How Long Does It Take For Eyelashes To Grow Back ... - Healthline

Healthline
  • Health Conditions

    Health Conditions

    All
    • Breast Cancer
    • Cancer Care
    • Caregiving for Alzheimer's Disease
    • Chronic Kidney Disease
    • Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
    • Digestive Health
    • Eye Health
    • Heart Health
    • Menopause
    • Mental Health
    • Migraine
    • Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
    • Parkinson’s Disease
    • Psoriasis
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)
    • Sleep Health
    • Type 2 Diabetes
    • Weight Management

    Condition Spotlight

    All
    • Controlling Ulcerative Colitis
    • Navigating Life with Bipolar Disorder
    • Mastering Geographic Atrophy
    • Managing Type 2 Diabetes
  • Wellness

    Wellness Topics

    All
    • CBD
    • Fitness
    • Healthy Aging
    • Hearing
    • Mental Well-Being
    • Nutrition
    • Parenthood
    • Recipes
    • Sexual Health
    • Skin Care
    • Sleep Health
    • Vitamins and Supplements
    • Women's Wellness

    Product Reviews

    All
    • At-Home Testing
    • Men's Health
    • Mental Health
    • Nutrition
    • Sleep
    • Vitamins and Supplements
    • Women's Health

    Featured Programs

    All
    • Your Guide to Glucose Health
    • Inflammation and Aging
    • Cold & Flu Season Survival Guide
    • She’s Good for Real
  • Tools

    Featured

    • Video Series
    • Pill Identifier
    • FindCare
    • Drugs A-Z
    • Medicare Plans by State

    Lessons

    All
    • Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis Essentials
    • Diabetes Nutrition
    • High Cholesterol
    • Taming Inflammation in Psoriasis
    • Taming Inflammation in Psoriatic Arthritis

    Newsletters

    All
    • Anxiety and Depression
    • Digestive Health
    • Heart Health
    • Migraine
    • Nutrition Edition
    • Type 2 Diabetes
    • Wellness Wire

    Lifestyle Quizzes

    • Find a Diet
    • Find Healthy Snacks
    • Weight Management
    • How Well Do You Sleep?
    • Are You a Workaholic?
  • Featured

    Health News

    All
    • Medicare 2026 Changes
    • Can 6-6-6 Walking Workout Help You Lose Weight?
    • This Couple Lost 118 Pounds Together Without Medication
    • 5 Science-Backed Ways to Live a Longer Life
    • Morning Coffee May Help You Live Longer

    This Just In

    • 5 Tips for a Healthy Lifestyle
    • How to Disinfect Your House After the Flu
    • Best Vegan and Plant-Based Meal Delivery for 2025
    • Does Medicare Cover Pneumonia Shots?
    • Chromosomes, Genetics, and Your Health

    Top Reads

    • Best Multivitamins for Women
    • Best Multivitamins for Men
    • Best Online Therapy Services
    • Online Therapy That Takes Insurance
    • Buy Ozempic Online
    • Mounjaro Overview

    Video Series

    • Youth in Focus
    • Healthy Harvest
    • Through an Artist's Eye
    • Future of Health
  • Connect

    Find Your Bezzy Community

    Bezzy communities provide meaningful connections with others living with chronic conditions. Join Bezzy on the web or mobile app.

    All
    • Breast Cancer
    • Multiple Sclerosis
    • Depression
    • Migraine
    • Type 2 Diabetes
    • Psoriasis

    Follow us on social media

    Can't get enough? Connect with us for all things health.

Subscribe

Sexual Health

  • Birth control
  • STIs
  • HIV
  • HSV
  • Activity
  • Relationships
Explore more in
  • Treatment
  • Types
  • Management
  • Home Remedies
  • Surgery
  • Causes & Risk Factors
  • Related Conditions
  • Prevention
  • Diagnosis
  • Diet
  • Symptoms
Hair Loss

Related Topics

  • Treatment

    Treatment

    Related Articles

    • Alopecia Barbae
    • Treatments for Women
    • Bald Spots
    • Protein Treatments
    • Receding Hairline
    • Scalp Microneedling
    • Derma Roller
    • DHT-Blocking Shampoo
    • Rogaine
    • Treatment
    • Scalp Micropigmentation
    • Laser Treatment
    • Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM)
    • Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Injections
    • Silica
    • Postpartum
    • Treatments for Men
  • Types

