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Claim: An Instagram user alleges that a lady loses eyes after applying eyelash extensions.
Verdict: FALSE! Through reverse image searches, it was determined that the images attached to the post were sourced from unrelated websites. The woman in question, identified as Naronate Akum, lost her eye after being shot in Cameroon, not from eyelash extensions.
Full Text
African women widely use beauty-enhancing products. They are often viewed as integral to daily self-care and a means of self-expression. However, their popularity has also made them a frequent subject of different online debates and myths.
Budget01 posted a video on Instagram alleging that a woman lost her eye after getting eyelash extensions. In the video, the narrator tells the story of the incident using different collaged pictures.
He notes that the woman who helped with the lash appointment used super glue instead of proper lash adhesive, which led to burning sensations, swelling, and unbearable pain.
Since it was posted on August 21, 2025, the video has garnered 718 likes, 862 shares, 19 reposts, and 34 comments, with several conflicting comments.
Advising women on the dangers of enhancing products, hypemanguru5 said, “To every woman out there, you’re beautiful in the way the creator made you; you don’t need those chemicals on you or artificial beauty.”
Another user doubted the credibility of the claim, saying, “I don’t think super glue can cause this much effect. This should be a lie, ooo.”
Given its virality and potential to misinform, DUBAWA decided to verify the claim.
Verification
After analysing the video, DUBAWA conducted a keyword search but found no credible reports linking eyelash extensions to the woman’s alleged blindness. We then decided to examine the images in the video one by one.
Image 1
DUBAWA’s reverse image search led us to a Yandex image of a Cameroonian lady, Naronate Akum. We then did a keyword search on the name and found out that Naronate was shot in the head in 2018, during a civil war in Cameroon.
Every day, Naronate hosts a live show on her TikTok account, where she discusses the challenges she has experienced since she was shot in the face. Most of the videos used in the claim were sourced from her TikTok page.
News outlets such as the BBC and HumAngle have also reported this story.
Image 2
We ran a reverse image search on the picture, which led us to an image on Pinterest of different catalogues of extension styles. The earliest version of this picture was available in 2019. We also noticed that the image of the person in the photo did not resemble Naronate.
Image 3
The image of a woman on a bed receiving treatment in the video was also traced, using Yandex, to another situation and another woman. It then redirected us to a Pinterest page titled “woman with IV receiving treatment” from the Laura Sick Kids Hospital in Canada.
Like the previous images, all the pictures used to form a narrative were not linked to Naronate. They were gotten from Pinterest and other sites.
Conclusion
The claim that a woman lost her eye after applying eyelash extensions is false. The woman in the viral video, Naronate Akum, was shot in the head in 2018 in Cameroon. The other images used in the Instagram post were misattributed and taken from unrelated websites.
