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Building a Better Eyelash

What to do -- and what not to do -- for lush, full lashes.
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WebMD Feature
Reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD

Want longer, thicker lashes? There's more to it than mascara.

To bring back the lashes you were born with, the first step is to make the most of the lashes you have.

mascara on eyelashes

Here are the bad habits to ditch, the good habits to replace them, ways to build better lashes, and why you have them in the first place.

The Life of Lashes

Besides being key in flirting, lashes have a crucial role in the health of eyes.

"Eyelashes serve a protective function: to keep foreign matter out of the eye," says New York optometrist Susan Resnick, MD. "They also act as an antennae to sense when something is close to the eye and stimulate the protective blink reflex."

A lash can last about three months before falling out and can take two months or more to completely grow back.

If you've ever marveled over a toddler's lush lashes, you may think yours have thinned out. But that's likely an optical illusion.

We are born with a set number of follicles and this doesn't change as we age. Although some lashes may fall out over time, we essentially have the same number of lashes throughout life.

"My theory is that because kids' eyes look bigger in general (because their heads are relatively smaller) we notice the lashes more," Resnick tells WebMD.

Why We Lose Lashes

Time and abuse can damage lashes, so that they fail to grow in as thick and long as they did when we were younger.

"The same reasons hair on your head falls out cause lashes to fall out," says dermatologist Jeannette Graf, MD, in Great Neck, N.Y.

That means stress and a bad diet can directly impact your lashes, she says. So can thyroid problems, eyelid inflammation (blepharitis), and chemotherapy.

You can be an eyelashes' worst enemy. Wear and tear can result from rubbing or tugging at our eyelids, sleeping in mascara (the stiffness can break lashes), and wearing water-proof mascara, which can be drying.

"Usually the process of removing mascara, especially waterproof formulas, is the problem," Graf says.

Long-wearing mascaras also tend to be more stubborn to remove and result in aggressive lash handling.

"The lash root is very delicate and lashes can easily break due to our daily habits," Graf says.

If you damage the follicle enough, it will stop producing hair, Graf says. Damage can also make the hair more fragile, thinner, and shorter when it does grow in.

Once the root is injured, you cannot restore lash growth. And the damage adds up, Graf says.

Lash Lifesavers

If you are in good health and eat a healthy diet, the best bet for better lashes is to focus on preserving the lashes you have. 

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