    Types

    Related Articles

    • Alopecia Universalis
    • Alopecia Areata
    • Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia (FFA)
    • In Women
    • Male Pattern Baldness
    • Telogen Effluvium
    • Traction Alopecia
    • Balding
    • Alopecia Totalis
    • On Temples
    • Pubic Hair
  • Management

    Management

    Related Articles

    • Make Facial Hair Grow
    • Tips for Men
    • Hair Growth Products
    • Biotin
    • Tips for Faster Hair Growth
    • Natural Shampoos
    • Tips to Stop Hair Thinning
    • Men's Hair Loss Products
    • Hair Thickening Strategies for Men
    • Management
    • Uneven Hairline
  • Home Remedies

    Home Remedies

    Related Articles

    • Garlic
    • Saw Palmetto
    • Scalp Massage
    • Biotin
    • Natural Treatments
    • Herbal Remedies
    • Home Remedies
    • Argan Oil
    • Castor Oil
    • Essential Oils
    • Green Tea
    • Rosemary Oil
    • Inversion Method
  • Surgery

    Surgery

    Related Articles

    • FUE Hair Transplant
    • Surgery
    • Hair Transplant Cost
    • Stem Cell Hair Transplant
    • Direct Hair Implantation (DHI)
    • Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT)
    • NeoGraft Hair Transplant
  • Causes & Risk Factors

    Causes & Risk Factors

    Related Articles

    • Post-Surgery
    • Alcohol
    • Testosterone
    • Accutane
    • Genetics
    • Shampoo
    • Routine Hair Shedding
    • In Children
    • Eyebrow Loss
    • Receding Hairline
    • Birth Control
    • Low Ferritin Levels
    • Creatine
    • Diabetes
    • Gabapentin
    • In Teens
    • Medications
    • Dihydrotestosterone (DHT)
    • Male Baldness
    • Hair Stopped Growing
    • Causes & Risk Factors
    • Losing Leg Hair
  • Related Conditions

    Related Conditions

    Related Articles

    • Chemotherapy
    • Weight Loss
    • Thyroid Conditions
    • Iron Deficiency
    • Lupus
    • Methotrexate
    • Seborrheic Dermatitis
    • Pregnancy
  • Prevention

    Prevention

    Related Articles

    • Dandruff
    • Prevention
    • Hair Follicle Miniaturization
    • Hair Loss During Menopause
  • Diagnosis

    Diagnosis

    Related Articles

    • Norwood Scale
  • Diet

    Diet

    Related Articles

    • DHT-Blocking Foods
    • Cinnamon
    • Diet
    • Keto Diet
    • Foods for Hair Growth
  • Symptoms

    Symptoms

    Related Articles

    • Symptoms
    • Weight Gain and Fatigue
    • Itchy Scalp
How Fast Do Eyelashes Grow?Medically reviewed by Cynthia Cobb, DNP, APRN, WHNP-BC, FAANPWritten by Jennifer Larson Updated on July 22, 2024
  • Eyelash growth
  • After being pulled
  • After extensions
  • After chemotherapy
  • Regrowth factors
  • Causes
  • Eyelash regrowth
  • Takeaway

Eyelashes typically grow back in 6 weeks if there’s no damage to the follicle. You can try vitamin supplements or lash serums to help speed up growth.

You probably don’t pay too much attention when an eyelash falls out. What’s a missing eyelash or two when you lose several every day?

But if you start noticing lots of eyelashes falling out, that could signal an underlying problem.

Eyelashes do grow back except in rare cases — but some factors can slow down the process. Read on to learn more about the life cycle of an eyelash.

How long does it take for eyelashes to grow?

The life span of an eyelash can vary from 4 months to 11 months. There are three phases:

  • Growth phase: Also known as the anagen phase, this phase may last between 4 and 10 weeks. A typical eyelash grows between 0.12 and 0.14 millimeters per day.
  • Degradation phase: Also known as the catagen phase, this phase occurs when your eyelash stops growing. The hair follicle begins to shrink.
  • Telogen phase: Also known as the resting phase, this is the final phase during which the eyelash falls out.

