Eyelash loss can be devastating. It can make your eyes seem invisible, make you feel less striking, and lead to issues like dry eyes or irritation if it’s particularly severe. This leads to a pretty important question — do eyelashes grow back?
The answer is usually yes, your eyelashes will grow back in most cases, whether the cause is natural, mechanical, or related to your health. The only exception is specific immune conditions, which we’ll touch on in this post.
Throughout this guide, we’ll explain how normal lash growth works and the various factors that can affect it. Based on that, we’ll help you determine if your lashes can grow back, how long it can take, and how to speed the process along.
Table of Contents
How Eyelashes Grow Normally?
Our eyelashes are more than just an aesthetic feature. They play an important role in protecting the eyes. By trapping debris, dust, and lint, our lashes prevent irritation to the delicate cornea or the lining of the eyes.
Normally, our lashes follow a specific cycle similar to the hair growth cycle on the head. From start to finish, the lash life cycle lasts for between four and ten months, as the lashes transition from active growth to rest to shedding. As part of that cycle, losing up to five lashes per day is perfectly normal.
At any given time, chances are that you have lashes in different phases of the cycle. A lash that falls out naturally at the end of the telogen phase will be replaced by a new lash in the anagen phase soon after. That lash will start out small and thin, but over the course of a month or two, it’ll grow to normal lash size.
Stages of the Lash Growth Cycle
These are the main stages of lash growth, and how long they last according to medical sources:
|
Growth Phase |
What Happens |
Approx. Duration |
|
Anagen |
Active growth |
30–70 days |
|
Catagen |
Transition phase |
2–3 weeks |
|
Telogen |
Resting/shedding |
4–9 months |
Angen – Growth Phase
Anagen is the growth phase. It begins with forming a new lash and continues for around four to 10 weeks until it reaches its maximum length. The longer the growth phase lasts, the longer, thicker, and darker new lashes will be, while the lash line as a whole will look fuller and denser.
Catagen — Transition/Degradation Phase
Catagen is the transition or degradation phase, when the lash finally stops growing (it may even shrink a little), and the lash bulb detaches from the hair follicle. This is a short phase — it only lasts for around two or three weeks.
Telogen — Resting Phase
Finally, telogen is the resting phase, when the lash is no longer fully attached to the hair follicle. Under the lash bulb, the hair follicle begins to create a new lash. This is the longest-lasting phase. It ends when the lash sheds, and the cycle begins anew.
How Long Does It Take for Eyelashes to Grow Back?
You can typically expect your lashes to grow back within 4 to 10 weeks in mild or normal lash loss cases, but the reasons behind your lash loss depend a lot on the timeline.
In more extreme situations, it may take around 5-9 months for your lash line to fully recover, since that’s how long it will take for most of your lashes to go through a full life cycle.
If lashes fell out naturally
The fastest regrowth will come from a single lash that fell off naturally at the end of its resting phase: A new lash will grow within a few weeks. Then, it will reach its full length at the end of the anagen phase, which may take up to a few months — the longer the anagen phase, the longer the lash will grow.
This gets complicated when other factors, whether internal or external, are at play.
If lashes were pulled out or damaged by mascara/extensions
Lashes that have been mechanically pulled out through makeup removal or poor lash extension application will definitely grow back. The amount of time will depend on where the lash was in the lash cycle. If it was in the anagen phase, it could take as long as 4 months before the lash will start growing back, whereas if it was in the telogen phase, it might only be a few weeks.
If caused by a medical condition
Another complicating factor is whether your lash loss was influenced by something internal or health-related. In that case, the timeline will vary, and it might depend on your overall recovery. You must cure your nutritional deficiency, allow your hormones to settle, or address your allergic reaction before your lashes can regrow effectively. For that, you might need to see a doctor for treatment.
In cases of auto-immune conditions like alopecia areata, there might never be regrowth (although around 50% of people will recover from alopecia within a year).
Common Myths About Eyelash Growth
Myth: DIY treatments work
Fact: There’s very little evidence that common DIY treatments like castor oil or vaseline help grow lashes. While they probably won’t hurt your eyes, you’re better off seeking more evidence-backed treatments.
