Do Eyelash Extensions Damage Your Natural Lashes?

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In addition to skin care, I also give some general beauty and makeup advice to my clients. One question I’ve been asked by more than one client is: “Do eyelash extensions damage your natural lashes?”

Eyelash extensions can damage your natural lashes if you are sensitive to the glue or have gone for a long time without a break from using the extensions. If you have damaged lashes, take a break from using extensions, and use a serum to strengthen and heal them.

Taking a break from using extensions will let your natural lashes revitalize. They’ll become healthy and stronger, at which time you can use extensions again.

As part of our eyelash care series, you can also check out earlier posts, including 7 Tips for Making Eyelash Extensions Last Longer, also How to Wash Your Face with Eyelash Extensions?, and How to Clean Your Eyelash Extensions? 6 Easy Tips.

If you have damaged lashes or are just concerned about the possibility of having your lashes damaged, read on to learn about how to strengthen your lashes and some of my favorite serums!

Also, for an excellent eyelash growth serum, take a look at our top pick, the IMAGE Skincare Beauty Brow and Lash Enhancement Serum:

Click here to see it on Amazon.

Do Eyelash Extensions Damage Your Natural Lashes?

Eyelash Sensitivity

For those of you who are consistently going to get eyelash extensions, you may develop sensitivity or an outright allergy to the cyanoacrylates that are in the glue.

Over time, you may develop a slight redness and a little bit of itchiness, then it goes away, and the next time that you put in new fills again, you have a little bit more itchiness. Eventually, it can develop where you have crustiness, in addition to itchiness, and you wake up with totally swollen eyes.

If that is the case, you may have developed a sensitivity or an outright allergy. If you develop these sensitivities, immediately remove them, and you take a break from those eyelash extensions. Then when you go back, things will be back to normal again.

If you ignore the constant itching and swelling, they can get worse. And sensitivity can develop into an outright allergy where you no longer can use the eyelash extensions.

Now, all eyelash extension glues are formulated the same. The main ingredient is the cyanoacrylates in the glue. It doesn’t matter what brand or what strength it is… if you’ve developed an allergy, please discontinue use.

See the below video for more tips and insight on eyelash extensions and how they affect your natural lashes:

How Long Should You Take a Break from Extensions?

The next question that I usually get from my clients is, “Well, if I need to take a break, then how long do I need to take a break?”  

Your hair grows in three different stages: anagen, catagen, and telogen. These are the three different growth stages of your hair. Depending on how fast your growth cycle is, that’s what determines when you can go back to get them extensions added again.

Typically, when you take a break, and your eyelashes go through those different growth stages, and you find that your lashes now are longer and fuller, then you can go back to get them done.

Use Eyelash Serum to Heal Damaged Lashes

You can speed up the time that it takes for you to go back to get eyelash extensions, and that is using eyelash growth serum or products. There are eyelash lengthening mascaras, eyeliners, and serums.

I have found out from my clients that the best result is the eyelash growth serum because you can use the serums before you put on your makeup for the day and in the evening.

With eyelash extension mascaras and eyeliner, I found that the results are not really visible for most clients.

You can go ahead and use them, but I will tell you that in my experience with my different types of clients, the eyelash growth serum is the best for lengthening and strengthening your natural eyelashes. But take note that you cannot use them while extensions are on.

Avoid Cheap, Generic Growth Serums

Also, avoid the eyelash growth serum that you find in the stores because if you look at the ingredients, they have a lot of binding agents that, as you keep applying them, bind to the eyelashes and give the appearance that the eyelash is getting thicker, but it actually isn’t.

They don’t have anything in there that actually affects the growth of the lashes, so a lot of times, you may find sugar-based binders instead.

Sodium hyaluronic is a natural bond to strengthen the lashes over time, but if that is the only thing that’s in there, then that’s pretty much not going to work.

Hyaluronic acid mixes well with Retinol but use caution with other ingredients found within as they can decrease the effectiveness if unproven. I would concentrate on the ones that have done clinical studies and have actually worked in those studies.

Latisse FDA-approved Eyelash Growth Treatment

Latisse is the first one. It is the only FDA-approved eyelash lengthener, and you do have to go to a doctor to get it (source). The first downside is the inconvenience of having to go to the doctor to get it.

