For women, obtaining dark thick eyelashes has been a desire for centuries. One of history’s most famous women, Cleopatra, is well known for her striking makeup even today. Research suggests Cleopatra used black kohl to darken her eyes, brows, and lengthen her eyelashes. She accentuated her eyes with lots of different ancient products.
Today, the hottest selling mascaras promise eyelash length, thickness, curl factor. They claim to produce the fluttery eyelashes every girl longs for. They promise darkness and drama, but after the day is done we wash off our makeup and see lashes that are sometimes, unfortunately, less than admirable.
So we just aren’t satisfied with our short thin lashes, and we use every cosmetic product under the sun that promises we’ll see results. Eyelash curlers are known to be extremely damaging, often times ripping lashes out with use. The mascaras we use are harsh, and the way we take product off is even harsher. Everyday our eyelashes fall out, and we are left longing for thick luscious natural lashes, so we don’t have to spend our money on these products that don’t last.
Well we’re here to tell you that your natural lashes can be the lashes of your dreams, if you just start taking good care of them. These 5 ways to thicken your eyelashes naturally, are all super easy tips and tricks we can apply into our beauty routine daily with little to no effort!
1. Take Your Vitamins & Maintain A Healthy Diet.
What could a healthy diet possibly have to do with the growth and thickness of our eyelashes? It’s simple; nutrients promote the growth of cells. The more vitamins and nutrients we intake, the better our organs function. For instance, low iron levels can cause brittle, weak eyelashes that fall out or break often resulting in a thin lash line. Iron is found in spinach, broccoli, eggs, and lean meats. Folic acid is important in your diet because it strengthens your hair follicle, and adds that darkness we look to achieve in our lashes. Milk, whole grains, and legumes are great sources of folic acid.
As mentioned above, you can find these vitamins and minerals in healthy foods, but you also have the option to take additional supplements containing these healthy nutrients, too. It certainly doesn’t hurt! Biotin is an amazing vitamin to aid in hair growth. Biotin improves your body’s keratin infrastructure, and keratin happens to be the protein that makes up your hair, skin, and nails. Adding a Biotin supplement is proven to improve the appearance and health of your eyelashes. Vitamins C and E are also important for hair growth.
2. Use Oils.
Oils are a well known natural beauty product, providing shine and smoothness for hair and healthy skin. Olive oil is a moisturizer, antioxidant, and rich in vitamins E and K, making it a great lash serum. In fact, most oils will fit the bill here. Beauty experts have long praised the benefits of castor oil for hair growth. Castor oil is rich in proteins, vitamins, antioxidants, and fatty acids. Does it work? Let’s get technical! Castor oil stimulates the receptor of a molecule that plays a role in hair growth. The molecule stimulates hair follicles to enter the growth phase. It happens to be the most popular oil to use on your brows and lashes for lengthening results.
Coconut oil and vitamin E oil are yet two more common ingredients that are used to put on brows, lashes and hair that stimulate growth.
First we’ll need to find a good organic oil to purchase. Some oils come in a small bottle with a drop applicator, which makes application easy and mess-free. For those bottles that don’t come with an applicator, your best option is a spoolie brush. Spoolie brushes are used to comb eyebrows and eyelashes. The best time to apply the oil onto your lashes is right before bed, so you can reap the benefits while you snooze.
3. Wipe Off Makeup Gently- NEVER Rub Eyes
Number 3 is a really big deal. Chances are, you don’t notice just how many eyelashes are ripped out when you rub your eyes with mascara on. It’s a bad habit we need to break if we want stronger thicker lashes, and if we want them to last. Instead of using soap or cleanser and rubbing your eyes with your fingers, use a gentle makeup remover. Add the makeup remover to a soft cotton pad, and wipe away your makeup effortlessly and gently. Your lashes will thank you!
4. Apply Petroleum Jelly To Your Lashes
Gosh, Vaseline is just a wonder product. It promises so many beauty benefits, and delivers on its promises. So it’s no wonder that Vaseline is also an eyelash thickening go-to product. Let’s find out how. Because honestly, for $3.98 you can buy a 13oz tub of Vaseline from Amazon, so if the benefits are there why don’t you own a tub of Vaseline yet?
The moisturizing properties of petroleum jelly aid in the growth and protection of eyelashes. It can even moisturize the eye area simultaneously reducing crow’s feet. Your eyelashes get dry, just like your hair so we want to prevent that by bringing the moisture back into the hair follicles. Apply petroleum jelly to your eyelashes nightly with a spoolie brush, just like you would with the oils mentioned above. Then take that wonder product, and apply some on your face and lips because it’s just the best!
5. Forget The Eyelash Extensions
Don’t hate me. We know how amazing eyelash extensions are because yes, we’ve had them too. Eyelash extensions are an absolute dream, they’re the beauty invention of the decade. With lash extensions, you get the whole package- length, curl, definition, thickness. Many girls have stopped using makeup, and started getting lash extensions. But. And there’s one big but… once the extensions come out, and they will, the question is what will your natural lashes look like?
Unfortunately, if we keep going back and getting them redone every 3 weeks, we fail to notice just what our natural lashes end up looking like. Most people who do lashes will tell you that your natural lashes only look smaller now because you’ve gotten used to the extensions. But one quick look at an old photo will tell you that isn’t the case at all. Eyelash extensions can damage your natural lashes, and leave you with short brittle ones.
So if you’re like us and you’ve had eyelash extensions before, but are ready to grow out your natural eyelashes you need to know that it’s possible! Quit cold turkey; it’ll be tough at first but with time (and by time I mean months) if you incorporate these 5 natural ways to thicken your lashes, you’ll start seeing natural results!