Losing eyelashes can be devastating. It can make your eyes look invisible, rob you of your sense of femininity, and lead to problems like dry eyes or irritation if it’s particularly severe. This leads to a rather important question – do eyelashes grow back?
In this post, we will explain how normal eyelash growth works and the various factors that can affect it. Based on this, we will help you determine if your eyelashes can grow back, how long it might take and how to speed up the process.
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How do eyelashes normally grow?
Our eyelashes are more than just an aesthetic feature. They play an important role in eye protection. By trapping debris, dust and lint, our eyelashes prevent irritation to the sensitive cornea or lining of the eyes.
Normally, our eyelashes follow a certain cycle similar to the hair growth cycle on the head. From start to finish, the life cycle of eyelashes lasts for between four and ten months, as the eyelashes transition from active growth to rest and will fall out. As part of this cycle, losing up to five eyelashes a day is completely normal.
At any given time, chances are you have eyelashes in different phases of the cycle. An eyelash that falls out naturally at the end of the telogen phase will be replaced by a new eyelash in the regrowth phase immediately after. This eyelash will start out small and thin, but over the course of a month or two, it will grow to a normal eyelash size.
Stages of the eyelash growth cycle
These are the main stages of eyelash growth:
Anagen is the growth phase. It begins with the formation of a new eyelash and continues for about four to 10 weeks until it reaches its maximum length. The longer the growth phase lasts, the longer, thicker and darker the new lashes will be, and the lash line as a whole will look fuller and denser.
Catagen it is the transition or shedding phase, when the eyelash finally stops growing (it may even shrink a bit) and the eyelash bulb detaches from the hair follicle. This is a short phase – it only lasts for about two weeks.
After all, telegenic is the resting phase, when the eyelash is no longer fully attached to the hair follicle. Under the eyelash bulb, the hair follicle begins to create a new eyelash. This is the longest phase. It ends when the eyelashes fall out and the cycle begins again.
Causes of eyelash loss
It is important to clearly understand why you are losing eyelashes so that you know if they will grow back and how quickly. There are hundreds of possible reasons why eyelash loss can occur, but they mostly fall into a few subcategories:
- Natural eyelash loss: At the end of the telogen phase, the loss of eyelashes is natural and necessary – if the old eyelash does not fall out, the new one cannot grow. If you’re losing an average of five eyelashes daily, it’s normal and nothing to worry about.
- Mechanical eyelash loss: Aggressive removal of mascara or rubbing your eyes can lead to premature eyelash loss. It’s also possible to accidentally pull too many lashes from the root, or they may accidentally be cut or burned. Conditions such as trichotillomania can lead to compulsive eyelash pulling.
- Health conditions and treatments: Conditions such as hypothyroidism or alopecia areata can lead to significant eyelash loss, as can treatments such as chemotherapy. Temporary eye or skin conditions such as blepharitis (inflammation of the eyelids), blepharitis, conjunctivitis (pink eye), overgrowth of Demodex mites, or allergic reactions may also cause some eyelash loss.
- Nutritional deficiencies: The body’s ability to produce and retain hair, including eyelashes, can be severely compromised by nutritional deficiency, particularly protein or biotin deficiency.
How long does it take for eyelashes to grow back?
How long it will take for eyelashes to grow back depends largely on the reasons behind your eyelash loss. That said, you can expect your eyelashes to grow back within one to three months in cases of mild or normal eyelash loss. In more extreme situations, it can take around 9 months for your lash line to fully recover, as this is how long it will take for most of your lashes to go through a full life cycle.
The fastest regeneration will come from a single eyelash that naturally fell out at the end of the resting phase: A new eyelash will grow within a few weeks. It will then reach its full length at the end of the regeneration phase, which can last up to a few months – the longer the regeneration phase, the longer the lash will grow.
This becomes complicated when other factors, whether internal or external, are at play.
For example, eyelashes that have been mechanically pulled through makeup remover or a bad eyelash extension application will definitely grow back. The time will depend on where the lash was in the lash cycle. If it was in the regeneration phase, it can take up to 4 months for the eyelash to start growing again, while if it was in the telogen phase, it can only be a few weeks.
