The way your eyes appear is greatly effected by how your eyelashes look, and whether or not they are thick and lustrous. That’s why there is a growing trend toward women using all sorts of means to get their eyelashes to stand out. But do any of these products actually work?
Why Are Eyelashes So Important?
Eyelashes get a lot of attention, and have for quite some time. Even in old Warner Brothers and Disney cartoon, beautiful ladies can be seen batting their eyelashes to attract the attention of their beau. There’s just something about the way they look that drives men crazy. Today you can even buy phony eyelash extensions to really exaggerate the look of them, and lots of young women wear them when they go out to the clubs or for a special occasion. This just points to how effective they are at catching the eye and drawing attention to your real money makers.
With so many products competing for your attention, it can be hard to narrow down your choices to a select few. We’ve done our best to round up some of the top contenders, as well as those that are just starting to get hyped up. We full analyzed each, gauging user experiences, looking into their claims to see if they pan out. What follows is a briefing on each product, and can be used as a quick guide of what’s currently working for other women out there.
Idol Lash Recap
An 82% success rate from a clinical study is hard to ignore, and Idol Lash is one eyelash product you can’t pass up. The reviews from real world users are in line with the results found during the trial, so you have a very high chance of having a good experience with this. Of course, each person has a different situation going on with their eyelashes, but this has been found to work on a variety of cases.
When it comes to a beauty product like this, you just have to take the plunge and give it a go. Idol Lash got our Thumbs Up, and we would put it at the top of a short list of products to try for yourself.
See our full review of Idol Lash
Revitalash Recap
Revitalash is the only eyelash growth product that we’ve reviewed that gives a part of its proceeds to a good cause. That alone wouldn’t be enough to use their product, but as it turns out the majority of women that use it say it works. They say it was developed by an ophthalmologist, so it is a relatively safe product to use around your eyes, which is typically a sensitive area.
Definitely give this a try if you’ve tried other products without success. Its special formula is designed to work for those with thinning lashes, as well as boosting the look of those with ordinary lashes.
See our full review of Revitalash
LiLash Recap
Lilash is one of the only products that we took a look at that has an extended money back guarantee. You can use it for a full 90 days before you decide to keep it. While some might say it’s just a gimmick to get you to buy, we think it’s nice that they acknowledge that it might not work for you. Reports from users say that they saw results, but in varying degrees.
This is something to try as a backup to some of the other treatments we recommend. It might sound enticing since it’s backed by a guarantee, but we think it’s better to just go with something that has a higher likelihood of success than to have to send back something that didn’t work.
See our full review of LiLash
Latisse Recap
Latisse is different from the other products we’ve reviewed because it is available by prescription only. They accidentally stumbled onto this drug when they were trying to make an eyedrop. They noticed that a side effect was longer, full lashes, so it didn’t take long for them to repackage it as an eyelash growth product.
If you are fed up with all of the OTC products and want to put some pharmaceutical power behind your quest, this would be the way to go, but be sure to consult with your doctor first, as some of the side effects can actually exacerbate the situation.
See our full review of Latisse
Mavala Double-Lash Recap
Mavala Double-Lash earned our Thumbs Up because so many women agreed that it is indeed effective. It’s also priced right for most budgets, so there is some value built in to the product. One thing we liked about it is that even the women who said it didn’t make their lashes grow any longer or get any thicker still had nice things to say about the way it conditioned their lashes.
This is a good back-up in case any of our top-rated solutions don’t work out for you. At the very least you’ll have a set of nicely conditioned lashes.
See our full review of Mavala Double-Lash
Best OTC Eyelash Growth Products
If you don’t want to get a prescription from your doctor, you’re basically going to have to choose between what’s available on store shelves or online. Luckily there are plenty of options to choose from. It really comes down to what you’re looking for. Some of these treatments work overnight, while others you apply as you need them. For those you must reapply as it wears off. Some of them work instantly, but wear off quickly, while others are designed to take weeks to work, but provide more permanent results.
FDA Approval
You might be wondering which of these products are FDA approved and which aren’t. This can be a tricky conclusion to come to because most of them will use a mix of naturally-sourced ingredients. This is one way to circumvent FDA approval so that you can bring a product to market more quickly. The FDA won’t give their approval to any of those that are naturally based. This is fine, because the likelihood of them causing a problem is reduced, but not entirely eliminated, which is why you want to be cautious when applying them, and discontinue use of any product that is causing a negative reaction.
Natural Products for Eyelash Growth
Going all-natural is a great way to go, because you are avoiding the complications that can arise from putting man made chemicals near your eyes. It’s inevitable that some of this is going to make its way into your eye, so it had better be something that doesn’t cause an allergic reaction, or make your eye burn. It’s a good idea to test out the product on the back of your hand or some other area to see if you have an allergic reaction to it. Even though natural products claim to be safer, the body can still have unwanted reactions to herbs and plant extracts.
Is It Worth the Fuss?
If you have dull lashes and it’s taking its toll on the overall appearance of your face, you’ll definitely want to take action to fix the situation. This can be in the form of a consultation with your doctor to see if there are changes in your diet you can make, or if your lashes are just that way naturally. After sizing up the situation you can decide whether to go with a prescription drug, or try out one of the many remedies available without a prescription.
We recommend going with one of the non-prescription remedies, as they are generally safe to use, and have a good amount of positive feedback from women that have already used them. Peer reviews are quite useful when it comes to an eyelash growth product, so be sure to use one that has received a strong number of positive reviews.