Do eyelashes grow back?

Again and again I am asked about eyelash growth and if eyelashes grow back after they have been pulled out. So many people desperately write me with the urgent question

“Can I get my eyelashes back?”

After almost 40 years pulling out my eyelashes I have an answer to the question:

Yes. Eyelashes do grow back!

Even if you have been pulling them out due to your eyelash trichotillomania, according to the experts, your eyelashes will grow back. While often thinner than what they normally would be when growing back, if given proper care, you can even have long, thick eyelashes.

In order to help the eyelash pulling community, I have gathered together the questions that I receive on a regular basis about eyelash growth. I have also added some facts that you should know about eyelashes and eyelash regrowth.

The Causes of Eyelash Loss

The occasional loss of an eyelash is normal. It’s when you start experiencing bald spots on the eyelid or are seeing multiple come loose at one time that it can become worrisome.
Eyelash loss, and hair loss in general, can be caused by excess, long-term stress.
Your eyelashes may also be reacting to chemical or drug contact, or allergies, infections, and trauma to the eye.
This isn’t the case for many people, however. Often, the cause of eyelash loss isn’t due to hormones or chemicals, or anything so artificial, but your own two hands. (1)

A lot of people today are turning to pulling their own eyelashes as a stress relief, whether they do it in a focused manner, bent over the bathroom sink trying to find that one hair, or absent-mindedly pulling eyelashes while they watch television or another relaxing activity.

Do eyelashes grow back if they are pulled out instead of falling out naturally?

While eyelashes normally fall out throughout your lifetime, eyelash pulling can cause abnormal eyelash loss and weakening of the hair follicles. In order to deal with this you must both put a treatment plan in place to stop pulling your eyelashes out, and use all natural eyelash growth products to heal follicles and encourage eyelash growth.

This should be done in combination with a mental health treatment plan to help remove the cause of the pulling in the first place, especially if you have a strong case of trichotillomania.

So do eyelashes grow back?

It’s important to treat both the cause and the symptom

But rest assured, they will grow back.

How long does it take for eyelashes to grow back? 

You can just let the eyelashes grow back naturally. Since eyelashes fall out normally, the eyelashes will indeed grow back on their own. However eyelash growth serums and enhancers can shorten the eyelash growth period. By putting a program of eyelash care in place, eyelashes will grow back within a month or two.

That’s not the only way you can encourage eyelash growth. In addition to an eyelash care routine, there are several ways you can encourage eyelash growth by making lifestyle changes.

Not only will this benefit the symptom of your eyelash loss, but also help with the cause, whether it’s stress, hormonal, or another reason primarily driving your eyelash pulling habit.

What can I do to encourage eyelash growth? How can I get my eyelashes to grow back? And how can I take care of my eyelashes once they have grown back? Do you have any tips to get my lashes back quickly?

Firstly make lifestyle improvements: get enough sleep, cut out processed foods and alcohol and smoking or drugs, eat a balanced diet with nutrients that encourage eyelash growth and reduce your stress levels.

Eliminate all chemicals from your environment, especially your eye makeup routines. Use all natural eyelash growth products and essential oils for eyelash growth. Try eyelash enhancement conditioners and serums, but make sure that they are 100% natural. Make sure you only use all natural eyelash growth oils and serums.

I highly recommend avoiding all eyelash makeup. If you can avoid eyelash makeup up, then do so. If you must use eyelash makeup, then only use the best quality, all natural eye makeup. In addition do not use chemical treatments on your eyelashes, either for eyelash re-growth, or as mascara. If you must use mascara, use an all natural eyelash enhancing mascara.

It is extremely important not to use false eyelashes as the glue damages the follicles and could harm them permanently, making it difficult to grow your eyelashes back.

And make sure to take off any makeup at night. Never sleep in eyelash make up.

Can You Permanently Lose Your Eyelashes?

Eyelashes have a natural cycle of growth that will take some time, leaving many of us to wonder if we’ll ever get those luscious lashes back.

Fortunately, lashes almost always grow back without treatment, and a good eyelash care treatment regimen can help speed up the growth of eyelashes and encourage fullness in the resulting follicles.

There are ways you can permanently damage your eyelashes, however, which we touched on above.

Using false lash glue can permanently harm the follicle line as the glue irritates the base of the follicles.

Applying mascara that is old and expired can also be dangerous to the long-term health of your eyelashes. Dermatologists agree that you should throw out any mascara after three months – and stop hoarding the makeup bag full of products from four years ago.

Curling your lashes after applying mascara, especially if you curl too close to the base of the lash, is another big makeup mistake that can harm the lashes.