How long does it take for eyelashes to grow after being pulled out?

It typically takes about 6 weeks for an eyelash to grow back if cut or burned as long as there’s no damage to the follicle or eyelid.

It can be a different story if you pull an eyelash out. If an eyelash is removed this way, it can take longer to grow back, and pulling an eyelash out of your eyelid can slow down the replacement process.

Unless you happen to have perfect timing and manage to pull an eyelash out near the end of the telogen phase, you’ll be interrupting the typical life cycle of that eyelash.

How long does it take for eyelashes to grow back after extensions?

Eyelash extensions, which can be made of silk, mink, or synthetic fibers, can give you a glamorous look — until you have to remove them or they come off. In some instances, eyelash extensions, or the glue used to attach them to your eyelids, can injure your eyelash follicle and cause temporary or even permanent damage.

But if there’s no permanent damage, any lashes that fall out when you remove the extensions should grow back in around 6 weeks.

A caveat: If you’re a big fan of eyelash extensions, you may want to occasionally take a break to give your natural eyelashes a break.

How long does it take for hair to grow back after chemo?

Not all chemotherapy drugs will make you lose your hair, eyelashes, or eyebrows. But some do. And if you’re undergoing chemotherapy treatment with one that does affect hair growth, you can probably expect to start losing your hair within 2 to 4 weeks of beginning treatment.

Once you finish chemo, your hair will likely begin to regrow within several weeks.

What affects the regrowth of hair?

Many people are eager to regrow hair that has fallen out, but numerous factors can affect the process.

  • Medication: If you’ve lost hair or your hair has gotten thinner due to a particular medication, you might not regrow the hair until you stop taking the drug. For example, some medications used to treat thyroid disease, like carbimazole and propylthiouracil, cause hair loss. If your hair loss is caused by chemotherapy medication, you’ll need to wait until you’re done with it.
  • Damage to the hair follicle: If your eyelash follicles have been damaged, it may be harder for you to regrow those lashes.
  • Recovery: Physical trauma or various medical conditions can slow hair regrowth.

Other factors that may affect the hair regrowth process include nutritional deficiencies and hormone imbalances. Both of these will need to be addressed first.

Causes of eyelash hair loss

Madarosis is a condition that causes your eyelashes, eyebrow hairs, or both to fall out. There are many possible causes for madarosis to occur, including:

  • Genetics: If your parents or grandparents have thinning eyebrows, you might, too.
  • Alopecia: People with alopecia areata lose hair in patches because their immune system attacks their hair follicles. This condition can also include eyelashes and eyebrows.
  • Blepharitis: Eyelid inflammation can make you rub your eyes frequently, causing lashes to be dislodged.
  • Cancer treatment: Certain kinds of chemotherapy cause temporary hair loss, including the loss of eyelashes and eyebrows.
  • Telogen effluvium: Stress triggers your hair follicles to enter the telogen, or resting, phase earlier than usual, which can make your hair thin or fall out. It’s usually temporary.
  • Trichotillomania: This mental health condition occurs when you feel an intense urge to pull your hair out.
  • Thyroid conditions: When your thyroid hormone levels are too high or low, they can interfere with various processes in the body, including hair growth.
  • Physical injury: Trauma like a burn can cause your eyelashes or eyebrow hairs to fall out.
  • Lupus: This autoimmune disease tends to cause inflammation in your skin and can sometimes make your hair, including your eyelashes and eyebrows, thinner and fall out.
  • Medications: Some medications, including certain anticonvulsants, anticoagulants, and botulinum toxin injections, can cause eyelash loss.

Can I regrow eyelashes faster?

You may be wondering if you can speed up the regrowth process. Some strategies that people have tried include:

Supplementing with vitamins

You could try a vitamin in the family of B vitamins known as biotin to promote hair growth. Also known as vitamin H, biotin helps convert nutrients into energy and helps your skin, hair, and nails grow. But there’s only limited evidence to suggest that it’s effective for regrowing hair.

Eating a healthy diet

Consider adding eggs to your diet since they’re high in both protein and biotin, which are thought to help with hair growth. You might also consider boosting your iron intake by eating iron-rich foods like spinach. Iron deficiency is linked to hair loss.

