If you feel that your eyelashes could do with a little more growth, body, and volume, you may have heard a myth that cutting them helps them to grow. But should you cut your eyelashes?
You can cut your eyelashes if you’re blessed with naturally long or thick lashes. Provided you do so carefully, trimming your lashes should not be a problem – but the keyword is ‘carefully’.
Can You Cut Your Eyelashes?
The question of ‘can you cut your eyelashes’ is really more a question of ‘should you cut your eyelashes’.
If your eyelashes are so long as to hit your brow bone or brush against the lens of your glasses, then yes, you can cut them – and probably should. Otherwise, it’s best to avoid cutting your eyelashes, as you’re only likely to impede their function.
If you do have the problem of naturally too-long lashes then firstly we have to admit we kind of envy you.
However, if you find these long lashes to be a nuisance, then yes, you can and possibly should cut them.
safety precautions before cutting:
- Brush your lashes before cutting them, so as to ensure that they aren’t tangled. This means that you won’t trim them unevenly.
- If you have a friend with a steady hand who you trust, it’s probably best to ask them to do so.
- Close your eyelids and have them trim your lashes under bright lighting.
- Be sure to use eyebrow or eyelash scissors, and not any standard set you find in your kitchen. These specialist scissors will be smaller and more precise, so they’re less likely to cause damage.
- Only aim to trim a couple of milimeters, at most.
If you wear false eyelashes, cut these before applying them to your eyelids.
Trim them to match the width of your eyes, and you can adjust their length by cutting the lashes nearer the inside corners of your eyes.
This will give you a more natural look.
Remember that your eyelashes do serve a function, and if you cut them too short, you may be in danger of impairing that function.
Eyelashes are there to protect your eyes.
They keep dirt, dust, and any other residue from the environment from getting into your eye (which can cause irritation and infection).
Your eyelashes are designed to shift any of these particles, as well as sweat, away from your eyes.
They act as a filter and are vital for the health of your eyes.
There’s nothing worse than getting something in your eye and feeling unable to get it out.
Okay, sometimes that might be an eyelash itself, but mostly it’ll be an annoying particle of debris.
Your eyelashes are there to prevent that from happening, so although you can cut them if they’re super annoying, you should really aim to avoid doing so.
Do Eyelashes Ever Need To Be Cut?
If you have lusciously long eyelashes, they might be annoying.
When you blink, they might hit your upper brow bone and be ticklish. If you’re a wearer of glasses, you may find them flicking up against your lenses, which is also likely to be annoying.
In these (very rare) cases, it’s okay to cut your eyelashes – but be sure to follow the above steps, and always take real care when doing so.
Do Eyelashes Grow Back If Cut?
As to whether eyelashes will grow back if cut, the answer is yes and no. Your eyelashes will grow back if you cut them, but they’ll do so very slowly, at their normal rate of growth.
The idea that your eyelashes will grow back thicker, more voluminous, and longer if you cut them is, unfortunately, not true.
Cutting your eyelashes won’t cause them to grow back any faster or thicker.
How Long Do Eyelashes Take To Grow Back?
Typically, your eyelashes will grow at only a fraction of a millimeter a day. For them to fully grow out, this means that it can take up to 200 days – particularly if they were aggressively tugged out.
You can usually expect your eyelashes to take around six to eight weeks to grow in. That said, the overall eyelash growth cycle can take from four to eleven months to complete.
This cycle is made up of three different stages:
The Anagen Stage
This is the active growth stage, and around 40% of your upper lashes and 15% of your lower lashes will be in their growth stage at any one time.
This can last anywhere from four to ten weeks, and your lashes will grow around 0.13mm a day.
The Catagen Stage
This is when the hair follicle shrinks and is cut off from your blood supply (your blood is what feeds your eyelash growth).
Consequently, your eyelashes stop growing. This stage lasts around two to three weeks.
If you cut your eyelashes during this time or accidentally tug them out by rubbing your eyes too aggressively, they won’t grow back until the catagen stage is over and your lashes are back in the anagen stage.
This may mean a few weeks of shorter or even no eyelashes – so it’s worth being aware of.
The Telogen Stage
This is the shedding stage. As new eyelashes develop in the hair follicle, your old eyelashes begin to shed.
Roughly half of your eyelashes will be in this stage at any one time, and it can last from three to four months.
What To Do Whilst You Wait For Your Lashes To Grow Back
If you’ve accidentally over-trimmed your eyelashes, or have suffered excess shedding of your lashes, don’t panic.
There are temporary solutions that you can deploy whilst you wait out the period of your lashes’ growth:
1. Lash extensions
Lash extensions are semi-permanent solutions. The best are made of silk, synthetic, or faux mink fibers.
They’re applied to your lashes and will give your lashes more life and fullness. They can be expensive, though, and you do need to care for them.
2. Faux lashes
Faux eyelashes don’t need to be reserved for big nights out with your friends – you can wear them on a day-to-day basis.
Some people find them irritating as they’re applied to the skin of your eyelids (unlike lash extensions). However, if you become used to them, they’re a good way to give your overly short lashes some length and body.
3. Mascara
Mascara is a make-up essential for a reason.
Go for one that’s fortified with a lash growth serum, or alternatively just look for one that is both lengthening and volumizing.
You can also use an eyelash curler before application to add some curl.
What Can I Do To Help My Lashes Grow Back?
As well as the strategies above, you can also follow any of the below steps in order to treat your eyelashes to some love and help them to grow back faster.
1. Brush them
Use a clean mascara wand and gently brush out your eyelashes. This prevents them from getting tangled and growing in weirdly, and is also just a good maintenance habit
2. Avoid rubbing your eyes
It’s a no-brainer – if you’ve been overzealous with your eyelash brush, you need to let your eyelashes be so that they grow in as healthy as possible.
One of the most fundamental steps by which to do so is by avoiding rubbing your eyes.
If you’re too aggressive, this can actually lead to even more eyelash shedding, so you’ll have stripped your already too-short lashes.
3. Nourish them with oil
Either castor oil or olive oil works well as an overnight serum for your eyelashes.
They might even help with growth.
Take care not to get the oil in your eyes, and only use a small amount, brushing it on your lashes with a clean mascara wand.
4. Eyelash growth serums
There are so many eyelash growth serums available.
Just be sure to do your research prior to purchasing, in order to ensure that you’re using a product that’s been thoroughly approved and doesn’t contain any problematic ingredients.