How do eyelash products work to grow back eyelashes?

Eyelash care products are critical for pulled eyelashes, helping your lashes grow back fuller, stronger, and faster than they would without treatment. It might leave you wondering how exactly these products help eyelashes grow back:

Certain essential oils have antibacterial properties, stimulate eyelash follicles and soothe eyelash pulling. In addition the application of eyelash oils and serums stimulates the affected area, increasing blood circulation and enhancing eyelash growth.

Try powerful plant essences such as lavender, rosemary, thyme, citrus, basil and peppermint, as well as essential oils such as castor oil, jojoba oil and olive oil in a daily eyelash care regime. Make sure that any oils or plant products are organic and ‘real’ as you can come across synthetic oils and perfumes that are not effective, and can even be harmful, in treating eyelash growth.

Check out our post for further information about essential oils for hair and eyelash regrowth.

Enhancing Your Recovery

There are so many ways you can help boost your recovery from trichotillomania beyond treating it with a particular product.
While it is helpful to provide your lashes with the care and treatment it needs directly, it is still important to work on the cause of the lash loss as well, to ensure you keep your newly grown, beautiful lashes.

What can I do to encourage eyelashes to grow back, and to grow thick, healthy eyelashes? What works and what doesn’t for eyelash growth? Once my eyelashes have grown back how can I make my eyelashes grow longer and fuller? And how can I grow my eyelashes naturally? What can I do to get lashes to grow back?

Besides having a healthy lifestyle, you can boost eyelash growth with these tips:

• Eat vitamin and protein rich diets
• Increase your green vegetables, which are an excellent source of antioxidants and are good for eyelashes and hair
• Massage essential oils in your eyelashes morning and night. The oils and plant essences have healing properties and will stimulate blood circulation and eyelash growth
• Regular exercise will also stimulate circulation and hair growth, as well as help you manage stress which often can hinder eyelash growth, and even make eyelashes fall out or increase your eyelash pulling habits
• Include only all natural eyelash enhancement and growth serums in your daily routine
• Heat, as well as Vitamin D from the sun can stimulate growth, so getting sun on your face will make your eyelashes grow back faster

There are even ways you can encourage eyelash growth by changing your daily habits with makeup and sleep. By using organic or sensitive-skin makeup you can reduce skin irritation with each application.

Perhaps most importantly, you should always remove makeup before going to sleep – avoiding rubbing your eyes too vigorously – and never wear a sleep mask that presses down on the eyes too hard.

These few things can help stimulate growth as the follicles are no longer fighting the environment to emerge, able to focus strictly on growth. All of this in combination with an eyelash growth serum like Trich Stop is a great way to see significant progress in your eyelashes in as little time as possible.

Check out our post for further information about diet and nutrition for hair and eyelash regrowth.

Click Here for Trich Stop Eyelash Growth Serum

Eyelashes naturally fall out throughout your lifetime. Therefore your body is prepared to re-grow your eyelashes. So, your eyelashes WILL grow back, even after being repeatedly pulled out.

Here are some eyelash facts you should know about eyelash growth:

The human body is fascinating, even down to the eyelashes. Learning a little bit about your body is another step in the journey to appreciating your self-worth and being more mindful about what care you need.

Plus, everyone loves trivia night, and should you ever need a helping hand when it comes to eyelashes, these fun facts are certain to come in handy:

• Human hair and eyelashes grow at a rate of approximately 1/4 to 1/2 inch per month.
• Your body is constantly shedding eyelashes. Eyelashes naturally grow, fall out, and grow back again. Eyelashes also go through the 3 phases of hair: growth, transition, and resting phases. The 1st phase is when eyelashes grow and lasts up to a maximum of 45 days. After which, they go through the 2nd phase which may last up to 3 weeks, when the eyelashes stop growing. In the 3rd phase, the lashes are not growing and stay for approximately 100 days before they then fall out.
•  It normally takes up to 8 weeks for an eyelash to grow back fully.

If you have trichotillomania, whether you are focused on pulling out hair after hair, or if you find yourself absent-mindedly tugging, there is good news in store for you.

With a few changes to daily makeup and dietary habits, a good eyelash growth serum, and proper coping mechanisms to deal with stress and other factors that play into your desire for eyelash pulling, you can get your beautiful lashes back.

So, rest assured, your eyelashes WILL grow back. You can put in place your eyelash pulling treatment with the knowledge that all is not lost, you will get your eyelashes back.

References:
1. Mayoclinic, Trichotillomania (hair-pulling disorder), https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/trichotillomania/symptoms-causes/syc-20355188