UNDER all those long lopsided fringes, a hidden danger is lurking.

A leading optometrist has warned children and teenagers are risking their eyesight for the sake of fashion.

Favoured by celebrities including Reece Mastin and Justin Bieber, the current zeal for haircuts with fringes that flop over one eye could result in a generation of young people with lazy eyes.

Optometrists Association national executive member Andrew Hogan warned amblyopia - the medical term for lazy eye - could result from obstructed vision caused by hair.

"If a young emo chap has a fringe covering one eye all the time, that eye won't see a lot of detail," Mr Hogan said."And if it happens from a young age, that eye can become amblyotic." Mr Hogan said the most vulnerable age for visual development was birth to seven years, but research had shown vision could still be affected at later stages.

As well as the potential damage to eyesight, there are also concerns that long "emo" sweep fringes could cause postural problems.Veteran hairdresser Roseanne Anderson fears the hairstyle forced many to tilt their heads to one side in order to see out of their small window of vision. "I have to wonder how they don't get a stiff neck," the Hobart-based hairdresser said. "I have seen lots of fashions come and go - but really when I think about it, this is probably the only hairstyle in my 40 years of hairdressing that could be a health hazard."
Mr Hogan said a curtain of hair over one eye could actually act like an eyepatch, limiting the eye's access to both sunlight and sensory stimulation.

He said recent research had shown a lack of direct sunlight resulted in short sightedness.
And hair constantly hanging over one eye could result in sensory deprivation that could weaken one eye and lead to amblyopia.

"If you walk around with an eye patch on all day, then that eye will end up seeing more poorly than the other eye," he added.

Amblyopia occurs when the nerve pathway from one eye to the brain does not develop because the abnormal eye sends a blurred image to the brain.

source: www.news.com.au

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MANILA, Philippines - International singing sensation Charice believes that Filipino-Mexican American singer Jessica Sanchez will win "American Idol."

"I think she's good and I think she's doing really well. I haven't met her actually," Charice said in an interview on Monday afternoon after signing a contract with ABS-CBN for her upcoming show "The X Factor Philippines.

"I really feel that she's gonna win. If she doesn't win then well you know... but I feel," Charice added.

Sanchez, who is now part of the Top 3 of "American Idol," previously expressed her admiration for Charice as a singer.

Chasters vs Jessica

In the interview, Charice also clarified that her fans, who are called "Chasters," are not against Sanchez.

Charice stressed that her fans are just "defensive" about comparisons with Sanchez but this doesn't mean that they are against the 16-year-old Fil-Mexican-American.

She even added that she knows some Chasters who really support Sanchez.

"I think hindi naman maiiwasan sa mga fans na maging defensive kasi may  articles na lumalabas na pinagko-compare kami ni Jessica. So my fans will be defensive about it. 'Why do you have compare them?' It's like what happened to me and ate Sarah (Geronimo). Her fans are very defensive kasi  they are comparing but personally ate Sarah and me we are good. So I think that's one of the reasons they are being defensive. They are not sending hate to Jessica, I see a lot of my fans supporting her," Charice explained.

Asked if she feels threatened by Sanchez, Charice told abs-cbnNEWS.com: "Oh my God, I've been waiting for that question for my whole life. Actually every time I see somebody like Cheesa (Laureta of 'The Voice') and Jessica, I get so upset when something happened to them, when they get to bottom 3 or when they get kick out. I'm so proud. I know a lot of people are saying, 'Oh she's lying' but that's how I feel. A lot of people compare me to these amazing singers but damn it they are really good.

"They shouldn't be comparing singers to singer. The thing is Cheesa has the 'X factor' and Jessica has the same so I'm just very proud of them. Maybe in the future you will never know maybe the three of us will collaborate," she said.

source: abs cbn

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MANILA, Philippines - International singing sensation Charice on Monday showed off her new tattoo with the intriguing quote: "I never knew to love until someone broke my heart."

Charice, who returned to the country to be part of the upcoming "The X Factor Philippines," said that she got her new tattoo in Los Angeles.


"Actually it's a true story but I'd rather not tell the story. I know a lot of people kapag nabasa nila 'yan makaka-relate. Again talagang kapag naglalagay ako, may meaning. When I put something like this there's a meaning," Charice said.

"It's part of me. It's part of the look and everything. Let's just say it's an accessory," she added.

The singer's first tattoo on her left forearm says "love eternally."

Happy and free

In the interview, Charice once again asked about her sexuality.

"I don't care whatever you think. As long as my fans love me and support me forever, I'm good with that," she said. "Whoever stays with my until the end of my career or whatever, those are the people [who trust me]. The others that still have doubts, questions, who are confused... I will understand."

Charice stressed that she never had a change of image, and that her look now simply shows her real personalty.

"What you see right now is the real me. What you see before wasn't me. A lot of people around me like in the US, like in here, they didn't know what I really want. They were deciding for me. Like they were deciding, 'let's do this, let's gonna do that, do the curly hair.' I didn't get the chance to decide for myself," she explained.

"Now that I'm being so independent, while it's early, I really, really want to tell all the people that I don't care if you hate. I don't care if you don't like it," she added.

Charice said what is important is that she's really happy.

"I'm extremely happy. Unbelievable. Like I could cry, I could cry because I'm going out in public showing my tattoo, showing my hair, showing my outfit. I feel more free," she said.

source: abs-cbnnews

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Talk about life coming full circle. Charice will soon be looking on the other side of the stage as she sits as one of the judges at the Philippine version of singing reality show, X-Factor. The Filipina singer, actress and soon-to-be reality show judge reflects on her rags-to-riches story as she heads to Dubai this weekend will sit on the judging table of her country's version of reality singing show X Factor.