Is Vitamin C Good For Eyelashes? What You Need To Know

Vitamin C is good for colds and can even be used as an at-home solution for hair dye removal. But did you know that vitamin C may actually have benefits for your hair, and more specifically, for your eyelashes?

Is Vitamin C Good For Eyelashes

Vitamin C can be good for eyelashes. From keeping your immune system in tip-top shape to helping your lashes stay moisturized, vitamin C has some serious benefits for eyelashes.

What Is Vitamin C?

Vitamin C is an important nutrient.

It helps to support the healthy functioning of bones, skin, and blood vessels, and is a powerful antioxidant, meaning that it supports the body’s immune system.

Vitamin C is also known as L-ascorbic acid, ascorbic acid, or L-ascorbate. 

It can be found in foods like oranges and orange juice, strawberries, peppers, spinach and other leafy green vegetables, tomatoes, potatoes, and green peas.

You’ll also find it in supplements and vitamins, both in pill form and as effervescent tablets.

Benefits of Vitamin C

Vitamin C has many vital functions for the body. 

In terms of how it may help hair and eyelashes, vitamin C helps your body to absorb iron, which is essential for hair growth.

It is also critical for the production of collagen, which makes up a good portion of hair’s structure. 

Vitamin C also has the following benefits:

  • Anti-aging, as it protects against the oxidative stress caused by damaging free radicals
  • Enhances and supports wound healing
  • Boosts the immune system
  • May lower the risk of cataracts and age-related macular degeneration
  • Could benefit cardiovascular health, helping with high blood pressure or heart disease

3 Reasons Vitamin C Is Good For Eyelashes

Reasons Vitamin C Is Good For Eyelashes

As described above, vitamin C has many overall benefits for the body.

But there are a number of critical ways in which vitamin C is good for eyelashes:

1. Supports the production of collagen

Collagen is a protein that is fundamental to the structure of the skin and hair, as well as the wider tissues, bones, tendons, and cartilage. 

Vitamin C boosts the body’s production of collagen, which means that it supports the production of a substance that is fundamental to hair growth and health.

2. Contains Antioxidant

Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant. 

That means that it protects against the stress caused by free radicals, which are substances that can reduce cell growth and therefore lead to increased aging. 

In turn, this damages the growth of hair and skin, which means that your eyelashes won’t grow. 

By protecting against the damage of free radicals, vitamin C helps to support the healthy growth of eyelashes. 

3. Helps the body absorb iron

Iron is essential for the healthy functioning of cells. 

When your body lacks iron, your blood can’t produce hemoglobin.

Hemoglobin is what carries the oxygen around your blood, and it’s this oxygen that encourages the growth and repair of cells. 

When you lack oxygen, in other words, your cells won’t repair or grow, and this can lead to hair loss. 

By supporting the absorption of iron, vitamin C is supporting the healthy growth of your eyelashes. 

Can Vitamin C Help Grow Eyelashes?

Can Vitamin C Help Grow Eyelashes

As vitamin C supports the production of collagen, the absorption of iron, and is an antioxidant, it can help to grow eyelashes by supporting the healthy growth of cells and defending against free radicals.

However, it’s worth bearing in mind that vitamin C alone won’t help to grow eyelashes and should be consumed as part of a healthy, balanced diet.

This can contribute to your normal bodily functions, which include growing hair and eyelashes.

How To Use Vitamin C For Eyelashes

Whilst vitamin C is good for eyelashes, you shouldn’t apply it topically to either your lashes or eyelids. It’s best to rely on your diet and supplements for an intake of vitamin C. 

Alternatively, you can look for vitamin C-enriched lash serums, but always take care to perform a patch test prior to application. 

This is to be sure that you won’t experience any sensitivities or irritation from the formula.

In your diet

There are plenty of foods that are rich in vitamin C, making it easy to incorporate into a healthy, balanced diet.

Citrus fruits are particularly full of vitamin C, but leafy greens like spinach and kale also contain it. 

Strawberries and cranberries, as well as peppers and blackcurrants, also contain vitamin C.

In supplements

If you worry that you’re not getting enough vitamins through your diet, you can consider taking supplements in either pill form or as effervescent tablets. 

It’s probably best to consult with a physician prior to supplementing your vitamin C intake, however, so that you can be sure that you’re not consuming too much.

In a lash serum

Do your research and find a lash serum that’s full of vitamin C and other nutrients. 

These will have been designed for topical application on your lashes and should support the healthy growth and conditioning of your lashes.

Risks And Warnings Of Using Vitamin C

As with any substance, it is possible to overconsume vitamin C – the maximum intake for adults is 2,000mg a day. 

This is unlikely to come from a diet, but it might occur if you take supplements, so it’s best to consult with your doctor before doing so.

If you do consume too much vitamin C, you may experience gastro-intestinal discomfort and even diarrhea.