Ditch the mascara and falsies, and cancel your appointment at the lash extensions salon. For enviable lashes, all you need are these serums.
Achieving thick, long lashes takes work and time: You wrestle with your eyelash curler, which can be daunting if you’re not adept at using one, then apply a coat of mascara, which can end up clumping, or worse, running or smudging under your eyes. Plus, you need to replace your tube of mascara every six months. If you don’t, you could end up with a nasty eye infection.
You could opt for false lashes, but applying falsies is even trickier than working an eyelash curler. Or you can get eyelash extensions, but those can be expensive, and require touch-ups every two weeks and replacements every four weeks.
If you want long lashes with minimum hassle and maximum results, try eyelash growth serums instead. They’re especially formulated with peptides and amino acids that help give you healthier and stronger (i.e. longer, fuller, and less prone to breakage) lashes.
Why Go For Lash Serums
The beauty of eyelash serums is that you’re working with what you’ve got, just giving them an extra nutrient boost, says Michelle Reyes-Navarro, founder of Bella Pelle Philippines. “They’re naturally yours! Nothing beats the real thing.”
Born out of her passion for skincare, Reyes-Navarro started Bella Pelle Philippines along with her dermatologist husband Dr Maximin Navarro. Their goal is to provide premium, dermatologist-approved skincare products that are not available over the counter and deliver them right to your doorstep. They’re all about personalized skincare, only recommending products that they themselves use and believe in.
Reyes-Navarro reiterates how lash serums are better than mascaras, falsies, and extensions: “Mascaras only enhance what you have. So the longer and thicker your lashes, the more gorgeous the results when mascara is applied. If you have thin and sparse lashes, the effect is not as dramatic. Non-waterproof mascaras can run; waterproof ones are tedious to take off. Plus, mascaras add a step to your makeup routine.”
She adds that falsies, aside from being challenging to put on, sometimes fall off. They also look, well, fake. “With serums, you can have gorgeous lashes 24 hours a day. Unlike falsies that you have to take out at the end of the day,” she points out.
Same goes for extensions. Michelle says, “It’s quite obvious that they’re not real. Or even if they look real, they soon lose their [form and shape]. Plus, lash extensions tend to pull out your real lashes when you take them out for regular maintenance and replacement. Even if you keep on buying the lash serum, in the end, it’s more low maintenance than going to lash salons regularly.”
How Do Lash Serums Work?
Reyes-Navarro says that lash growth serums nourish from the roots to give you healthier lashes, and extend the lash life cycle by conditioning and strengthening your eyelashes so they are less likely to fall off or break.
They also promote lash growth in hair follicles where there were no lashes growing before and lengthen—as well as increase the number of lashes in—the growth phase of the eyelash life cycle, giving you thicker, fuller lashes.
How Effective Are They?
“Results differ from person to person,” says Reyes-Navarro. “Some see results in a month, others in three to four months. Some may have more growth or have longer lashes.” It’s also important to note that they are only effective for as long as you keep using the serum. “Lashes go back to how they were when you stop using the lash serum,” says Reyes-Navarro.
The good thing about serums is that, whatever the results, at the very least you’ll get healthier, more nourished eyelashes.
Serums To Try
Rapid Lash Eyelash Enhancing Serum, P2,500
Its award-winning formula, HEXATEIN® 1 COMPLEX, is made up six key ingredients that condition, moisturize, and strengthen lashes: Polypeptides that prevent hair breakage; biotin that gives you fuller, healthier-looking lashes; panthenol that moisturizes and nourishes lashes; amino acids that strengthen the hair’s protein structure to give you thicker-looking lashes; soybean oil that gives your lashes sheen and luster; and pumpkin seed extract that enhances the appearance of your eyelashes.
Rapid Lash is ophthalmologist- and dermatologist-tested, fragrance free, and paraben free. “What’s good about Rapid Lash is it’s pretty mild. A lot of customers who say they get red or itchy eyes with other brands are generally okay with Rapid Lash,” says Reyes-Navarro.
MD Lash Factor Eyelash Conditioner, P7,500
Thanks to active ingredients like panthenol, a B5 provitamin known to moisturize and strengthen hair; biotin, which has been clinically proven to improve hair growth and strengthen keratin structures in hair; and proline, an amino acid that also strengthens hair, this celeb-favorite eyelash serum gives you thicker, longer lashes.
It’s ophthalmologist-tested, made up of eye-friendly ingredients, and safe for sensitive eyes, but Reyes-Navarro says it’s always best to proceed with caution: “MD Lash is more potent. There are definitely more customers who report that nothing works like it, but the disadvantage is that it’s pricey and may irritate sensitive eyes.”
How to Apply
Application is pretty simple. Before bedtime, remove your contact lenses and wash your eyes. Apply the serum on the base of the upper lashes, moving from the corner of your eye outwards. Use nightly for best results.
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