10 Tips To Grow Long Natural Lashes
Working on attaining healthy eyelashes that grow longer, fuller, and stronger? Here are 10 top tips to help you out:
1. Maintain a Healthy Diet
Your overall health and wellness can impact your lash health. Maintaining a healthy diet means something different to everybody since everyone’s body has different needs.
Still, there are certain foods that you can add to or increase in your diet to support stronger, fuller lashes. Increase your consumption of foods rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, like fish, almonds, dark leafy greens, and avocados.
2. Keep Your Face and Eyes Clean
Keeping your lashes and the skin around your eyes free from bacteria and debris can promote good lash health. A buildup of debris, like old makeup, can dry and irritate your lash line, which can cause brittle lashes and premature lash fallout.
The best way to keep this area clean is to wear makeup that is easy to remove with gentle makeup remover and wash regularly with a gentle cleanser. Micellar water is an excellent choice, as are oil-based cleansers.
Oil-based cleansers have the added bonus of hydrating your lashes as they clean, but you’ll have to rinse them off with plain water and dry your face thoroughly before applying any false lashes.
As you wash up, don’t scrub too hard. Your lashes and eye-area skin are very delicate, and too much friction over time can cause damage.
Instead, soak a cloth or cotton pad in the cleanser and press it gently to your eyes to dissolve the makeup and debris to make it easier to swipe off. Gentle swipes only, no tugging on your lashes. You can also use a clean spoolie to brush the cleaning solution through your lashes with gentle, upward strokes.
Brushing your lashes as part of washing or just dry brushing can keep the lashes straight and untangled, just like your hair. When you keep your lashes straight, you give them the space and direction to grow longer than they would if they were tangled or overlapping.
3. Don’t Touch Your Eyelashes
Just like you shouldn’t scrub too hard when washing, you shouldn’t rub your eyes. Sometimes it feels nice, but every time you do it, two bad things happen: You introduce foreign bacteria and cause undue friction on your lash line.
Frequently rubbing your eyes can cause severe breakage since friction can pull your lashes out. If lash fibers get pulled out, they won’t regrow immediately; you’ll have to wait until the lash growth cycle catches up with you. Frequently rubbing your eyes will likely leave you with a sparse lash line, which may make your lashes appear shorter in general.
4. Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate
Hydrated lashes are happy lashes. When your lashes are hydrated, they can grow stronger and longer. Keeping your lashes hydrated starts with keeping your body hydrated. Ensure you’re drinking the recommended amount of water for your body and activity level daily.
5. Try a Lash Serum
There are dozens of lash serums on the market. Some claim to support thicker lashes, and some claim to support longer lashes. Eyelash growth serums should contain ingredients that stimulate the follicles to grow lashes faster and longer.
However, the only lash growth serum that is FDA-approved is Latisse since the others are not tested or considered by the FDA. Latisse is meant to be a medical treatment, not a cosmetic. It was intended to be a glaucoma medication.
Its active ingredient, bimatoprost, is responsible for the long lashes it’s known to cause. Latisse has many side effects, and it’s not for everyone; that’s why you need a prescription to get it.
Over-the-counter versions typically contain isopropyl cloprostenate, which you should still ask your doctor or dermatologist about using and avoid altogether if you’re pregnant or nursing.
Lash-enhancing serums that do not claim to promote lash growth, but lash health, may contain any combination of healthy and not-so-healthy ingredients. If you use an over-the-counter lash serum, look for one with hydrating ingredients, proteins, peptides, and vitamins. Apply serums sparingly.
6. Try a Home Remedy With Common Oils and Plants
There are a ton of easy and accessible home remedies that can increase the hydration of your eyelashes. Start with natural oils, like coconut oil, olive oil, and castor oil. These oils will all hydrate your lashes, and many people report that their eyelashes appear slightly darker, which could just be a sign of increased lash health overall.
Castor oil specifically has been used as an ingredient in lash serums and skincare products for decades because it has a reputation for supporting healthy lashes. You can apply these oils with a cleaned mascara wand, cotton swab, or spoolie.
If you can get it, pure vitamin E oil offers a ton of hair and lash benefits, not just the hydrating lipids of the other oils. Vitamin E is actually a group of fat-soluble vitamins with the same benefits as antioxidants.
