Featured Image Credit: drsermedmezher/instagram
Topics: Health, Science, Social Media, TikTok, Instagram
Sara Keenan
Topics: Health, Science, Social Media, TikTok, Instagram
Are my eyelids transparent?
That's probably one of those things questions you never thought about, but once you do it's hard to unsee - literally.
Well, a recent revelation about our eyelids being somewhat transparent has sparked a mix of fascination and discomfort online.
Social media users are freaking out after learning that, when closed, eyelids still allow light to pass through, which is why we can often see shadows or flashes of light even with our eyes shut.
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TikTokers took to the platform to show their transparent eyelids as one of the many new revelations we are finding out through the power of social media, but why can we see our eyes even when they are closed?
Well, Dr Sermed Mezher took to Instagram to calm everyone down and explain everyone's burning questions.
"Eyelids can appear almost transparent due to several unique structural factors that distinguish them from other parts of the body," he explained.
"First, the eyelid skin is extremely thin - often only about 0.5 millimeters thick, making it one of the thinnest layers on the body."
The thinness of the layer, alongside the fact that eyelids contain no subcutaneous fat, does in fact mean that the skin doesn't have the density or opacity to block light from passing through.
"Without the fat layer that other skin areas have, there's little to diffuse the visibility of what's underneath," he said.
For people with paler skin or lower melanin levels, like some of the users posting on TikTok, the effect of transparency is naturally even more noticeable.
"When someone has less melanin, as is often the case with lighter skin tones, there's less pigmentation in the skin to block or diffuse light.
"This lack of pigmentation combined with the eyelid's thinness allows underlying structures, like blood vessels and capilaries, to become more visible, giving the eyelids a translucent or even blueish hue in some cases," Mezher explained.
So, rest assured, it is nothing to worry about, according to Mezher.
"This unique layering makes the eyelids especially delicate and contributes to why they're prone to showing changes in circulation, fatigue, or health," he reassured viewers.
Now you can hopefully stop videoing your transparent eyelids and relax a little bit more, rather than poking at your eyeballs...