5 ways to grow your lashes without using harsh chemicals according to an Ophthalmologist
Imagine your ideal lashes: long, luscious and…not lost!
The eyes are one of our most attractive features and our eyelashes are the feature that enhance our eyes the most.
As an ophthalmologist, which is doctor specializing in eye and vision care, women often tell me how important their eyelashes are to them. When their lashes don’t look long and healthy, it leaves them feeling like they’re naked!
I’ve noticed that not giving enough care to the delicate eyelid skin, busy lifestyles and intense beauty practices can often lead to irritated lash follicles and lash loss!
But with the help of your new favorite ophthalmologist (aka me!) you won’t deal with any of those issues. Here are my tips on how to grow your lashes, the natural way:
- Give your lashes some cleansing therapy:
We often overlook the importance of cleaning our eyelashes. But such a simple step can have a huge impact on our lash beauty and health. Let me explain why. Sitting behind our eyelashes are tiny, microscopic oil glands. These oil glands help lubricate the surface of our eyes, but they also get clogged very easily. When they get clogged, the oils oxidize (think of an apple turning brown) and this attracts inflammation to the lash follicle. When the lash follicle is chronically inflamed this affects our eyelashes in a few ways: 1. They fall out 2. They grow in uneven directions or 3. They grow at a slower rate
That’s why a simple step like cleansing and keeping the lash line oil glands and lash follicles open is such an important one!
- Don’t overlook minor eye irritations:
It’s easy to brush minor eye irritations like burning and itching aside, but these minor irritations like allergies and dry eyes can create inflammation at the eyelid margin. The eyelid margin is a small 2mm zone where some very important structures sit. The eyelashes, lash follicle and lash line oil glands or meibomian glands all sit in this small space. Allergies, dry eyes and blepharitis can all cause inflammation in this area which in turn affects our eyelash growth rate.
- Avoid waterproof eye makeup
Waterproof eye makeup can be difficult to remove. While trying to remove waterproof eye makeup, rubbing too harshly along the lashes can damage the eyelash follicle, slowing down the growth rate. Also, since this type of makeup is more difficult to remove, it's not uncommon to accidentally leave some makeup residue behind on the eyelashes. Sleeping with eye makeup on can also clog the lash line oil glands, resulting in inflammation of the eyelash roots. If you’ve been following along so far, you know why this isn’t great for our lash healthy and beauty!
- Wear contact lenses mindfully
With a busy lifestyle, it’s easy to forget you’ve had your contacts on for 12+ hours. Because of the way contact lenses sit on your eye, they cause mechanical irritation of the meibomian glands. This leads to inflammation and even loss of these precious oil glands. The fancy phrase to describe this is: meibomian gland dysfunction (and contact lenses are just one of the many causes). Meibomian gland dysfunction also causes our lashes to: 1. Fall out 2. Grow in uneven directions or 3. Grow at a slower rate
- Nourish your lashes with conditioning serum
Professionally, I’ve seen lash growth serums cause irritation to the delicate eyelids and lash line oil glands, so I’m all for using a lash conditioning serum instead. It’s important to both strengthen and moisturize the delicate eyelashes. The serum that I’ve developed is rich in Vitamin E, essential fatty acids, and hyaluronic acid. It also contains our patented complex that has been shown to help reduce inflammation. Our Lids, Love and Lashes serum have helped my own eyelashes to become both healthier and longer.
If you found this useful and you know someone who wants healthier and longer eyelashes (because who wouldn’t?), visit us at www.youandeyecosmetics.com
