Dear Megan,
Why do eyelashes fall out, and do they grow back? How long do they take to grow?
– Anonymous (answer requested via Quora)
You picked the right person to ask!
Eyelashes naturally fall out as part of the hair growth cycle. Any hair on the body has to go through the different cycles: Telogen (resting), Anagen (growth), Catagen (transition). The LENGTH of the cycle is what varies so greatly: for a hair follicle on your head, the whole cycle takes about 6 years. For an eyelash or eyebrow hair, the full cycle takes about 20–24 weeks (3–4 months), with the growth phase lasting about 1–1.5 months.
Yes, they will grow back. Lashes falling out is natural, and lashes growing back is also natural. It’s all just part of the cycle.
The growth part of the cycle is typically 30–45 days long, the transition phase is typically 15–25 days long, and the resting phase is about 100 days long.
So if a lash fell out, it should take about 14 weeks to grow back.. which is a long time. Although, some sources say if a lash is pulled out, it only needs 7–8 weeks to grow back.
Essential fatty acids have been used on those with deficiencies or alopecia areata, to stimulate hair growth, so it’s thought that EFAs can stimulate dormant follicles to grow again. Grow faster? Not sure. But can it help? That I’ve seen first hand, with my lash/brow product WINK.
**This post was part of our Beauty Q&A series, where our founder Megan answers your beauty questions every Tuesday and Thursday on the blog. Submit your beauty question to [email protected]. Megan is also a top writer in the world for Eyelashes & Eyebrows via Quora. You may submit your questions there as well.
