Does crying make your eyelashes longer? A viral beauty claim and an intense question that’s sparked a span of debates through social media and among beauty enthusiasts. While there are several assertions to this question, many people are curious to know if there’s any truth to this viral claim, or if it’s just another internet myth.
Without further ado, let’s dive deep into the science of tears, hair growth, and what really influences eyelash length.
- Do tears make your lashes longer?
- Why people think crying helps eyelash growth
- What helps eyelashes grow longer and healthier
- Factors that hinder natural lash growth
Do Tears Make Your Lashes Longer?
Several dermatologists and ophthalmologists have agreed that tears do not make your eyelashes longer. In fact, this popular belief is not supported by any scientific evidence or medical study. Although tears have other essential benefits for eyelashes, including eye lubrication, protection, and cleaning, they lack the biological properties needed to stimulate hair growth in the lash follicles.
Research has clearly outlined the biology of eyelash growth. Like scalp hair, eyelashes grow in three main phases:
- Anagen: This is the growth phase, which mostly lasts about 30-45 days.
- Catagen: This is also referred to as the transition phase when the follicle shrinks and detaches.
- Telogen: This is the resting phase, when the lash begins to fall out.
In essence, while crying may hydrate the eyes and clear debris, no scientific research suggests that crying can make eyelashes grow.
Why People Think Crying Helps Eyelash Growth
Even though science says otherwise, we need to understand that there are a few reasons why people feel their lashes look longer after crying. Below are some of them:
1. Natural Moisture
When you cry, your eyes are moisturized, which mostly makes your lashes look darker, shinier, and longer temporarily. Some people confuse these experiences with eyelashes growing longer.
2. Swelling
After crying, sometimes the eyelids may swell slightly, making the lashes stand out more against puffy skin.
3. Focus on the Eyes
Most people get a false impression about eyelash growth because while crying, they pay more attention to their eyes by looking at the mirror often.
What Helps Eyelashes Grow Longer and Healthier
Ever wonder how to grow thicker and longer eyelashes? Here are the science-backed methods that actually work:
1. Keep the Lash Line Clean
Make sure you gently clean your lash line every day, even when you’re not wearing makeup, to prevent buildup of oil and bacteria that can clog follicles and stunt growth.
2. Avoid Overusing Mascara and Lash Curlers
Excessive usage of product buildups like mascara or lash curlers can break lashes and prevent them from reaching full length.
3. Maintain a Balanced Diet
Eating a balanced diet plays a huge role in supporting healthy hair and lash growth from within, most especially food enriched with vitamin E, biotin, iron, and omega-3 fatty acids.
4. Use Lash Serum
Try eyelash serums containing biotin, peptides, panthenol, or prostaglandin analogs. Using this can stimulate follicles and enhance lash growth.
5. Stress Management
Stress is a simple way to lose hair and lashes. Therefore, if you want to keep your eyelashes growing, reduce your stress level.
6. Avoid Excessive Rubbing and Pulling
Constant rubbing of your eyes due to allergies, irritation, or habit can also contribute to the physical damage of hair follicles.
Factors That Hinder Natural Lash Growth
You have to know that, beyond the aforementioned, some major factors can hinder the healthy growth of your eyelashes. Here are some of them:
- Genetics: There is a high possibility for you to inherit your lash pattern from your parents, either short, thick, or long lashes.
- Age: The anagen (growth) phase of the lash cycle shortens as we grow older. In other words, as we age, the lashes grow more slowly and fall out more easily.
- Hormonal Changes: Hormonal imbalances, such as thyroid disorders, pregnancy, and menopause, among others, can also affect the hair growth cycle.
- Medications: Some medications, like chemotherapy, anticoagulants, retinoids, and others, can list hair loss as a side effect.
FAQs
1. How Long Does It Take for Eyelashes to Grow Back if They Fall Out?
Eyelashes normally grow back within 6 to 8 weeks, while it might take 2 to 3 months for them to reach their full length. However, the growth duration is sometimes determined by the cause of the loss, overall health, and other notable factors.
2. At What Age Do Eyelashes Stop Growing?
There’s no specific age when eyelashes stop growing, but the growth slows down and likely becomes shorter and thinner when the hair follicles weaken. This is likely going to happen if you’re 50 years and above.
3. Does Stress Affect Eyelashes
Stress is one of the major ways you can lose your eyelash hairs. If you over-stress yourself, you likely weaken your hair follicles.
Conclusion
Crying doesn’t affect eyelash length or growth rate. Although it functions in cleansing and protecting your eyes, it doesn’t contain growth-promoting compounds for lashes. Instead, you can maintain a healthy diet, use nourishing serums, or go for lash lifting.
However, if you want a professional eyelash extension or lash lifting in Dubai with a comfortable environment and affordable price, Nooora is just the perfect option for you to consider.