A common question is “Why are my eyelashes falling out?” The answer is simple! It's normal. Your lashes are naturally supposed to shed daily. However, there are a couple of other reasons you may be losing your extensions. Here's why!
1. Natural Shedding Cycle.
It is 100% normal to lose natural lashes. Many people do not realize that on average, individuals lose between 3-5 natural lashes a day! Natural lashes, just like the rest of your body hair, grow in 3 distinct stages. In simplest terms, your lashes start growing deep within the follicle and eventually sprout out of the follicle. Once your natural lash has grown to the specific length, the blood supply to the hair is cut off. Once the blood supply is cut off, the hair simply rests in the follicle and waits to shed. Each hair is in a different stage along the lash line and that's why your extensions fall out in no specific pattern. As the natural lash sheds, so does the extension, hence the reason we have fills!
2. Weather.
Lashes naturally grow more in the summer than they do in the winter. This increase in growth also correlates to increases in lash loss. Because the lashes are growing faster, the hair goes through the natural lash cycle more frequently. In summary, lash extension users may experience more shedding in the summer than they do in subseq
uent months.
3. Medications.
Certain medications such as the common antibiotic can have an effect on your extension retention. Some antibiotics can cause hemoglobin and vitamin B to deplete.
Vitamin B and hemoglobin are 2 critical ingredients that aid in hair growth. With the depletion of these two factors, hair on the body (including lashes) slows down. Now, if you just had your lashes done and were prescribed an antibiotic, you may find your lashes last a little longer than they normally do. However, come your next fill appointment, there may not be as many natural lashes free to lash because the growth was slowed down.
4. Medical Conditions.
Three of the most common medical conditions that have an effect on lash retention are Alopecia, Trichotillomania and Thyroid issues.
Alopecia: This is a disorder that affects the immune system by driving immune cells to attack hair follicles all over the body. Alopecia works on a sliding scale. In some cases, it can be extremely mild and only affect a small portion of the body. On the other hand, it can affect the whole body and leave patience completely hairless. Alopecia can be diagnosed at birth or can develop into the later years of life.
Trichotillomania: No, this is not a crazy made up disorder. This OCD disorder causes an impulse to pull out their own hair. Similarly to Alopecia, this can be diagnosed at a young age or as an older adult. Thankfully, some of these OCD tendencies can subside with age. The most common areas of sufferers are the scalp, eyelashes and eyebrows.
Thyroid Conditions: Whether you have an under-active or an over-active thyroid, hair on the body becomes brittle and thin. Under-active thyroids can cause dry skin and weight gain. An overactive thyroid can lead to sleep deprivation and extreme weight loss or the inability to control one's weight. Dry, brittle and thin hair, weight management issues, lack of sleep and dry skin are all factors that can lead to hair loss and in turn excessive lash loss.
Hormonal imbalances can also cause premature shedding and should be monitored by your doctor.
5. Allergy to Adhesive.
There are many ingredients in adhesives that can cause irritation to the eye area. Latex, formaldehyde and carbon black are 3 of the top ingredients that can cause allergy. Thankfully high quality adhesives are no longer formulated with latex or formaldehyde! If you find yourself still having reactions, try switching to a clear adhesive to eliminate the risk of allergy to the ingredient carbon black.
While there are a variety of different factors that can cause lash loss, talk to your technician to find out more!