Lash enhancers are the buzz right now amongst many women… and even men. The eyes are the aesthetic center of the face. They are what we focus on when we talk and listen to others so it's no wonder why so many people spend time, money and resources on ways to beautify their eyes. Well, lash length is one of the main ways to achieve this goal.
There are literally dozens of products on the market now, available in every drug, grocery and department store. It all becomes very confusing as to what works and why. Many of our patients will turn to us, as ophthalmologists, to ask for advice because they know that we are the experts when it comes to the eye area. As they should, as we are amongst the best to advise and prescribe since we are knowledgeable about not only ocular aesthetics, but ocular safety as well.
So let's sort through the madness of lash enhancers.
First we must consider the lifecycle of a lash. Hair growth occurs in 3 main phases: anagen, which is the active growth phase, telogen, the resting phase, and catagen, the involutional phase. The average lifecycle of a lash is approximately 6 months.
There are lash conditioners that work to nurture and promote lash growth and survival through the normal life cycle. These have ingredients such as nutrients, amino acids, peptides and extracts and are heavily marketed to give the appearance of longer, thicker lashes. L'Oreal and Maybelline are amongst the top known brands that manufacture lash enhancers. Then there are the ones you can get online, like LashFood and Dermalash. These products nourish and hydrate the lashes.
There is another class of lash enhancers that contain prostaglandins, such as Peter Thomas Roth Lashes to Die For, NeuLash and the old formulations of Revitalash and Jan Marini Lash Conditioner. Still, the only prostaglandin-containing product that is FDA approved and that has gone through stringent clinical trials is Latisse. The way Latisse differs from the 'lash conditioners' mentioned above is that the prostaglandins are thought to increase the duration of anagen, the active growth phase of the lash, and increase the percentage of hairs in active growth phase. By doing so, the lashes are proven to grow 25% longer, 106% thicker and 18% darker. The results are astounding after 2-4 months of use.
So when asked about what works best for lash growth, the bottom line is: lash conditioners will promote normal growth of the lashes whereas Latisse will actually increase length, thickness and darkness in a clinically proved method.
Stay tuned for next months second segment on the myths associated with Latisse: Will it turn my blue eyes brown?