Myth: It’s always about nutrition/biotin
Fact: Supplements like biotin or general “hair, skin, and nail” blends are not a sure-fire way to enhance your lash growth. They’ll only help if your diet is deficient in them.
Myth: Cutting will improve growth
Fact: We’re not sure where this myth came from, but cutting your lashes won’t help them grow back longer, thicker, or faster, as it has zero impact on your lash growth cycle. The tips of your lashes will just look blunt for a while.
Myth: Lash extensions are totally safe or totally damaging
Fact: Neither is true — lash extensions can be very damaging if they’re too heavy or incorrectly applied, but light, properly applied extensions won’t impact lash growth.
Myth: Lash serum effects are permanent
Fact: Lash serums only extend the lash growth phase when used consistently, and lashes will likely return to normal when you stop.
Myth: Mascara always damages lashes
Fact: It’s primarily improper removal, especially when using waterproof mascara, that impacts the lashes.
Causes of Eyelash Loss
It’s important to clearly understand why you’re losing lashes to know if they’ll grow back and how quickly. There are hundreds of potential reasons why lash loss can occur, but they mostly fall into a few sub-categories:
Natural Lash Loss
At the end of the telogen phase, lash loss is natural and necessary — if the old lash doesn’t fall off, the new one can’t grow out. If you’re losing an average of five lashes daily, it’s normal, and there’s no cause for concern.
Makeup
Removing your mascara and other eye makeup — especially waterproof makeup — aggressively can lead to premature shedding of lashes.
Picking or Rubbing
Picking at your lashes or rubbing your eyes commonly causes a few lashes to fall out. If you find that you pick at your lashes out of stress or compulsion, you may want to speak to a professional, as conditions like trichotillomania can lead to compulsive pulling of lashes.
Improperly Applied Lash Extensions
Lash extensions, when properly applied, shouldn’t impact your lash growth cycle at all. Each extension lash should be applied to one natural lash, and they should just shed with your natural lash growth cycle. However, if one extension lash is attached to multiple natural lashes, or if you remove your eyelash extensions in a very aggressive manner, you may end up pulling out some lashes.
Health Conditions
Lash loss actually has a clinical term — madarosis. It can be a symptom of many different health concerns. Conditions such as hypothyroidism or alopecia areata can lead to significant lash loss, as can imunosuppressive treatments like chemotherapy.
Temporary eye or skin conditions like blepharitis (eyelid inflammation), styes, conjunctivitis (pink eye), Demodex mite overgrowth, or allergic reactions may also induce some lash loss.
Nutritional Deficiencies
The body’s ability to produce and retain hair, including lashes, can be seriously undermined by nutritional deficiency, especially under-consumption of protein or biotin. If your diet is lacking or you notice other symptoms, evaluate your diet and consider speaking to a doctor or registered dietitian.
How to Support Eyelash Renewal?
To support eyelash renewal, you’ll need to find ways to increase the amount of time your lashes spend in the anagen phase. This will help encourage your lashes to grow back. Here are some of the things you should consider doing:
Identify Underlying Issue
Make sure to identify the reason why you’re losing lashes and deal with it, whether that means changing your cosmetic habits or treating a health condition.
Take a Makeup Break
Take a break from waterproof mascara since its removal greatly damages the lash line. Try to wear makeup less often, and choose gentle, easy-to-remove products.
Cancel Lash Extensions
If you typically wear lash extensions, but you notice more lash loss than usual, cancel your next lash appointment. Take a break from lash extensions for at least a few weeks, and consider whether your lash stylist is following best practices when you do decide to start wearing lashes again.
You can also opt for DIY lash extensions, which are much more affordable and come off more easily, to keep lashes safe.
Use Eyelash Serum
Eyelash serums can help speed lash regrowth by extending the anagen phase and fortifying the follicles. While they’re not cure-alls, they can definitely help make your lashes look fuller, longer, and denser. The most powerful option is Latisse, which is an FDA-approved lash growth drug, but it also comes with a greater risk of side effects compared to peptide-based serums.
Improve Diet & Nutrition
Eating a balanced diet with enough calories every day is essential — without key nutrients, your body can’t produce new cells, which means your lashes won’t be able to grow. You might also want to speak to your doctor about supplements if you have a specific deficiency.
