Statement Lashes!
Healthy Brows & Lashes
Here at Beautique we practice what we preach and we trial products before they reach our shelves so we can answer your questions from the experience angle as well as giving you the scientific data from the manufacturer. We are not fans of the 8 out of 10 cats approach to science, preferring clinical studies over the number of subject who ‘felt’ an improvement.
The most frequently asked questions relating to the eye area are:
- Will my over-plucked eyebrows grow back?
- Will I have to use growth serums forever if I want to maintain long, healthy lashes?
The hair growth cycle differs in different parts of the body but the phases remain the same, hairs are either growing, resting or shedding/regrowing. Hair on the head can grow for as long as 7 years without taking a rest! The hairs that come out easily are the ones being shed, e.g. on your hairbrush or if you tweeze a hair and it doesn’t hurt the chances are it is already being replaced by a new hair in the root.
The growth cycle for eyelashes can be as short as 6 weeks and for eyebrows around 8-10 weeks.
Each individual hair is formed inside a hair follicle and relies on nutrients to keep performing. Does over plucking cause damage to follicles? There’s no hard evidence to support this, just lots of women with very thin brows who enjoyed their tweezers a bit too much in the 80s! It is believed that if you give the follicles some TLC you will experience regrowth… and that is also our own experience.
What happens when you stop using growth serums? If you stop using serum, lashes and brows revert to their normal growth cycle, absolutely no harm done – apart from the fact you are going to seriously miss the glamour!
There’s more to lash health than growth though, the eyelash plays an important role in the body by preventing foreign bodies from entering the eye; they sense the approach that causes the eye to blink. It’s well worth respecting them by ensuring they are free from bacteria. Waterproof mascara can be particularly harsh on lashes so limit its use to ‘no other option’ occasions, e.g. weddings and funerals! Sleeping in mascara should never happen, if you do nothing else after a night out reach for the cotton pads and a gentle remover. Gentle action is also required, tugging with a baby wipe is a definite NO! The lash root is delicate and lashes can break just with aggressive handling.
Eyelash curlers should be used with care as improper use could lead to lash breakage. The latest curling treatment by LVL actually replaces the need for curlers and in many cases could satisfy the desire to go without mascara.
Falsies… you either love them or hate them but if you love them be very careful about the adhesive application and removal or in the case of extensions do not try to remove them by picking them off – you will end up with bald patches, guaranteed!
My recommendation for healthy brows and lashes is apply a serum, go the LVL route so that you can leave the mascara off at least a few days a week and remove make-up with a gentle cleanser. Exuviance has a wonderful product, aptly named ‘Gentle Cleansing Cream’, it works a treat with eye make-up, and at the same time delivers a whole host of nutrients.
Karen
