The Natural Girl's Guide To Growing Her Eyelashes

natural ways to grow your eyelashes : the nontoxic girl’s guide to growing your lashes

First off, let me say I feel slightly silly writing this blog post. There are so many big things going on in the world and I’m talking about eyelashes?!?! But I gotta say, you guys ask me about my eyelashes quite often in my ol’ DM inbox.  Stop it, stop it I’m bluuuushing (#jk #pleasedontstop).

The reason I wanted to dig into this is because I see sooooo many people paying big bucks to get fake lashes or use expensive eyelash serums that are jam-packed with chemmies. Here’s how I feel: I have no doubt that a lot of these serums seem to work—I have friends who use them and swear by them.

Howeverrrrrr for me personally, looking at the ingredient lists of these serums freaks me out. Call me crazy, but I don’t really feel like lathering my eyeballs (the things that help me SEE) in synthetic chemicals day after day for something as silly as eyelashes.

But like any girl on the planet, I do prefer my lashes long + thick + #easybreezybeautiful …I just want to accomplish this in a natural, nontoxic way.

Below are the 5 things I implemented that took my 6/10 totally average lashes to the longest as they’ve everrrrr been. I am honestly kinda proud of my eyelashes, because they are PROOF that you don’t need chemicals upon chemicals to accomplish a beauty goal. Most of the time, nature already has all ya need. :) :) Enjoy, friends!

collagen, collagen, collagen!

Mmmmm, collagen. I’m guessing you’ve heard of this magical nutrient (it’s kind of having a healthcare moment). Are you wondering if it’s worth all the hype? Well lemme tell ya—it is worth alllll the hype and then some.

Before I get into its eyelash-growing superpowers, lemme tell ya about all the other phenomenal stuff it does for your body. Collagen is GREAT for your gut, joints, hair, and nails. It is a unique protein that is mega helpful in terms of connective tissue (think elasticity and flexibility). This is particularly beneficial for your joints and gut… but alllllllsooooo for the fun things like having youthful + plump skin, fast-growing hair, and long + strong nails

I first bought collagen in September of 2017 to help with my gut health (#guthealthQWEEEEN) but I wasn’t opposed to it helping me obtain shiny, long hair either. ;) I didn’t expect much (I thought the difference would be subtle), but WOWZA. My hair. My eyelashes. My nails. Alllll transformed. Growing so fast, so strong…it is absolutely crazy what your body can do when you give it the right tools. My favorite brand of collagen is this one! (You also can take collagen as a pill-form supplement if you prefer!)

Orrrrr if you’re like me and like to make everything as fun + delicious as possible, you can steal my collagen-packed daily coffee recipe.

I have this exact recipe EVERY morning and i look forward to it each and every day. This is my best-kept secret to growing my lashes, and it has a lot of added benefits: low cal, all-natural, protein-packed, and if I say so myself, hella delicious (like, so good).  

KATE’S COLLAGEN-PACKED MORNING COFFEE RITUAL:
-1 scoop of this (Literally cannot live without this stuff. DELICIOUS is an understatement.)
-1 scoop of this (If you prefer sweeter coffee beverages, substitute with this version instead!)
-Organic coffee of your choice

Directions: take the hot coffee out of the pot, stir in the two ingredients, and mix it alllll up with a frother or blender until creamy and well-distributed. Sweeten with honey or cinnamon if you like your drinks a bit sweeter. Sip it up and watch your eyelashes growwwww. :)

I drink one of these bevs every morning and truly this is my major secret to growing my eyelashes. Within about 10–14 days of first making this recipe, I noticed that my hair, eyelashes, and nails were soooo much stronger.

If nothing else, do this step! In my opinion, it’s hands down the most bang for your buck in terms of growing your eyelashes.

the golden rule:

Okay, okay. Let me be boring here. We gotta start with the fundamentals. If you start by simply nourishing your body with whole, pure food, your appearance will follow suit. Your skin will clear, your hair will grow faster, your digestion will ease…

I know it’s so easy to skip this step and go straight to the secret hacks and what not, but never underestimate the power of this simple, foundational choice: eat real, whole food + drink a boatload of water, and watch your body transform. From your skin to your belly allll the wayyyyy to the tippy tips of your eyelashes. ;)

be gentle on those beautiful lil eyes of yours!

