Eyelash curlers are strange-looking contraptions. To an outsider they may look like a torture device, but any beauty lover knows they’re an essential tool for beautifully curled lashes.

That’s not to say they can’t do serious damage though, as imgur user amjohnson recently (and very unfortunately) found out.

As she was curling her lashes, she felt that rising urge to sneeze. Unable to fight it she gave in, eyelash curler still in hand and tightly clamped over her right eyelashes.

Needless to say, disaster ensued.

Image: Imgur/amjohnson

Three quarters of her lashes actually came off - nay, RIPPED off - after getting stuck in the curler during the sudden movement.

(Take a look at our mascara faces at their best. Post continues after video.)

We can only imagine the pain.

Rather than hide under an eyepatch, Johnson did what any sensible person does these days - she posted the picture on reddit.

"I really thought I ripped my eyelid in half," she wrote.

The devastation. Image: Imgur/amjohnson

In less than a day, it's already attracted almost 3,000 comments.

It's a mix of commiserations, puns and jokes at her expense - and some handy advice about what she should do next.

"Make sure your eyelid is ALWAYS clean. Now that those holes are exposed, bacteria can get in there and cause a whole slew of problems," wrote one user.

The devastation. Image: Imgur/amjohnson

"Also, when they start growing back, get a spoolie with a drop or two of castor oil on it and coat the lashes with it, it will prevent them from getting brittle and breaking off thus making them grow back 'faster'."

Others shared their own experiences of losing their lashes, some through obsessive hair pulling condition trichotillomania and others, well, not.

"When I was a kid I grabbed some scissors and cut off all my eye lashes and brought them to mom and said 'Time for some wishes!'. In the end I just wished I hadn't done that," wrote one Reddit user. (Post continues after gallery.)

And while this is certainly a freak accident, rest assured it happens. A Mamamia writer has even written about her own experience after she continued to use an old eyelash curler (hint: it's not a happy ending.)

Moral of the story? When you feel a sneeze coming, DROP THAT CURLER.

Image: Imgur.

Have you ever had this happen to you?