirect gives the same advice for influenza. Apart from protecting other clients and practitioners, coughing, sneezing and feeling generally unwell are hardly ideal conditions for a treatment performed with precision tools close to the eyes. But that is only the easy part of the question. What happens if you already have eyelash extensions and then develop a cold or flu a few days later? Can watery eyes affect retention? Does sneezing matter? Should you stop cleaning the lashes while you are sick? Can your immune response or the hormonal changes associated with illness cause the extensions to shed more quickly? Those questions are much more interesting, and the answers are not simply yes or no.
Can a Cold or Flu Make Your Eyes Water?
It can. Upper respiratory infections can involve symptoms such as sneezing, nasal congestion and watery eyes. Respiratory viruses have also been studied in relation to the ocular surface. Research shows that some respiratory viruses can affect ocular tissues, while viral infections more broadly may alter tear production and contribute to ocular surface inflammation. This does not mean everyone with a cold or flu will develop eye symptoms. Some people mainly experience a blocked nose and cough. Others find that their eyes water, sting or feel irritated. Interestingly, illness can also produce the opposite experience. Research into viral infection and dry eye suggests that inflammation may sometimes reduce normal tear secretion. In other words, a sick eye can feel watery, dry or irritated depending on the person and the infection involved. For someone wearing eyelash extensions, the practical question becomes what they do in response to those symptoms.
Do Watery Eyes Automatically Ruin Eyelash Extension Retention?
There is no good evidence showing that tears produced during an ordinary cold or flu automatically cause properly applied eyelash extensions to fall off. That distinction is important. It would be easy to say that watery eyes mean moisture reaches the adhesive and therefore the adhesive fails. The biology and chemistry are not that simple, particularly once a professional cyanoacrylate adhesive has completed its curing process. The bigger concern is usually what happens around the watering. If your eyes keep watering, you may repeatedly wipe them. You may press a tissue into the eyelid. You may rub the lash line without realising it. You may wake during the night and rub your eyes because they feel irritated. Those behaviours create mechanical contact with the extensions. So when retention changes during an illness, we should not immediately blame the tears themselves.
Why Does Eye Rubbing Matter?
Eye rubbing can involve considerably more force than most of us realise. Hafezi and colleagues measured the forces people applied during different forms of eye rubbing and found substantial mechanical pressure across the eyelids, particularly when people rubbed with their knuckles. Their study concerned ocular biomechanics rather than eyelash extensions, so it does not directly measure lash retention. What it does demonstrate is that rubbing is not a trivial movement. An eyelash extension is bonded to an individual natural lash. Repeated pulling, rubbing or dragging across that lash can therefore place physical stress on both the extension and the natural hair. If you have watery or itchy eyes while you are sick, try to blot tears gently around the eye rather than rubbing backwards and forwards across the lash line. The objective is not to become frightened of touching your face every time you catch a cold. It is simply to reduce unnecessary friction while your eyes are irritated.
Can Sneezing Make Eyelash Extensions Fall Out?
The sneeze itself is unlikely to be the important part. Sneezing creates a sudden respiratory reflex, but there is no evidence that the physical act of sneezing causes eyelash adhesive bonds to fail. What happens immediately afterwards may matter more. People often reach for a tissue, wipe the nose, touch the eyes and then touch other parts of the face. Australian public-health advice specifically recommends covering coughs and sneezes, disposing of tissues, washing hands and avoiding unnecessary touching of the eyes, nose and mouth when sick. For someone wearing eyelash extensions, good hand hygiene has an additional practical benefit. It reduces the amount of respiratory secretions, skin oils and other residue being transferred to the lash area. Sneezing therefore does not mean your extensions are doomed. Humans have somehow survived sneezing for quite some time. The way you handle the eye area afterwards is the more useful thing to think about.
Should You Still Clean Your Eyelash Extensions When You Are Sick?
In most circumstances, yes. Having a cold does not mean abandoning normal lash hygiene.
If your eyes are watering and you are repeatedly using tissues, residues can accumulate around the eye area. Gentle cleansing with the lash cleanser or foam cleanser recommended for your extensions can still form part of normal aftercare. Wash your hands first, cleanse gently and avoid scrubbing the lash line. Dry the surrounding area without dragging a towel across the extensions. A clean towel should not be shared with other people while you are unwell. Healthdirect specifically recommends not sharing towels as part of reducing influenza transmission. There is an important exception. If your eye itself becomes significantly inflamed, painful, swollen or develops unusual discharge, that has moved beyond ordinary lash aftercare. Avoid manipulating the lashes unnecessarily and seek appropriate medical or eye-care advice.