Another complicating factor is whether your eyelash loss was caused by something internal or health-related. In this case, the timing will vary and may depend on your overall recovery. You need to treat your nutritional deficiency, allow your hormones to settle, or address your allergic reaction before your eyelashes can regenerate effectively. For this, you may need to see a doctor for treatment.
In cases of autoimmune conditions such as alopecia areata, regrowth may never occur (although approximately 50% of people will recover from alopecia within a year).
Factors affecting eyelash growth
While we’ve talked about how long it can take for eyelashes to grow, in general, other factors affect your growth rate:
- Age: As we age, the body’s renewal processes slow down, so while eyelash loss should not increase, you may notice that it takes longer for new eyelashes to regrow.
- Hormonal changes: The eyelash growth cycle is partly controlled by hormones. Hormonal fluctuations can occur due to medications, pregnancy, menopause, or even periods of significant stress or lack of sleep. It’s normal to suddenly lose a lot of eyelashes during a “hormonal storm” and then grow everything back fully within about 6 months.
- General health: Our bodies have an easier time healing and repairing themselves when they are in good health. Any disease can affect your ability to grow eyelashes and other types of hair.
- Cosmetics: Constant use of mascara or other habits that put pressure on the lash line can affect your eyelash growth cycle. Constant stress can cause eyelashes to break or pull, leading to eyelash loss that prevents recovery.
How to encourage growth?
You can absolutely improve the time your eyelashes spend in the regeneration phase to encourage your eyelashes to grow back. Here are some of the things you should consider doing:
- Address the underlying issue: Be sure to identify the reason why you are losing eyelashes and treat it, whether that means changing your beauty habits or treating a health condition.
- Take a makeup break: Take a break from waterproof mascara as removing it is very damaging to the lash line. Try to wear makeup less often and choose gentle products that are easy to remove.
- Use eyelash serum: Eyelash serums can help speed up eyelash regeneration by extending the regeneration phase and strengthening the follicles. Although they are not curative, they can definitely help make your lashes look fuller, longer and thicker. The the most powerful choice is Latissewhich is an FDA-approved eyelash growth drug, but also comes with a greater risk of side effects compared to peptide-based serums.
- Healthy diet: Eating a balanced diet with enough calories each day is essential – without essential nutrients, your body can’t produce new cells, which means your eyelashes won’t be able to grow. You may also want to talk to your doctor about supplements if you have a specific deficiency.
- Reduce stress and get enough sleep: Stress and lack of sleep inhibit the body’s normal functions, including its regenerative abilities and release of growth hormones. In order for your eyelashes to grow quickly, it is important to ensure that your body is calm and rested.
How to prevent future eyelash loss?
Although you cannot prevent certain health conditions, there are many ways to keep your eyelashes healthy and prevent eyelash loss.
- Good makeup remover: When wearing eye makeup, be sure to use a strong oil-based or two-phase makeup remover. With minimal friction, your makeup remover should dissolve all makeup, including waterproof mascara.
- Reduce friction: Limiting friction on your lash line will help prevent lash loss. This may mean being extra careful when curling your lashes (ours heated eyelash curler is a great non-friction option), learn to sleep on your back or avoid rubbing your eyes.
- Keep your lashes clean: From bacteria to mites, many pathogens can irritate your lash line or cause infections, leading to eyelash loss. Regularly washing your eyelashes and washing them when you wear extensionsyou can remove these harmful germs and keep your lash line healthy.
- Focus on your health: The importance of eating healthy, getting enough sleep and seeing your doctor regularly (especially if you see signs of illness) cannot be understated. There are many good reasons to look after your mental and physical health – keeping your eyelashes growing is just one of them.
Conclusion
So once again, we come back to the simple question: Do eyelashes grow back? In most cases, they do! It may take some time, especially if you need to treat an underlying condition, before your eyelashes start growing normally. However, with gentle care and a healthy lifestyle, you can expect your lashes to grow back to their full glory within a few months.