Have you noticed lately that your eyelashes are shorter and more vulnerable and have you had corona? Then you have not imagined this. It has been shown that the coronavirus can be the cause of brittle eyelashes. And, whether you provide them with a lick of mascara every day or not: our lashes are important.
eyelash loss
It’s not just us: apparently several people are currently struggling with the feeling that their eyelashes be less full and shorter. “Since the pandemic, the loss of eyelashes has been the biggest problem of my patients. The second is maskne,” says Dr. Doris Dayclinical associate professor of dermatology, at Marie Claire USA.
Not only Dr. Day points this out, our buying behavior also seems to give away the loss of eyelash (volume). In 2020, when the pandemic was just beginning to hit, we were looking much more for good facial cleansing products, according to a study by 1010 data† Not surprising, because then we all started wearing mouth caps. At present, on the other hand, people are increasingly looking for good mascaras. In November 2021, when quite a few people had already had corona, sales of lash serums also peaked. This product sold 402 percent better since the start of the pandemic! And in 2020 and 2021, online sales of false eyelashes increased by 173 percent compared to the previous year. In those years, mascara sales increased by 83 percent. It therefore seems very likely that corona has had an effect on our eyelashes.
Stressuitval
It is quite normal that you occasionally lose an eyelash† A lash cycle lasts between four to eleven months and then the eyelash falls out and the cycle starts again. However, do you lose one to five lashes every day? Then Dr. Day this ‘stress out’. This could be due to telogen effluvium, the official name for diffuse hair loss, which is caused by stress. Not only can you lose the hair on your scalp, but also your eyelashes. dr. Day explains that telogen effluvium can occur a month to three months after you experience severe stress. This can be when you have given birth, had a high fever or had surgery.
In addition, you can experience hair loss when you have alopecia. This occurs when your immune system attacks your own hair follicles. This can happen on your head, but it can also affect the hair follicles of your eyelashes. “The underlying trigger of alopecia is unknown,” said Dr. Day. “But it could be a virus, so corona could also be a possible trigger. In that case, it is not the virus that causes the reaction, but rather a confusion of the immune system in which the hair follicle reacts as if it were attacking the virus.”
What to do?
Alopecia is something that can go away without treatment, but the thing is, it can take a long time. Are you currently experiencing hair loss on your head or are your eyelashes falling out? Then it is always a good idea to consult a dermatologist. You could also visit your doctor. The person can then perform a blood test to find out what is wrong. But a general practitioner is often limited in what he or she can do about hair loss, according to dermatologist Dr. Dendy Engelman† “So it’s best to go to someone who specializes in hair loss and dermatologists are the experts in that area.” There are then various treatments that you can undergo to counteract the hair loss.
Source: Marie Claire NL, Marie Claire USA | Image: iStock
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