In the sea of cosmetics that are marketed to us daily over social media, lash serums may be one of the most frequent products I see. It’s simple, who doesn’t want longer thicker eyelashes without the appointments? Admittedly, I’ve tried many lash serums, all swearing to give you longer, thicker, and healthier eyelashes. But, what’s the catch?
Let’s start with the price and ingredients. There are many lash serums on the market costing upwards of $100 for a tube the size of a liquid liner. Is it made of diamonds? No. However, what many lash serums contain that will indeed render them affective is prostaglandins. Popular lash serums that contain prostaglandins include: Latisse, Grandelash, Revitalash, R & T lash boost, and more.
I know what you’re thinking. “Great so they do work! Take my money!” But, not so fast. It’s always a good idea to consider what’s going near your eyeballs & what the long-term effects could be with anything.
So, what’s the deal with prostaglandins? Long story short, although this ingredient can benefit the growth of your lashes, long term it can cause a sallowness to the overall area around the eye as well as a darker purple pigmentation. Furthermore, in some cases it can cause the iris of those with lighter eyes such as blue and green to darken over time and appear browner. But don’t take it from me, take it from board certified dermatologist Dr. Sam Ellis. Her extremely well-presented video on YouTube is an in depth explanation as to how lash serums work and the adverse effects of prostaglandins.
With all that said. Is there a lash serum that works that doesn’t contain prostaglandins? The short answer is, yes, potentially. However, I certainly kissed many frogs-so to speak-to find one that did. And, despite the fact that all the lash serums I tried did not contain prostaglandins, that doesn’t mean you’re always out of the woods when it comes to eye irritation. I’ve experienced extremely red eyes, dry eyes, burning, and rashy & swollen eyelids with several lash serums that did not contain prostaglandins. So, proceed with caution and always listen to your body…and your eyeballs.
Out with it, right? What lash serum works?
In my experience testing several prostaglandin free lash serums the best by far that rivaled the “lash extension” effect is: Scorolash. Per the Scorolash website this is the ingredients list for their very effective lash serum:
Cucurbita Pepo Pumpkin Seed Extract, Panax Ginseng Extract, Swertia Japonica Extract, Acorus Calamus Root Extract, Serenoa Serrulata Fruit Extract, Pentapeptide-17, Biotinoyl Tripeptide-1, Myristoyl Pentapeptide-17, Oligopeptide-10, Aqua, Hyaluronate, Pentylene Glycol, Hyaluronic Acid, Panthenol, Tocopherol, Biotin.
I truly wish I was being paid for all the free marketing my eyelashes are providing for this company. I use this AM and PM after my skincare routine, and frequently get accused of a lash lift, extensions, or otherwise wearing eye makeup. Here is my before and after photos after 4-5 months using Scorolash (no mascara, no lash curler) but my lashes are tinted in the after as my lashes aren’t very dark naturally because I’m blonde:
