How to Grow Healthier-Looking Eyelashes, What Actually Helps

Can you make eyelashes grow? Certain treatments can influence growth, but not every product marketed as a “lash growth serum” has been proven to do so.

What is proven to increase eyelash growth?

The best-studied option is bimatoprost, the active ingredient in prescription LATISSE®. FDA labeling says it treats inadequate eyelashes by increasing growth, including length, thickness, and darkness. A 2024 review likewise found strong evidence for bimatoprost while concluding that non-prostaglandin ingredients need more formal research.

Over-the-counter products are a broad category. They may contain peptides, plant extracts, oils, conditioning ingredients, or prostaglandin-related compounds. Read the ingredient list rather than assuming every “growth serum” works the same way.

Growth and conditioning are different

Follicular growth happens below the skin. Conditioning acts on the hair that has already emerged. Gentle care will not change your genetics or turn a cosmetic oil into a drug, but it can help you avoid needless pulling and breakage and improve the way existing lashes look and feel.

How to support healthier-looking lashes

• Remove mascara gently instead of rubbing or pulling.
• Avoid picking at extensions, glue, or stubborn makeup.
• Use a lash curler carefully and never tug on caught hairs.
• If lashes feel dry, use only a light coating of a well-tolerated conditioning product.
• Think in weeks and months, not overnight transformations.

Where castor oil fits

There is no strong clinical evidence that castor oil directly stimulates eyelash follicles to produce new or longer hair. A systematic review found weaker evidence for improved hair luster, but no strong evidence supporting castor oil for hair growth. It is therefore more accurate to call castor oil a lash-conditioning oil.

The Live Fraiche Organic Lash & Brow Growth Serum contains 100% USDA Organic cold-pressed castor oil. Its fine brush and spoolie are designed to help apply a very small amount with more control than a dropper bottle.

What if you want a prostaglandin-free option?

A prostaglandin-free routine can focus on conditioning existing hairs and minimizing avoidable damage. It should come with realistic expectations: “prostaglandin-free” describes what a formula omits; it does not prove that alternative ingredients stimulate growth.

Learn more in What Is a Prostaglandin-Free Lash Serum? and Castor Oil for Eyelashes: Benefits, Limitations & How to Use It.

When lash loss needs medical attention

Sudden, patchy, or substantial eyelash loss may have an underlying medical cause. Speak with a dermatologist or eye-care professional rather than relying on a cosmetic product to diagnose or treat it.

Sources

• Eyelash Serums: A Comprehensive Review (2024)
• Systematic review of castor and other hair oils (2022)
• FDA prescribing information for LATISSE®

This article is for general education and is not medical advice.