12 Surprising Facts About Eyelashes

Perhaps you are an avid visitor to the beauty salon to have your eyelashes extended or maybe you prefer to leave them au naturel. Here are 12 facts about eyelashes that may surprise you!

How Many Eyelashes Does The Average Person Have

12 Surprising Facts About Eyelashes

1. Where Do Human Hair Eyelashes Come From?

Human hair eyelashes are made from 100% virgin human hair. They are a very fine fiber which means they produce an ultra-look once applied. The hair is cut to size, so each lash strand has a blunt finish rather than tapering to a point.

With their thin or clear lash band, human hair lashes create a seamless, natural look. They are in demand as they can closely mimic the look of your own lash.

These lashes are comfortable to wear and can last longer than synthetic eyelashes.

2. How Many Eyelashes Does The Average Person Have?

The average person has around 90-150 lashes on their upper lid and about 70-80 lashes on their lower lash line.

However, there will always be exceptions to this very general rule of thumb.

Some people can have as few as 50 lashes, while others can have 200 or more lashes.

A person tends to have around 50% fewer lashes on the bottom lash line compared to the top lid.

3. How Many Eyelashes Do We Lose A Day?

It is perfectly normal and healthy to lose a certain number of eyelashes every day. On average, a person tends to lose around 1 to 5 eyelashes per day.

Just like the hair on our heads, our eyelashes go through a growth cycle, which can be broken into stages: Anagen, Catagen, Telogen, Early Anagen.

It is in the Telogen phase of the growth cycle that eyelashes fall out. They replenish themselves, approximately, every 150 days.  

Eyelashes grow until they reach their optimum length, fall out then re-grow.

4. How Many Eyelashes Shed Over A Lifetime?

The number of lashes a person sheds over a lifetime really depends on how long they live.

Depending on the individual lash growth cycle, a person may shed around 1 to 5 lashes per day. This can work out as up to 35 lashes lost per week.

Furthermore, as we grow older, our lashes can become shorter and even get thinner with age.

5. How Many Eyelashes Are On Each Eye?

How Many Eyelashes Are On Each Eye

There are between 90 and 150 natural lashes on each eye. The number of lashes depends on several factors including genetics, health, nutrition, and personal care.

A younger person, for example, someone in their early 20s, will naturally have longer more luscious lashes than a more mature person.

The regenerative properties of their body work faster, meaning their lashes can grow and replace themselves at a faster rate than that of an older person.

Also, as we age, eyelashes lose their ability to retain moisture as effectively, which can result in damage to the follicle.

This can impact the number of lashes they have.

6. Can Eyelashes Change Color?

Eyelashes can change color turning white as a result of aging. As we age, our hair loses melanin, leading to a few gray or white lashes.

A study which took place in 2018 shows that about 50% of the world’s population experience about half of their hair turning gray or white by the time they are 50 years old.

But the color change in eyelashes tends to occur later in life.

As we age, changes in hormone levels can also lead to eyelashes turning darker.

This is usually in keeping with changes in the hair color. They tend not to vary by more than a few shades.

7. Can Eyelashes Be Blonde?

Yes, eyelashes can be blonde. But this is quite rare. Only about 2% of the world’s population has naturally blonde hair, making blonde hair quite rare. Blonde eyelashes occur even less frequently.

There is no explicit link between the color of the hair on your head and the color of your eyelash hair.

Those with darker hair are more likely to have darker lashes, and those with lighter hair tend to have lighter lashes.

But the color of hair throughout the body doesn’t always match.

It is possible to have blonde hair and dark eyelashes, but more unusual to find blonde eyelashes on a person with dark hair.

8. Are Babies Born With Eyelashes?

Lots of babies are born with eyelashes. These can be long and visible. Other babies have eyelashes that are short and fine, but very much there.

A baby’s eyelashes can become visible from around week 20 in the pregnancy.

Sometimes babies can be born without eyelashes. This can be due to a hormone imbalance in the mother which can cause a delay in the growth of eyelashes.

For other babies, the follicle might be there, but the lashes just haven’t begun to grow yet

9. How Many Layers Of Eyelashes Do Humans Have?

How Many Layers Of Eyelashes Do Humans Have

Eyelashes grow on one layer on the edge of the eyelids.

However, there is a rare condition known as distichiasis whereby a person can have two layers or rows of lashes.

10. Are Two Rows Of Eyelashes Rare?

Yes, this occurrence is quite rare. It is known as distichiasis or double eyelashes.

This condition is characterized by the person having two rows of eyelashes. The second row might be sparse and only include a single lash or a few hairs.

It can also be a complete set. Compared to normal lashes, this extra row of lashes tends to appear thinner, shorter, and lighter.

11. Are Long Eyelashes Rare?

Yes, having long eyelashes is rare. Trichomegaly is the name given to eyelashes that are longer than 8mm in the peripheral section and 12mm in the central section.

This can occur as a result of a congenital disorder or syndrome (such as Cornelia de Lange syndrome).

It can also be a result of genetics, whereby the inheritance of unusually long lashes is a family trait.

Alternatively, it can be caused by treatments for certain medical conditions.

12. Do Eyelashes Grow Back?

Do Eyelashes Grow Back

We lose approximately 1 to 5 lashes per day. But the good news is that, yes, they do grow back.

In the growth cycle of eyelashes, they may be in different phases of the cycle at any given time.

Lashes in the anagen phase will be growing at a rate of 0.12 mm to 0.14 mm per day. When they move into the catagen phase, they stop growing.

In the telogen phase, the lash sheds naturally. At the same time, a new baby hair is beginning to grow inside the follicle.

Hopefully, you have learned a few surprising and interesting facts about lashes from this article.