Flying can come with a myriad of concerns, from doors falling off the plane to bleeding ears and getting stuck in the bathroom. Being confronted by mystery eyelashes is… usually not one of those concerns.
A TikTok video posted Sunday by the user g_buser shows what is apparently a pair of false eyelashes slapped on to the airplane cabin wall next to their seat.
“If you recently flew [Delta] and sat in row 27 – you forgot something,” said a caption. No other information was included regarding the flight or the passenger. According to the New York Post, the passenger was a Tampa, Fla., resident, who sat in the emergency row.
As of Wednesday, the video had more than 1.2 million views. It received a bunch of attention from brands. Here are a few of the comments that cropped up:
“Oh shoot I knew left something behind,” – Mr. Clean
“this is a whole new level of unbothered,” – Sephora
“So that’s where I left them,” – Ulta
“wait those are mine,” – Urban Decay
“I knew I was missing something,” – Death Wish Coffee
“we’ve all been there…” – Sally Beauty
“holding space for this,” – RXBAR
For our readers who aren’t chronically online, that last one is a reference to another viral video of an awkward interview featuring “Wicked” stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. Of course, the eyelash video and the comments on it all leave us with a lot of questions.
Specifically, it left us at Audacy with some hygiene questions. First up – how germ-filled might false eyelashes be?
L’Oréal explains that most false eyelashes can be worn at least five times and that higher-quality lashes made of materials such as mink can be worn up to 20 times. The cosmetics company explained that lashes should be cleaned between uses with substances such as micellar water, plain water and alcohol.
Since false lashes get cozy with our real lashes, it is likely that they have contact with Demodex mites. These are a type of eight-legged parasite that live near the hair follicles. While these might sound gross, they actually live on everyone’s face, according to UCLA Health.
“It may be unsettling, but we all have a small number of these mites living in the folds and along the edges of our eyelids,” UCLA Health said. “They stay hidden in the hair follicles during the day and emerge at night to eat, lay eggs and excrete waste. The mites are part of our body’s natural microbiome, and by cleaning up dead skin cells and excess oils, they’re actually doing us a service.”
Now, for our next question. Why were they still on the plane if they were left by another customer?
Well, last July Afar magazine reported that there were “no federal regulations mandating how or how often,” airplane cabin cleaning should be done. Its article noted that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers some general guidelines for cabin crew members.
“The FAA does have an Aviation Maintenance Handbook that includes guidance and the importance of cabin cleaning,” said Josh Kennedy, senior vice president of operations for Unifi, an aviation services company that offers everything from baggage handling to cabin cleaning, as quoted by Afar. “But each airline and aircraft have different, unique needs and procedures.”
Unifi, operates in more than 200 airports around the world. As of last summer, it hired and managed cabin cleaning staff for some of the biggest U.S. airlines, including Delta, United, Spirit, and Alaska.
“Postpandemic, we do a more detailed cleaning than in the past,” Kennedy said. He explained that, since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, touchpoints such as tray tables, armrests, window shades, air vents, reading light switches, flight attendant call buttons, and the handles on overhead bins have been cleaned “at every turn.”
This year’s “World’s Cleanliest Airline” list from Skytrax didn’t include any U.S. airlines in its top 20. Worldwide, the top spot was held by Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific and Air Canada was ranked the cleanest airline from North America. Afar recommends that travelers carry their own face masks and wipes to stay sanitary on any flight.
As for our final question about how the lashes got there in the first place – that one remains a mystery.