Limit Stress and Increase Sleep
Stress and lack of sleep impede the body’s normal functions, including its regenerative abilities and the release of growth hormones. For your lashes to grow back quickly, it’s important to ensure that your body is calm and well-rested.
See a Doctor
If you’re experiencing sudden or extreme lash loss that’s unrelated to the cosmetics you use, seeing a doctor is a must. The only way to treat it will be with a diagnosis and proper medical care.
Factors Affecting Eyelash Growth
While we talked about how long it may take for lashes to grow, in general, other factors impact your growth rate:
- Age: As we age, the body’s renewal processes slow down, so while lash loss shouldn’t increase, you may notice that it takes longer for new lashes to grow back.
- Hormonal changes: The lash growth cycle is partially controlled by hormones. Hormonal fluctuations can happen because of medications, pregnancy, menopause, or even periods of significant stress or lack of sleep. It’s normal to suddenly lose a lot of lashes during a “hormonal storm” and then grow everything back completely within around 6 months.
- Overall health: Our body has an easier time healing and repairing itself when it’s in good health. Any illness can impact your ability to grow lashes and other hair types.
- Cosmetics: Constant use of mascara or other habits that put stress on the lash line may impact your lash growth cycle. Constant stress might cause lash breakage or pulling, leading to lash loss that prevents recovery.
How to Prevent Future Eyelash Loss?
While you can’t prevent certain health conditions, there are many ways to keep your lashes healthy and prevent lash loss.
Good makeup removal: When wearing eye makeup, make sure to use a strong oil-based or bi-phase makeup remover. With minimal friction, your makeup remover should break down all makeup, including waterproof mascara.
- Limit friction: Limiting friction against your lash line will help prevent lash loss. That might mean being very careful when curling your lashes (our heated lash curler is a great no-friction option), learning to sleep on your back, or avoiding rubbing your eyes.
- Keep your lashes clean: From bacteria to mites, plenty of pathogens can irritate your lash line or cause infections, leading to lash loss. By rinsing your lashes regularly and washing them when you have extensions on, you can remove those harmful germs and keep your lash line healthy.
- Focus on your health: The importance of eating healthily, sleeping enough, and seeing your doctor regularly (especially if you’re seeing signs of illness) cannot be understated. There are many good reasons to care for your mental and physical health — keeping your lashes growing is just one of them.
FAQ
Can eyelashes grow back naturally?
Yes, your eyelashes can grow back naturally, especially if they fell out as a result of mechanical trauma like pulling or lash extensions. However, you have to identify why you lost lashes in the first place.
Will eyelashes grow back if pulled out from the root?
Yes, but it may take a while. It can take a few months for the lash follicle to go through the full cycle and reach a new growth phase.
How do I make my eyelashes grow back faster?
Lash serums, especially ones with prostaglandin analogs, can help lashes grow back faster.
Do eyelashes grow back faster with home remedies?
There is no evidence that lashes will grow back faster with most home remedies.
At what age do eyelashes stop growing?
Lash growth slows down gradually and progressively, usually starting around the age of 30-35 and continuing as you get older.
Bottom Line
So once again, we return to the simple question: Do eyelashes grow back? In most cases, they do within 4 to 10 weeks!
It may take longer if there are other medical conditions at play, but once the underlying cause is addressed, lash regrowth often follows naturally.
To speed the process, care for your lashes gently, take a makeup and extensions break, follow a healthy lifestyle, and consider using a lash serum — that way, you can expect your lashes to grow back to their full glory within a month or two.
Explore the world of eyelash growth with Lilac St. and learn more articles:
Why Are My Eyelashes Falling Out? 14 Causes and Conditions.
The Truth Revealed: Does Mascara Make Your Eyelashes Fall Out?
Discover Expert Tips on How to Grow Eyelashes.
Enhance Your Lashes: Is Vaseline Good for Eyelashes?
Coconut Oil for Eyelashes: Is it good? Does it help the eyelashes grow?
Unlock the Truth: Does Castor Oil Grow Eyelashes?
Does Crying Make Your Eyelashes Longer? Debunking the Myth.
