My friend Diane called me the other evening completely distraught. You see she had lost her hair, including her eyelashes while she was on chemo. She finished chemo six weeks ago and lo and behold, all her eyelashes fell out, again! “What the heck” she exclaimed, “I lost these once already. And, I am not even on chemo anymore!”
The truth is, this happens quite frequently with eyelashes. You lose eyelashes during treatment and then often six to eight weeks later they fall out again. I don’t have very good information on why this happens, just that it does. And so the question becomes, what do we do?
We spoke first and foremost about Latisse, a prescription product that you can get from your plastic surgeon, dermatologist or eye doctor. It stimulates growth of eyelashes. It is very helpful for those with short lashes, but also works exceptionally well for those who have lost their lashes. For me, when my lashes fell out a second time, they grew back in within two weeks in large part because of Latisse. Some of the department store make-up brands have a what they claim is a comparable product to Latisse. Personally, it is hard to see something as comparable when one requires a doctors prescription and the other one does not. But, Latisse is a little pricey, so checking out a department store option may be a worthwhile move.
But, back to Diane…she had company coming in town and didn’t want them to see her without lashes, so what to do! She asked if lash extensions would help, a common question for those who are not familiar with lash extensions. However, lash extensions are truly applied to your eyelashes individually. So, as the eyelash falls out, so does the extension. Not the option she needed. We talked of camouflaging with make-up by drawing the eyeliner in a little darker and thicker, helping to minimize the lack of lashes. Maybe in an everyday situation that would work. But, not for Diane’s situation.
Diane ended up making a Sephora run to look for fake lashes and she struck gold. Sephora carries a variety of different types of lash extensions so she was able to work with someone to find one with as few chemicals as possible. Additionally, because Sephora’s staff is so well trained, they were able to really help her not only find the right product but to learn how to apply the false lashes expertly.
Now, don’t take this as a recommendation to get false lashes when yours fall out. It is best to simply let them grow back in. However, if like Diane, you are in a fashion pickle, Sephora might be able to help you out with their variety of product and knowledgeable staff.
We talk about Radiant Wednesdays, and sometimes being radiant is simply knowing that there are options for fluttering your eyelashes, should you lose yours.
