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Scientific
breakthrough may soon give you longer
eyelashes without mascara
London:
Women may soon stop relying upon cosmetics like mascara to create
the illusion that they have long and luscious eyelashes, a sign
of beauty and glamour, thanks to a new scientific discovery.
Biologists at L'Oreal's research laboratories in Paris have
developed a gel that extends the length of time individual eyelashes
grow before they fall out, leading to longer and bushier eyelashes.
They have spent the past three years studying eyelashes, and
comparing them to hairs elsewhere on the body. While a human
head hair will grow for up to three years, eyelashes grow for
only three months before they fall out, limiting the length
that they can grow to. The researchers say that their lab studies
showed that the hairs could be made to grow longer by increasing
the growing time. According to them, they were also able to
increase the number of eyelashes present on the eyelid as a
result. "Modern mascaras create the illusion of longer eyelashes.
When women take their make-up off, their lashes are still the
same length," the Telegraph quoted Dr. Patricia Pineau, scientific
director at L'Oreal, as saying. "Eyelashes are similar to other
hair in many ways, but they have two key differences that we
can exploit. "The first is the speed of growth, which is much
faster in eyelashes while the second is the amount of hair growing
at any one time. In head hair, 70 to 80 per cent of the hairs
are growing at any one time while in eyelashes only about 15
per cent are growing. "It was clear by increasing the duration
of the growing phase the eyelashes would grow longer while postponing
the start of the resting phase, when the lashes fall out, means
there are more lashes on the eyelid fringe," she added. He research
team have observed that a combination of citric acid, an amino
acid known as arginine, and extracts from a Mexican plant known
as Centella asiatica had the best effects.
The
researchers say that the treatment is applied to the roots of
the eyelashes as part of a white gel, which is used each night
for three months. They revealed that a small three month clinical
trial involving 32 women saw their eyelashes increase by an
average of 20 per cent, while lashes increased in length and
density by 30 per cent in some cases. "Even we were surprised
by the difference. Most of the women, about 80 per cent, have
asked to keep using the serum," said Dr. Pineau L'Oreal hopes
to market its product as a cosmetic that would be available
over the counter. Professor Valerie Randall, a researcher in
hair growth at Bradford University, said: "This sounds like
an interesting piece of research. Until recently eyelashes have
not studied that closely as there didn't seem to be much that
could be done with them other than putting on mascara, but the
idea of promoting eyelash growth has now produced a great deal
of interest in this area."
-August
16, 2009
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