Understanding Your Lash Growth Cycle
Each person typically has about 150 to 200 natural hair lashes per eye on the upper eyelids and between 75 to 100 on the lower eyelids with the average natural eyelash length being around 8-10 mm long (about 3/8 of an inch or less). Your natural lashes go through a shedding process on a regular basis. Although it is unsettling to wake up in the morning and notice an eyelash or two that has fallen out, your eyelashes are like every other hair on your body, replacing themselves as they perpetually move through a natural growth cycle.
This hair growth cycle is broken down into three phases: Anagen, Catagen, and Telogen.
Typically, the whole cycle averages about 60 days. When your natural lash falls out there is one waiting to take its place. Consider the following if you feel you may be losing too many lashes. Depending on your lash growth cycle, you can lose anywhere from 1 to 5 natural lashes per day. Let us average the loss of natural lashes to 3 per day on one eye. If you lose 3 lashes per day, you will lose 21 per week, 42 in 2 weeks and up to 63 lashes in a 3-week period on one eye alone. Again, this is (more or less) lash loss based on your natural lash cycle.
Sometimes the higher your metabolism, the faster you will shed. Drugs, alopecia, hormones, playing with, pulling or constantly touching your lashes and your general overall eating and health can all play a part in your shedding cycle as well. So, try not to freak out when you see a lash extension or two or your cheek or your pillow when you wake in the morning. Instead, understand that it is part of the natural growth process and seize the opportunity to make a wish with your fallen lash!
Anagen (Active Growth Phase)
The Anagen phase is where the hair is still attached to the dermal papilla/blood supply. In this phase, the lashes are in active growth and it lasts between 30-45 days. About 35%-40% of the upper lashes and about 15% of the lower lashes are in the anagen phase at any one time. Each lash will grow to a specific length and then stop.
Catagen (Transition) Phase
The second phase is the catagen (transitional phase) where the eyelash stops growing and the follicle shrinks (lasts about 2-3 weeks). If a lash falls out or is plucked out during this phase the lash will not grow back immediately because the follicle needs to complete the catagen phase before it can move on to the next phase.
Telogen (Resting) Phase
The third phase is the telogen (which is the resting phase). This phase can last up to 90 days before the eyelashes fall out, and a new lash begins to grow.