Ask Me Mondays: Growing Eyelashes

Q: I've heard a lot about products that claim to make your eyelashes grow, like Jan Marini's line, but don't want to spend a ton of cash without knowing that they work. Should I invest in them? I am wanting thick and long eyelashes.

A: Girl, aren't we all looking for that?

I think what you're talking about is Jan Marini's MariniLash Eyelash Conditioner. I've heard a lot about that too. Here is what the website says:

In 2005 Jan Marini Skin Research revolutionized eyelash enhancement with a technological first that inspired a host of imitators. Now, JMSR sets the pace again by introducing a proprietary and spectacular non-prostaglandin eyelash formulation that has surpassed even our expectations.

Our research uncovered a recently discovered proprietary peptide which when combined with other essential factors produces extraordinary eyelash and brow enhancement.

Case study subjects have all demonstrated the most remarkable results yet. Now you can enjoy amazingly gorgeous, dense and lush eyelashes . . . the eyelashes of your dreams from Jan Marini Skin Research.

All well and good, but I'm not sure where to find that research. In fact, after seeing how much the product actually cost (anywhere from $114 to $160 online), I was really interested in seeing that research. Since I couldn't find anything, I went to my favorite resource, The Beauty Brains. Luckily, they had a wealth of information. Here is what apparently happened: the original Jan Marini product had an ingredient in it that was actually a drug for glaucoma (high blood pressure in the eye). This "off label" use of the drug apparently did work. However, it was a product that had not been approved by the FDA, and therefore was pulled. The new Jan Marini product does not have this ingredient in it, and doesn't seem to have the same results.

I'm inclined to believe that there currently is no cosmetic product out there that will make your eyelashes grow. We just haven't gotten to the point where we are able to make hair grow - witness all the treatments for male pattern baldness! Until that happens, we just have to make do with what we have.

There are lots of things you can do with makeup to make your lashes look longer and fuller. One of my old standbys is to lightly dust some translucent powder on my lashes, then apply a volumizing mascara. Or try an eyelash primer (my love for Make Up For Ever Lash Fibers is well documented.) But I can't in good conscience recommend someone spend that kind of cash for a product that probably won't work very well.