Other foods that might promote hair growth include:

  • fatty fish
  • sweet potatoes
  • nuts

Applying castor oil

Do a quick online search and you’ll stumble across many claims that castor oils will regrow your eyelashes. But more scientific research is needed to determine whether castor oil can actually promote eyelash growth.

Past studies conducted on rabbits found castor oil treatments promoted hair regrowth.

Using eyelash growth serum

The premise: You paint a thin strip of serum along your upper lash line, and a few weeks later, you’re rewarded with thicker, longer lashes.

There’s evidence that certain preparations, such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved prescription drug Latisse, may be effective.

However, it can cause side effects like irritation and even darkening the color of your iris. Other over-the-counter serums are available, but their ingredients are different and may not yield the same results.

The takeaway

Be as gentle with eyelashes as possible so you don’t accidentally cause any damage or additional loss. And if you start to notice that you’re losing a lot of eyelashes, talk with a doctor. There could be an underlying medical reason that needs to be addressed.

 

How we reviewed this article:

SourcesHistoryHealthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. We only use quality, credible sources to ensure content accuracy and integrity. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.
  • Baiyasi M, et al. (2024). Eyelash serums: A comprehensive review..https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jocd.16278#:~:text=1.1%20The%20eyelash%20cycle&text=Eyelash%20growth%20occurs%20during%20the,to%200.14%20mm%20per%20day.
  • Gokce C, et al. (2022). An overview of the genetic aspects of hair loss and its connection with nutrition.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9710406/
  • Hazanchuk V. (2019). What you should know about eyelash growth serums.https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/latisse
  • Kesika P, et al. (2023). Role and mechanisms of phytochemicals in hair growth and health.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8247/16/2/206
  • Mukamal R. (2018). Eyelash extension facts and safety.https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/eyelash-extension-facts-safety
  • Mukamal R. (2019). Why are my eyelashes falling out?https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/why-are-my-eyelashes-falling-out

Share this article

Medically reviewed by Cynthia Cobb, DNP, APRN, WHNP-BC, FAANPWritten by Jennifer Larson Updated on July 22, 2024

Read this next

  • Starting Chemo? What to Expect from Someone Who’s Been There

    Chemotherapy can be a tough journey with ups and downs. Read our tips on what to expect and how to handle them.

    READ MORE
  • Hair Regrowth After Chemo: What to ExpectMedically reviewed by Christina Chun, MPH

    Hair regrowth after chemo isn't always as fast as you expect, or even the same color as you expect.

    READ MORE
  • Common Hair Loss Drug Linked to Suicide Risk, Other Mental Health Harms

    A new report raises concern over the increased risk of depression and suicide in men who take finasteride, a common medication used to treat hair loss.

    READ MORE
  • Sugary Drinks Increase Hair Loss Risk, but These Nutrients Can Help

    A new research review indicates that alcoholic and sugary beverages can increase the risk of hair loss. However, the researchers note that vitamin D…

    READ MORE
  • Do Hair Loss Treatments for Women Actually Work? What Experts Think

    Women may experience hair loss for many reasons, including genetics, stress, and aging. From hair growth supplements to prescription medications, we…

    READ MORE
  • Why Ozempic, Wegovy May Cause Hair Loss, Plus Tips to Help Treat It

    Some anecdotal reports claim that GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic or Wegovy may cause hair loss. GLP-1-related hair loss is typically temporary, and some…

    READ MORE
  • FDA Issues Warning on Hair-Loss Product Finasteride, Citing Side Effects

    The FDA issued a warning about adverse effects related to a popular hair loss product available through telehealth platforms like Hims & Hers and Ro…

    READ MORE
  • Can a Dermatologist Cure Hair Loss?

    It’s important to understand that while dermatologists can help slow or even reverse hair loss, results vary from person to person. There isn't a…

    READ MORE
  • Will Perming Cause Hair Loss?Medically reviewed by Cynthia Cobb, DNP, APRN, WHNP-BC, FAANP

    Perming can make hair more susceptible to dryness, chemical damage, and breakage. While not true hair loss, breakage can make hair look fragile and…

    READ MORE

Tag » How Long For Eyelashes To Grow Back