There are a few differences between taking vitamin E as an oil versus as a supplement. The oil can be applied directly to the skin for immediate absorption. The actual concentration of vitamin E in an oil or a supplement can vary between manufacturers and brands. Vitamin E oil is a common ingredient in many anti-aging skincare products.
Additionally, aloe vera gel is an excellent moisturizer that supports your lashes' collagen. Petroleum jelly, aka Vaseline, has a similar benefit to aloe vera gel, though it lacks the same collagen, and some people find that it’s too oily for their skin and causes breakouts.
Finally, a remedy you likely have in your cupboard already: green tea. Green tea is anti-inflammatory and full of antioxidants. It contains some caffeine and panthenol, which may stimulate lash growth.
To use green tea on your lashes, brew a strong (but hypothetically drinkable) cup of green tea. Let it cool until it’s lukewarm, not hot. Saturate a cloth or cotton pad with the tea, and rest it on your eyes.
7. Try a Supplement
You can take an oral supplement to get extra nutrients into your body. These supplements work just like taking a morning multivitamin: they may help, but they’re not guaranteed to do anything. Check with a doctor and read the potential side effects before starting a regimen of new vitamins.
Still, we know that collagen and biotin support hair growth and skin elasticity across the body, so a supplement can help steer you toward healthy lashes. Biotin has many properties that may support the body’s natural defense against hair loss, including lash loss.
We mentioned eating foods rich in Omega-3s, but you can also take a supplement. Vitamin E supplements have been used in hair growth studies in the past, and there is some evidence to suggest that vitamin E might aid in hair growth, which is what someone aiming for longer eyelashes should look for.
8. Don’t Use Traditional Lash Glue
Regular drugstore lash glue might be causing significant long-term harm to your lashes. Many lash glues contain cyanoacrylate, the same key ingredient in super glue.
They also contain formaldehyde, which is bad for your skin and eye health. Removing lashes adhered with traditional glue is its own host of dangers since peeling off lashes before the glue has fully dissolved will tug on your lash line.
Want a healthier alternative to traditional lash glue? And a better alternative to falsies? Lashify’s DIY eyelash extensions, Gossamers, are applied with our own good-for-you lash adhesive, Whisper Light.
Not only does Whisper Light leave out the toxic junk found in other lash glue, but it also contains biotin, so it can nourish your lashes while you wear it. Whisper light doesn’t fully harden; instead, it stays malleable to cushion your lashes and avoid applying unnecessary strain on the follicles.
9. Don’t Use Manual Lash Curlers
Manual lash curlers are bad news for your natural lashes. The tension introduced by these manual curlers can not only tear out your lashes but can also inhibit lash regrowth. If you want to increase the curl of your lashes, try a heated eyelash curler.
The Lashicurl from Lashify uses a heated silicone rod to naturally curl your natural eyelashes and your extensions. It’s safer than chemical lash lifts and manual eyelash curlers and faster than applying falsies. You could also try DIY eyelash extensions with a slightly stronger curl than your natural lashes. Or, you can try curling mascara.
10. Give Your Lashes a Break From Mascara
Waterproof mascara may seem like a miracle of modern science, but it’s actually not the best for your natural lash health. It’s super hard to remove, demanding a lot of tugging at the lash.
On top of that, the weight of wearing daily mascara of any kind can put a lot of pressure on the lash’s hair follicles. Damaged follicles will not grow the long lashes you desire.
Constant use of makeup can clog your pores or leave you with dry, itchy skin. At least once a week, take a makeup break to give your skin time to breath and your lash follicles time to recover.
Change Takes Time
Any of these solutions won’t give you instant results. You’ll need to keep at it with the same solution for months at least. But Rome was not built in a day, and neither are healthy natural lashes.
Not fast enough for you? For instant results, try good-for-you lash extensions like Gossamers!
Sources:
How to Grow Eyelashes Longer and Thicker at Home: 5 Tips - 2023 | MasterClass
How to Grow Longer and Healthier Eyelashes, According to a Dermatologist | Byrdie
11 Eyelash Growing Hacks For Fuller, Longer Lashes | Bustle
How to Make Eyelashes Grow Faster: 5 Tips From a Beauty Editor | Real Simple
