Lash shedding is part of the natural cycle of hair loss, re-growth, and regeneration. While it’s nothing to worry about, it can be quite annoying when you’re trying to keep your lavish lashes looking like a million bucks! Here’s all you need to know about the hair growth cycle and how this affects your look.
The Four Stages of the Hair Shedding Cycle
Anlagen (Growing Phase) The growing phase lasts 2-7 years and determines the length of our hair.
Catagen (Transition Phase) This is the transitional stage that lasts about 10 days. The hair follicle shrinks and detaches from the dermal papilla.
Telogen (Resting Phase) This is the resting phase which lasts around three months. Around 10-15 percent of hairs are in this phase. While the old hair is resting, a new hair begins the growth phase.
Exogen (New Hair Phase) This is part of the resting phase where the old hair sheds and a new hair continues to grow. Approximately 50 to 150 hairs can fall out daily, this is considered to be normal hair shedding.
Keep in mind that if hairs enter the resting phase too early, excess shedding and noticeable thinning can occur.
On average, every person loses one to five lashes per day, and each week you lose about 20% of your entire set of eyelashes. All the fallen lashes are immediately replaced by new “baby lashes” that have already started growing in their place, even before they were finally pushed out.
The growth cycle of one individual eyelash lasts anywhere between 60 to 90 days, depending on the person. On top of that, lash shedding, just like all hair shedding, is seasonal. Generally, we lose most hair in the fall, and this is referred to as “seasonal molting”, or “the shedding season”.
Though shedding is a natural process, unhealthy lashes can lead to an accelerated rate of hair loss. Here are a few tips to help with unhealthy eyelashes.
Be gentle when removing eye makeup. The skin around your eyes is extremely delicate, so you must be very careful not to rub that area too aggressively. Also, be sure not to sleep with mascara or other eye makeup, as they can make you lashes stiffen and fall off.
Throw away your old mascaras. Mascara typically has a shelf life of three to four months. After that, there's a high risk of contamination. For this reason, you should not share it with others.
Stay on a healthy diet. Just like the rest of your body, your eyelashes will benefit from a healthy eating diet. Beauty experts recommend eating foods rich in Omega-3 fatty acids to stimulate lash growth.
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