How to Grow Your Natural Eyelashes: Tips from a Lash Industry Expert

After more than a decade in the lash industry running Lash Affair, I've worked with thousands of clients and trained countless artists—and the question I hear almost as often as "how long do extensions last?" is "how do I grow my natural lashes longer and thicker?" Whether you're recovering from damage, taking a break from extensions, or just want healthier lashes as a baseline, I want to share what actually works based on my experience and what the science supports.

Understanding the Lash Growth Cycle

Before diving into tips, it helps to understand how your lashes actually grow. Each eyelash goes through three phases: the anagen (active growth) phase lasting 30 to 45 days, the catagen (transition) phase lasting two to three weeks, and the telogen (resting) phase before the lash naturally falls out and is replaced. At any given time, your lashes are at different stages of this cycle, which is why you're constantly shedding a few lashes daily—that's completely normal.

The key takeaway is that you can't force a lash to grow beyond its genetic potential, but you absolutely can create the conditions for your lashes to reach their full natural length and thickness. Most people's lashes aren't reaching their potential because of habits, products, or nutritional gaps that are stunting or damaging growth.

Lash Serums: What Works and What to Watch For

Lash growth serums are the most direct approach to encouraging longer, thicker lashes. There are two main categories:

Prostaglandin-based serums (like bimatoprost, the active ingredient in prescription options) work by extending the anagen growth phase. They're effective, but they come with potential side effects including iris color changes in some users, darkening of the eyelid skin, and occasional irritation. These require a prescription and medical supervision.

Peptide-based serums use biotin, peptides, and botanical extracts to nourish the lash follicle and support the growth cycle. They're gentler, available over the counter, and while results are typically more subtle than prescription options, they can make a real difference over eight to twelve weeks of consistent use. I recommend peptide serums to clients who want a low-risk option for lash conditioning.

Whatever serum you choose, consistency is everything. Apply it nightly to clean lashes along the lash line. Skipping days or giving up after two weeks won't give you results—the growth cycle needs time.

Nutrition and Lash Health

Your lashes are made of keratin protein, and like your hair and nails, they respond to your overall nutritional status. I've seen noticeable differences in lash health among clients who address nutritional gaps:

Biotin (Vitamin B7) supports keratin production. While biotin deficiency is relatively rare, supplementing can help if your diet is lacking. Foods rich in biotin include eggs, almonds, sweet potatoes, and spinach.

Protein is the building block of keratin. If you're not getting enough protein in your diet, your body prioritizes vital functions over hair and lash growth. Make sure you're getting adequate protein from sources like fish, chicken, legumes, or plant-based proteins.

Omega-3 fatty acids found in salmon, walnuts, and flaxseed help reduce inflammation around hair follicles and support the lipid layer that keeps lashes hydrated and flexible.

Vitamins A, C, and E are antioxidants that protect follicles from oxidative damage and support collagen production. A balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables covers these naturally.

Daily Habits That Protect Your Lashes

Sometimes growing longer lashes isn't about adding something—it's about stopping the things that are causing breakage and premature shedding. Here are the habits I see making the biggest difference:

Remove makeup gently. Rubbing or tugging at your eyes with cotton pads is one of the most common causes of lash breakage I see. Use a gentle, oil-based micellar water or cleansing oil and press it against your closed eyes for 15 to 20 seconds to dissolve mascara before wiping gently downward. Never pull or scrub.

Stop using waterproof mascara daily. Waterproof formulas require more aggressive removal, which means more friction and more broken lashes. Save waterproof mascara for special occasions and use a regular formula for daily wear.

Ditch the eyelash curler—or use it correctly. Mechanical curlers can crimp and snap lashes if used with too much pressure or on lashes that have mascara on them. If you must curl, do it before mascara application and use a gentle squeeze rather than a hard clamp. Heated curlers are generally gentler than clamp-style ones.

Clean your lash line daily. This is something I emphasize with every client, whether they wear extensions or not. Debris, oil, and dead skin cells can clog the follicles along your lash line, which can slow growth and even cause lash loss over time. A gentle foaming lash cleanser used daily keeps follicles healthy and clear. This is one of the reasons I developed our lash cleanser at Lash Affair—I saw firsthand how much lash health improved when clients adopted daily lash hygiene.

Be careful with false lashes and lash strips. The adhesive used with strip lashes can pull out natural lashes during removal if you're not careful. If you wear strip lashes regularly, remove them with an oil-based remover and never just peel them off.

What About Castor Oil?

I get asked about castor oil constantly. The truth is there's no peer-reviewed clinical evidence that castor oil makes lashes grow longer. However, castor oil is an excellent emollient—it coats the lash shaft and helps retain moisture, which can make lashes appear thicker and reduce breakage from dryness. If you enjoy using it, there's no harm in applying a small amount to your lashes at night with a clean spoolie. Just manage expectations: it's a conditioning treatment, not a growth treatment.

Recovering Lashes After Damage

If your natural lashes have been damaged from improper extension application, allergic reactions, over-processing with perming solutions, or aggressive makeup removal, the good news is that lashes do grow back. The full replacement cycle takes about six to eight weeks for most people.

During recovery, I recommend keeping it simple: no extensions, no curlers, minimal mascara. Use a peptide-based lash serum, clean your lash line daily, and be patient. Your lashes are resilient—they just need time and a healthy environment to regenerate.

The Connection Between Extensions and Natural Lash Health

I want to address a common misconception: properly applied eyelash extensions should not damage your natural lashes. When extensions are isolated correctly, applied with the right weight ratio, and maintained on schedule, your natural lashes continue their growth cycle normally beneath the extensions.

Problems happen when extensions are too heavy for the natural lash, when multiple natural lashes are glued together, or when clients pick and pull at their extensions. This is why choosing a skilled, well-trained lash artist matters so much—and why we put so much emphasis on proper technique in our Lash Affair training programs.

Whether you're growing your lashes out or maintaining them alongside extensions, the fundamentals are the same: gentle handling, clean lash lines, good nutrition, and patience. Your natural lashes have more potential than you might think.