A lot of women are surprised to find out that their eyelashes fall out or are “shed” as with most other hair on our body. Yes, eyelashes do fall out and yes, eyelashes do grow back once they fall out.

Eyelashes can fall out for a number of different reasons: trauma to the lash line, application of makeup (such as mascara), or they may just fall out naturally on their own. Just as the hair on your head falls out naturally in a particular biological pattern, so do your eyelashes. Eyelashes aren’t there for “beauty” purposes; they actually are very significant when it comes to protecting our eyes! The main purpose for the eyelash is to prevent dust and other objects from drifting and falling into our eyes.

The growing or “anagen” phase of our eyelashes lasts any where from 30 to 45 days. While your eyelashes are growing, they do NOT fall out (unless they are plucked or forced out in some manner). The eyelash then enters what is referred to as the “catagen” phase, a time in which the eyelash is no longer growing. The last phase is the “telogen phase”, the hair’s resting phase where the hair will rest for about 100 days before then eventually falling out, thus causing the hair follicle to initiate the process all over again.

Hairs that are plucked out in any phase other than the telogen phase will be slower in growing back, but eyelashes always do and will grow back. They are a necessity to have and biologically our bodies are created in such a way to have that hair be present – ALWAYS.

If you find that you are becoming impatient waiting for your eyelashes to grow back, some women do swear by some methods to increase eyelash growth. One option is to use petroleum jelly to promote growth. Before you go to bed every night, try taking some petroleum jelly (but not too much!) and rubbing it between your finger tips. Then, with those fingertips, apply the petroleum jelly to your lashes, moving from root to tip. Sleep with the petroleum jelly on all night, and then rinse it off when you wake up in the morning.

There are also eyelash growth products on the market these days that promise to increase and encourage eyelash growth by stimulating the hairs. Before buying these products, it’s important to be realistic about your eyelashes and just what they can do. As with the hair on our heads, not everyone is born with the same amount of eyelash hair follicles (some people are born with none!) and not all eyelash hairs are the same thickness from one person to the next. If you know that you naturally have thin, sparse lashes then these products will not really do a whole lot for you other than try to stimulate the growth of your already sparse lashes.

So do eyelashes grow back? Yes, though depending on the person it may be at a different rate and, depending on the treatment your eyelashes receive, they may fall out faster or slower than the person standing next to you. The important thing to remember is that, no matter dissatisfied you may be with your eyelashes, there are always ways to enhance your eyelashes and make them even longer and more beautiful.