The second downside is it does contain prostaglandin, which is a type of hormone that can permanently change the color of your iris (it does say on the label). So, if you have light eyes like blue eyes, green eyes, or hazel eyes, it can actually change the color permanently.

I actually had a client come in and get her eyebrows done, and she had these beautiful blue eyes, and she had this dot in her blue eyes. It was a reddish-brown color, and I asked her, “Did you ever use Latisse?” and she said, “How did you know that because everyone thought it was just a birthmark?”

It’s because if you get that in there, it permanently changes the color of your iris because of the hormones hyperpigmentation on your lash line and that does fade over time if you stop using Latisse. Those are the downsides of using Latisse.

Three Effective Eyelash Growth Serums

1. IMAGE Skincare Beauty Brow and Lash Enhancement Serum

If you don’t want to deal with any hormones, then here are some other products that I recommend. My favorite product is the IMAGE Skincare Beauty Brow and Lash Enhancement Serum.

Click here to see it on Amazon.

This one, out of all the three that I did try, gave consistent results on all different types of clients.

I’m talking about clients who had short, sparse lashes all the way to my clients that had thicker lashes, but they wanted to use it on their brows. You can use this both on your lashes and your brows.

It doesn’t have any hormones in it, so it doesn’t cause any hyperpigmentation. It uses peptides and pentapeptides that actually stimulate hair growth and increase the circulation of blood to the hair root. And it does have some clinical studies that show that it actually improves the length and the volume of natural lashes.

Basically, these clinical studies have shown that the ingredients, which are in the ageless lashes, have shown an increase in follicular activity and increased blood irrigation to the follicle. So it actually makes the follicles grow faster and stimulates blood circulation, increasing hair growth.

2. RevitaLash Advanced Eyelash Conditioner

The second one is RevitaLash Advanced Eyelash Conditioner. This is the second one out of the three that showed the best results. It has some peptides, but I did see that it had quite a few fillers, and it was more for hydration.

Click here to see it on Amazon.

My clients did see some growth results in increasing the volume of the lashes, but again the ageless one I found worked the best with all different types of clients.

3. Pronexa Hairgenics Lavish Lash Eyelash Growth Enhancer & Brow Serum

The third one is Pronexa Hairgenics Lavish Lash Eyelash Growth Enhancer & Brow Serum. Pronexa showed some growth to the lashes, not a whole lot. It actually showed a little bit more thickness than it did lengthening.

Click here to see it on Amazon.

Again, eyelash growth serums are the best for lengthening and strengthening your natural lashes, so if you still want to go back and get eyelash extensions, then once they are long enough and full enough, you can go back, and you can do the eyelash extensions.

Once again, it’s a whole cycle. Do it for a couple of months, for three or four months, and then take a break from them.

Try the different serums out there while following a healthy lifestyle. Avoid habits that are bad for the skin and your eyelashes. You may love one that you particularly find that works great for you, and then you will not have to keep searching.

See the below video on insight into whether eyelash extensions will damage your natural lashes:

Conclusion – Do Eyelash Extensions Damage Your Natural Lashes?

So, do eyelash extensions damage your natural lashes?

Eyelash extensions can certainly damage your natural lashes due to the glue used by them or having the lashes in for too long. I recommend taking a break from using extensions and use a serum to strengthen and heal them instead.

Taking a break from using extensions will let the natural lashes heal themselves. They’ll become healthy and stronger, and then you can start using the extensions again.

Related Questions

Will my eyelashes grow back after eyelash extensions? Yes, your eyelashes do grow back after using extensions. Your lashes go through a continual shedding and growth cycle. Extensions do not affect the natural growth cycle, so rest assured, your lashes will grow back.

How long does it take for eyelashes to grow back after extensions? Eyelashes last about 4 to 9 months before falling out. After one falls out, it takes about 2-3 weeks for the follicle to grow back, and then another 2 weeks for the lash to grow to its full length.

Can you wear eye makeup with eyelash extensions? There is specially formulated makeup for eyelash extensions. This makeup includes, for example, oil-free mascara, eye shadow, and eyeliner. Oil-free eye makeup remover should be used to gently remove any makeup.