My Facial Facts: Is Your Skin The Best It Can Be?

Everyone I know (and for certain, women) love the idea of having long, abundant and healthy eyelashes.

Look at the trend of eyelash extensions…at least in Los Angeles, we see it quite a bit.

Do you wish your lashes were longer?

Thicker?

I had a client just today that told me that as soon as she got into her 30’s her eyelashes went from being very long (to the point that when she applied her mascara they would touch her brows!), to having them be  sparse and stubby.

Has this happened to you?

If it has, you know that it’s shocking and you want answers and hopefully a solution.

Genetics determines the length and thickness of your lashes, along with your mother’s diet when she was pregnant with you.

Women with a diet rich in Omega-3 Fatty Acids (such as olive oil) while they are pregnant will assure that their children will be born with longer, thicker lashes.

Having our heritage be from Spain (where we consume large amounts of olive oil) we can attest that it’s held true for us!

Eyelashes are tiny little hairs that protect your eyes from dust and sweat. As does the rest of the hair on your body, eyelashes grow in cycles. This cylcle takes about 4 to 8 weeks to fully replace an eyelash. If for any reason you loose a clump of eyelashes, it would not take longer than their natural cycle for them to be replaced.

Chlorinated water, detergents and sulfates, shampoos, false lashes, lash extensions, eyelash tinting and perming can cause a loss of eyelashes.

Metabolic conditions such as hypothyroidism and pituitary insufficiency could be another more serious cause.

However, it could also simply be part of the aging process. Just as your skin cells are not replaced as quickly as you age, the same thing happens with the hair growth cycle. With age, hair can become sparse and brittle, even in the eyelashes.

However, here are some suggestions to help you keep healthy, youthful eyelashes for as long as possible:

• Avoid the overuse of mascara (excessive layering) which can weaken the lash with excess weight.
• Be sure to replace your mascara every month.
• Do not sleep with your mascara on!
• Avoid using waterproof mascaras. These are not only the toughest types of mascara to remove, but they’re also very drying to the lashes and if you’re not gentle, you could end up removing a large number of them.
• There are many mascaras that are smudgeproof. Try this as an alternative. (Derma Diva Marcy loves using Cover Girl’s Professional Super Thick Lash mascara in the red tube!)
• Avoid over-using an eyelash curler.

As you know, a healthy set of eyelashes gives a more youthful, healthy look.

I’m sure you’ve heard of the many, many products out now to help you do just that. Jan Marini was the first company to come out with a product to increase lash growth and thickness. The problem here was the price-point and the fact that a lot of people complained of it burning their eyes (especially for people with more sensitive eyes.)

Then we have Revitalash, but this one really burns and is not as effective.

Third time’s the charm, with the newcomer and Four-Star winner Lilash. Lilash has no irritation and the extra bonus is that it’s slightly more affordable. They also have a product to regrow the eyebrows which is just as effective.

What’s wonderful about the world of beauty and cosmetics is that it keeps advancing with newer technology! Soon, sparse eyelashes and eyebrows will be something of the past…hopefully in the very near future.

To your skin’s health!

The Derma Divas.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 29th, 2008 at 3:14 pm and is filed under Anti-Aging. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.