Does Crying Grow Your Eyelashes?

Wild beauty rumors have been around for centuries. The more science we apply to debunk these myths, the more we learn about the real secrets of youth and beauty.

There are a few far-fetched myths about the techniques you can explore to grow your eyelashes. Some say Vaseline makes your lashes grow. There’s even a rumor circulating that cutting your eyelashes will make them grow back longer and fuller.

These tall tales beg the question: does crying make your lashes grow longer? Much like the other exaggerated claims, the answer is no.

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Behind the Rumor that Crying Makes Eyelashes Longer

It’s hard to tell where this flight of fancy came from. It can be assumed that people noticed that crying made their eyelashes appear thicker and longer.

Our lashes become moisturized and cleaned when we cry, causing them to bond and become darker. The dirt removed from the eyelashes makes them easier to see.

This is because of the wetness and cleanliness of the eyelashes, not because something miraculous is happening.

Our faces tend to become more flushed when crying, creating a new contrast between our eyes, eyelashes, and face. This effect even further solidifies the illusion of fuller lashes.

What Are the Real Benefits of Crying?

Crying has plenty of health benefits, but longer eyelashes aren’t one of them. We are biologically hardwired to cry to remove debris from the eyes and keep them lubricated.

Anatomical

Our eyelashes exist primarily to keep dust and dirt out of our eyes. So, biologically speaking, crying is a reflex for when our eyelashes fail. When foreign entities provoke our eyes, they start tearing up, effectively flushing out the irritants.

Tears have three layers: outer, middle, and inner. The outer layer is oily, which keeps tears from drying up. The middle layer is watery, which is responsible for hydrating the eye. Finally, the outer layer is made of mucus, optimally capturing debris.

If our eyes were consistently dry, this would be very uncomfortable. Not to mention, it makes your eyes susceptible to infections. A domino effect could then occur, causing lesions on the eye’s surface, which could lead to some vision loss if left untreated.

Emotional

Crying has been researched for its ability to unleash “feel-good” hormones in our bodies, like oxytocin. This has been rationalized as crying being a self-soothing mechanism thought to make us feel better ultimately. Crying is also known to facilitate emotional processing through grief or pain.

What Crying Does to Eyelashes

Crying naturally cleans the eyelashes. Anything caught in the eyelashes is adequately flushed away and drained to our cheeks with tears. Crying is healthy for eyelashes in small spurts, but too many tears could promote the loss of eyelashes.

Excessive crying leads us to perform a few other mannerisms, like rubbing our eyes. Rubbing or pulling at the eyelashes causes them to fall out. It can take around six weeks for eyelashes to grow back, leaving you without fuller lashes for at least a month.

Crying too often could remove the natural oils within eyelashes that capture dirt before it reaches your eye. Without these natural oils, eyelashes become brittle and can break easily.

In the case of eyelash extensions, the salt and oil content from too many tears can damage them, causing them to corrode and diminish.

So, What Helps Lashes Grow?

Eyelash length is determined naturally by a few factors. Your genetics, nutrients, and health conditions have a lot to do with the growth of your eyelashes.

There are a few proven methods that aid the growth of your eyelashes. Likewise, there are many beauty hacks with obvious eyelash benefits.

• Gently wash away makeup: Be more kind to your eyes and remove makeup at the end of the day. The buildup of mascara can invite dust and other irritants to get caught in the eyelashes. Over time, this can make them fall out and may cause eye infections. Remember that vigorous eye rubbing can also make eyelashes fall out. Therefore, you should gently clean your eyes with cleansers that efficiently rid the eyes of makeup and hydrate them simultaneously.

• Medication: Latisse is a medication that makes eyelashes grow fuller and longer. It’s the only beneficial eyelash medication approved by the FDA. Apply this solution with a brush to the line of the upper eyelid daily. If you routinely apply this serum to your eyelashes, you should begin to see noticeable growth in a matter of months.
• Natural oils: Admittedly, there aren’t many studies proving the efficacy of aloe vera, castor oil, green tea, vitamin E, or olive oil for eyelash growth. However, if you suffer from an ailment that naturally makes your eyelashes brittle, the proven moisturizing qualities of these oils may help prevent breakage.
• Brushing your eyelashes: Simply brushing them is another technique that helps hinder eyelash breakage over time. Using a spoolie to brush your eyelashes from root to tip helps distribute natural oils throughout each of your lashes. This also helps detangle your lashes and helps them grow straight.

Final Thoughts

Without any allergies to mascara or the existence of an underlying medical condition, you have 165 to 240 eyelashes between your upper and lower eyelids. We lose eyelashes naturally every day, but when you’re not among the genetically blessed individuals, this can make all the difference.

Well, cry all you want, but it won’t make your eyelashes longer. Contrarily, crying could break and diminish your eyelashes over time. Instead of bringing out the onions and tissues, consider better, more proven ways to increase the growth and allure of your eyelashes.

Furthermore, you can opt for extensions, falsies, or mascaras that are marketed to make your eyelashes look longer and thicker. While these won’t be beneficial to the natural improvement of your lashes, they will certainly give the appearance that your eyelashes are fuller, darker, and naturally longer.