Should You Use a Tissue on Watery Eyes?
You can, but technique matters. Rather than pressing a tissue into the extensions and wiping sideways across them, gently blot the tears below or around the eye. The same principle applies to a towel after washing your face. The problem is not that tissues or towels possess some mysterious ability to destroy lash adhesive. The concern is repeated friction, catching and pulling. When you are sick, these small behaviours can happen dozens of times during the day without you even noticing them.
Can Being Sick Change Lash Retention From Inside the Body?
This is where the question becomes biologically interesting. We do not currently have good evidence demonstrating that an ordinary cold or influenza infection changes eyelash-extension adhesive retention through a specific hormone or immune chemical. So we should not claim that having the flu causes your body to release a hormone that makes lash glue stop working. There is, however, a legitimate biological question concerning the natural eyelashes themselves. Hair follicles respond to a complicated signalling environment involving hormones, cytokines, growth factors and immune processes. Eyelash follicles also follow their own growth cycle. Research by Thibaut and colleagues estimated an average complete human eyelash cycle of approximately 90 days, although individual lashes are naturally at different stages of that cycle at any particular time. This matters because an extension remains attached to the natural eyelash. When that natural lash reaches the end of its cycle and sheds, the extension normally leaves with it. What we perceive as extension loss is therefore not always adhesive failure.
Can Fever or Severe Illness Cause More Hair Shedding?
Here the evidence becomes more intriguing, but we need to be careful about how far we take it. Severe illness, high fever and significant physiological stress are recognised triggers of telogen effluvium, a form of delayed hair shedding. Importantly, the increased shedding usually appears weeks or months after the triggering event rather than while someone is lying in bed with the flu. Most telogen-effluvium research concerns scalp hair. We therefore cannot simply transfer those findings to eyelashes and claim that a bad cold will make someone's extensions fall out. Research specifically addressing eyelash loss remains considerably more limited. Dermatological reviews do show that eyelash loss can be associated with a variety of local and systemic conditions, which tells us that eyelash follicles are not completely isolated from the wider state of the body. At the same time, the evidence is nowhere near strong enough to say that an ordinary respiratory infection produces predictable eyelash shedding. So our answer is deliberately cautious. A routine cold is unlikely to provide a convincing biological explanation for sudden adhesive failure. A substantial febrile or systemic illness can influence human hair cycling more generally, but whether this meaningfully changes eyelash shedding in an individual client is uncertain. If extra natural lashes happen to shed after a major illness, any extensions attached to those lashes will naturally leave with them. That would be different from the adhesive simply failing.
What About Cold and Flu Medication?
Medication adds another interesting variable. Some medications used for respiratory or allergy symptoms, particularly systemic antihistamines, have been associated with changes in the tear film and ocular dryness. One controlled study found measurable changes in tear-film stability and ocular dryness after several days of loratadine or cetirizine use. Again, this does not establish that antihistamines shorten eyelash-extension retention.
Its relevance is more practical. If a medication changes how your eyes feel, you may blink differently, rub more frequently or experience additional dryness or irritation.
You should not stop prescribed medication because of eyelash extensions. That would be a spectacularly backwards set of priorities. Follow medical advice and adjust your lash aftercare around how your eyes are feeling.
Do You Need to Remove Your Eyelash Extensions When You Get the Flu?
Usually, simply becoming sick does not mean that an existing set of extensions must be removed. If the lashes are comfortable and the eyelids and eyes themselves remain healthy, the more sensible approach is usually to maintain gentle hygiene and avoid unnecessary rubbing until you recover. The situation changes if you develop significant eye symptoms rather than ordinary respiratory symptoms. Influenza and other respiratory viruses can occasionally involve the eye, and reviews of respiratory viruses have documented ocular manifestations including conjunctivitis. If you develop pronounced redness, swelling, pain, light sensitivity, persistent discharge or changes in vision, that is not something a lash technician should attempt to diagnose through Instagram messages. Seek appropriate medical or eye-care assessment.
What If Your Infill Is Due While You Are Sick?
Reschedule it. At Lena Utmost Beauty, we do not want clients attending their eyelash extension appointment while actively sick with a cold or flu. This is partly about infection control and partly about the treatment itself. A lash appointment requires you to remain relatively still with your eyes closed while precision work takes place close to the eyelids. Repeated coughing, sneezing and discomfort do not make that easier for either the client or technician. Victorian health authorities currently advise people with respiratory infections to stay home when sick. A slightly later infill is preferable to bringing an infectious respiratory illness into a beauty salon.
