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Chinese woman who lost her right eye in a car accident a decade ago has become a self-taught maker of ‘cool’ artificial eyes. Photo: SCMP Composite

‘Look at me now’: Chinese dancer who lost eye in a car crash overcomes ‘self-hate’ to build business making attractive fake ones

  • A decade after losing an eye in a car accident, Chinese woman masters the art of making artificial eyes
  • Years of ‘self-hating’ came to an end when dancer found a way to make ‘cool’ fake eyes, which give her, and others like her, their confidence back

A Chinese woman who lost an eye in a road accident more than a decade ago has received glowing praise for developing cool-looking artificial eyes as she battles to conquer appearance anxiety that often accompanies such a loss.

The former dancer and actress from Beijing, who is known by her online nickname, Xintong, completed the process of becoming a self-taught ocularist, or artificial eye maker, two years ago.

She spent years honing her skills through a process of trial and error, driven by a desire to help others with a similar disability rediscover their confidence, the Beijing Youth Daily reported on Wednesday.

The woman, known by her online nickname, Xintong, shot to fame when she posted a video of herself wearing a glowing fake eye. Photo: Baidu

A decade after she lost her right eye in a car accident aged 18, and following years of self hating, Xintong now runs her own artificial eye-making workshop.

From the outset, her aim has been to help people like her by providing them with custom-made artificial eyes.

“Because I once got wet in the rain, I now want to give others an umbrella,” she said.

Xintong shot to popularity when a video of her wearing a glowing artificial eye went viral recently.

Xintong had to overcome years of self-doubt and negative comments from others following the loss of her right eye. Photo: Baidu.

The idea came from a “very cool” overseas ocularist who did not care what other people said or thought about people who had lost an eye.

“People already look at me in a peculiar way, so why not exaggerate how I appear and use that to my advantage?” Xintong said.

The accident – which impaired her sense of balance – looked to have crushed her dream of becoming a great dancer.

“I had very narrow vision. I couldn’t track the shuttlecock when playing badminton. When I poured water I would miss the cup and when I walked downstairs I would miss my step. I also had difficulty crossing the road,” she said.

Beijing-based Xintong loves to dance and has worked hard to conquer the balance and movement issues which having one eye bring. Photo: Baidu

The loss of an eye also affected her facial appearance and prevented her from completing some dance moves, Xintong added.

As a result of being the tender age of 18 at the time of the accident, the change to her facial appearance and loss of physical capabilities left her with a sense of “extreme inferiority”.

But she stuck with her love of dancing, eventually becoming a dance teacher after graduating from college.

However, Xintong found the artificial eyes she had to wear both ugly and uncomfortable.

She got the idea to create her own fake eyeballs from a “very cool” overseas maker of artificial eyes. Photo: Baidu.

“I thought to myself, it would be great if I can produce ones according to my own tastes,” she recalled.

She pursued her dream and in 2020 quit her teaching job to devote herself full-time to artificial eye-making.

After a long process of trial and error, she mastered making her ideal artificial eyes, opened a workshop and hired three assistants.

Xintong took years to master the skills required to create artificial eyes. Photo: Baidu

“It’s my passion to remain in this industry and produce the best products so I can help visually impaired people regain their confidence,” she said.

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