Eyebrow waxing is a very popular procedure, and many women consider it to be critical to their beauty needs.

This seemingly necessary beauty treatment can also have negative consequences.

The poor sanitary practices in many spas, such as re-dipping the wax stick, can spread different diseases, such as eye herpes. There is a direct link between an increase of eye herpes and eyebrow waxing.

The herpes virus could easily be transmitted from one person with herpes, getting their lips waxed, to the next person, who doesn’t have herpes, who may be getting some waxing done.

There are simple sanitary procedures that should be followed to prevent the spread of herpes.

Technicians should wash their hands. Every time a wax stick is placed on a clients skin, it should be thrown away directly after use. Also, if the was treatment requires the client to lie down, the table should be covered prior to use.

There are approximately 500,000 cases of ocular herpes each year in the U.S. This cannot be cured, and thus can lead to blindness.

Symptoms of ocular herpes include tearing, redness, blurry vision, eye discomfort and sometimes a thick, sticky mucous secretion.