When Can You Book Again?
Once you have recovered and are no longer actively unwell, you can return to your normal eyelash extension routine. If illness has caused you to miss an infill and considerably more extensions have shed than usual, tell us when booking. Depending on how much of the previous set remains, you may require a longer infill appointment or a new full set. Clients looking for eyelash extensions in Bulleen regularly visit Lena Utmost Beauty in nearby Balwyn. If you have been sick and are unsure what appointment you now need, we can assess what remains of the set and recommend the appropriate service rather than automatically booking unnecessary work.
Eyelash Extensions for Bulleen Clients at Lena Utmost Beauty
A cold or flu should interrupt your lash appointments temporarily. It does not need to end your relationship with eyelash extensions. Once you are feeling well again, normal lash maintenance can continue. At Lena Utmost Beauty in Balwyn, eyelash extensions have been one of our specialist services since the business began in 2016. We offer Classic, Light Volume, Natural Volume, Hybrid/Volume Glamour, Mega Volume and Creative Effects, with each set adapted to the client's natural lashes, preferences and lifestyle. Many clients searching for lash extensions Bulleen or an eyelash salon near Bulleen visit us in neighbouring Balwyn for their regular sets and infills. Lena Utmost Beauty has received more than 220 Google reviews while maintaining a 5.0-star rating across our beauty services. If you have recovered from your cold or flu and are ready for your next set or infill, you can view our Eyelash Extensions services and booking options and choose the appointment that suits you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I come to my eyelash extension appointment if I have a cold?
No. If you are actively unwell, reschedule your appointment and stay home until you are feeling better. Current Victorian health guidance recommends staying home when sick with a respiratory infection.
Will watery eyes make my eyelash extensions fall out?
Watery eyes do not automatically mean your extensions will fall out. There is no good direct evidence demonstrating that tears produced during a cold dissolve a properly cured eyelash-extension bond. Repeated wiping and rubbing around watery eyes may be more relevant to retention.
Can I rub my eyes when I have a cold?
Try to avoid vigorous rubbing. Research shows that eye rubbing can apply substantial mechanical force to the eyelids. For someone wearing extensions, gentle blotting around watery eyes is preferable to repeated rubbing across the lash line.
Can flu affect my natural eyelashes?
There is not strong evidence showing that ordinary influenza predictably causes eyelash shedding. Severe febrile illness can trigger delayed hair shedding more generally, but most of that research concerns scalp hair rather than eyelashes.
Should I stop cleaning my lashes while I am sick?
Usually no. Continue appropriate gentle lash cleansing unless an eye-care professional has advised otherwise. Wash your hands first, avoid scrubbing and dry the eye area gently.
Can cold medicine affect my extensions?
There is no evidence that common cold medication directly breaks eyelash adhesive bonds. Some systemic antihistamines can influence tear-film stability and ocular dryness, which may indirectly change how your eyes feel and how frequently you touch them.
Should I remove my lash extensions if I get the flu?
Not simply because you have the flu. If your eyelids and eyes remain comfortable, gentle hygiene and careful aftercare are usually more relevant. Significant redness, pain, swelling, discharge, light sensitivity or vision changes should be assessed by an appropriate healthcare professional.
References
Hafezi, F., Hafezi, N. L., Pajic, B., Gilardoni, F., Randleman, J. B., Gomes, J. A. P., Kollros, L., Hillen, M., & Torres-Netto, E. A. (2020). Assessment of the mechanical forces applied during eye rubbing. BMC Ophthalmology, 20, 301.
Mumford, B. P., Eisman, S., & Yip, L. (2023). Acquired causes of eyebrow and eyelash loss: A review and approach to diagnosis and treatment. Australasian Journal of Dermatology, 64(1), 28–40.
Thibaut, S., De Becker, E., Caisey, L., Baras, D., Karatas, S., Jammayrac, O., Pisella, P. J., & Bernard, B. A. (2010). Human eyelash characterization. British Journal of Dermatology, 162(2), 304–310.
Wu, M., Sun, C., Shi, Q., et al. (2024). Dry eye disease caused by viral infection: Past, present and future. Virulence, 15(1), 2289779.
Jimeno Ortega, I., & Stefanato, C. M. (2023). Telogen effluvium: A 360 degree review. Italian Journal of Dermatology and Venereology, 158(6), 457–466.
Healthdirect Australia. Flu (influenza).
Victorian Department of Health. Increasing respiratory infections in Victoria.
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