Okay, one more boring “duh” tip—but it’s soooo important. Removing your eye makeup is crucial to growing your lashes. As often as you can, go without mascara, but on the days you do wear it make sure to remove it well and be gentle. Being aggressive while removing your eye makeup is one of the worst things you can do! It can make lashes fall out prematurely, weaken the lashes, and ultimately stunt your eyelash growth.

To remove my eye makeup I use this wonnnnderful all-natural cleansing oil. Literally, obsessed. The beauty of it is that this step cleanses your face and removes your makeup in one step, which is so great.

How it works: it’s based on the principle “like dissolves like” from high school chem class. The oil works to break up and dissolve the oil on your skin without stripping your skin of all its moisture. I massage the oil into my face to remove my face makeup, and I’ll also use a cotton swab dipped in oil to get any residual eye makeup. It allows me to take off my eye makeup super easily, but also gently. The oil I use is allllll natural and lasts foreverrrrr. Best part? You can grab it for $16 with code KATE10. :)

all-natural eyelash growth: castor oil

Castor oil—chances are you’ve heard of it or even used it before, but it is specifically great for naturally growing your eyelashes. First things first, what’s castor oil? Castor oil is sourced from the castor bean (Ricinus communis). It is overflowing with ricinoleic acid, which is a fatty acid that appears to help particularly with fighting inflammation and promoting hair growth.

Castor oil is often used  to moisturize the scalp, activate hair follicles, and soften/smooth hair…AKA it’s perfect for growing your eyelashes. I started using this about 8 months ago. I was suuuuppppper consistent at first and now I use it about once or twice per week (when I remember) for eyelash maintenance. It’s simple, natural and effective—my 3 requirements for any beauty routine! When picking out your castor oil, make sure you get organic, cold-pressed castor oil to ensure you get the highest quality, most nutrient-dense version. I use this brand as it was well sourced annnnd came with a mascara tube to travel with it/easily apply it to lashes.

HOW TO USE CASTOR OIL TO GROW YOUR EYELASHES:

-Before bed, take a drop or so of castor oil and rub it around the eyelid/lash line.
-Next, take a mascara-like applicator to coat the lashes.
-Go to bed and let it work its magic.
-Rinse with warm water in the morning, if there is a little oil residue!

It’s that easy! :) Castor oil is an all-natural way to stimulate eyelash growth and lengthen + strengthen existing lashes. This step is sooo inexpensive and takes less than 20 seconds to do before bed. Win-win!

top it off with clean mascara

after all, this is the natural girl’s guide to long lashes. here is the real honest truth, i had cleaned up every. single. item. in my makeup bag… except mascara. no matter which natural mascara I tried, i found they didn’t measure up to my classic “bad” mascara. they flaked, smudged, and didn’t hold up throughout the day. so, as a result, i kept using the same tried + true (but toxic) mascara I’d been using since junior high…

….then i found ilia’s clean mascara.

guys, a clean mascara that actually works. do yourself a favor and get it. i tried juuuuust about every natural mascara before this one and it’s no contest. no flaking, no smudging, and actually holds up. just wanted to share this little beauty secret because i had been searching and trying soooo many brands before I found “thee one”. prepare to be a long-lashed beauty queeeen. :)

Alright, friends! There ya have it! The natural girl’s guide to growing your eyelashes. All of these steps are inexpensive, crazy simple, and most importantly… effective! To summarize, here are a few items that’ll get ya on your way to growing supermodel lashes:

Grab one or two or all seven of these to get those lashes growin’:
collagen-packed cocoa mix // collagen supplement // my go-to collagen powder // castor oil + mascara applicator set  // facial cleansing oil // the BEST clean mascara

pssst: didya like this post?

Because I have a feeling you’ll love my
4-minute holistic skincare routine
and
my top 3 natural hacks to transform your skin