Wellness

Understanding Eyelash Behavior; Good Practices for Their Health

The beauty industry has captivated us for decades with trending styles and fashion statements surrounding lashes. With the ever-expanding lash artistry industry, it’s no wonder that clients have put more time and consideration into how to “wear” their lashes. Choices for style, shape, length, color, and volume are reflected upon to accentuate one’s own natural lashes with amplification of falsies, glitter and other embellishments, mascara, and lash extension design.

Despite lash style becoming a key element of beauty, we should not forget that our own natural eyelashes have a primary mechanical function of protecting our eyes from debris. When our eyes are open, our eyelashes can catch airborne particles such as sand, lint, and dirt. When our eyes are closed, eyelashes create a barrier against foreign irritants and protect our delicate eye tissue. For these reasons and more, it’s important to take time to care for our lashes.

It may be assuring for the lash technician to share with their clients that an eyelash has a life cycle and it can be normal for 2-5 eyelashes to fall out on a daily basis. Like scalp hair, eyelashes have three phases in their cycle: anagen, catagen, and telogen. The anagen phase is an intensive hair growth period where cells divide very quickly inside the hair follicle to form a hair shaft. This phase lasts for about 2-3 weeks for lashes. The catagen phase is a transition period when shrinking of the hair follicle occurs. The last phase is telogen or resting phase where there is loss of blood vessels around the bulb and the hair follicle and, as a result, there is loss of hair.  As soon as the eyelash falls out, the anagen growth phase begins again. The growing, resting, and falling out of eyelashes are distributed randomly along one’s eyelid and the entire cycle lasts approximately three months.

Eyelashes grow on our eyelids in rows. There can be between 90-160 eyelashes in five to six rows on the upper eyelid and 75-80 in three to four rows on the lower eyelid. Eyelashes on the upper eyelid can reach a length of 8 to 12 mm and 6 to 8 mm on the lower eyelid.  These rows of hair are fundamentally important for our eye protection.

 

Why We Experience Eyelash Loss

There are many reasons why people experience thinning lash hair or accelerated lash loss. It is mainly caused by a weakening of the hair follicles. Poor nutrition of the hair follicle, stress, hormonal shifts, medications, illness, chemotherapy, and inflammation due to infections like blepharitis or conjunctivitis can contribute to eyelash loss. Aggressive environmental factors including exposure to UV rays, cold and dry air, indoor and outdoor pollution and chlorinated and saltwater can also cause lash hair dehydration and breakage.

For many clients, lash embellishment application, improper removal of false lashes and lash extensions can be the culprit for eyelash loss. Eyelash curlers can be abrasive to natural lash hair and cause lashes to be pulled from the follicle. Sleeping with eye makeup, particularly mascara, can block hair follicles and cause skin irritation and as a result weakness and loss of eyelashes. Leaving makeup on may even cause the lashes to break off. Furthermore, sharing makeup with another individual and using old, outdated makeup may cause bacterial contamination.

The eyelash condition is also affected by the way makeup is removed. Eyelids should not be rubbed aggressively while trying to remove mascara and removing mascara clumps with fingertips can rip the lashes from the lash line. The regular use of waterproof mascara, which contains harsh ingredients, can cause lashes to become dry and brittle. Waterproof mascara can also be more difficult to remove than regular mascara.

 

Topical Ingredients for Healthier-Looking Eyelashes

We know that eating a proper diet and topically fortifying our skin and scalp hair is important for maintaining skin and hair health.  This is just as important for our lash hair. There are some essential ingredients that when applied topically can help condition, moisturize and nourish lash hair to enhance the overall appearance of eyelashes.

Investing in a lash serum that contains peptides, which are chains of amino acids or proteins, can help protect against hair breakage. Biotin (Vitamin B7), can help promote healthier-looking lash hair. Panthenol (Vitamin B5) helps coat the lash hair and seal in moisture and nourishment. Soybean oil smooths the look of the hair cuticle, the outermost layer of a hair strand, to give hair a softer and shinier appearance. The vitamin E in soybean oil can also help reduce oxidative damage that contributes to hair loss while moisturizing and improving lash hair elasticity. Pumpkin seed extract, which contains omega-3s, essential fatty acids, zinc, Vitamin E, and Vitamin K is a great hair moisturizer and can promote the look of hair thickness and hair count. Since our lashes naturally weaken over time along with a multitude of assaulting factors, it’s essential to invest in a lash serum that will assist and maintain the appearance of your lash health.


Larsen, J. (2020, November 11). How Fast Do Eyelashes Grow? https://www.healthline.com/health/how-long-does-it-take-for-eyelashes-to-grow-back

Walters, M. (2021, August 19). Everything You Need to Know to Get Healthy Long Lashes. https://www.healthline.com/health/beauty-skin-care/everything-you-need-to-know-to-get-healthy-long-eyelashes

The editorial staff had no role in this post's creation.