A good cry never hurt anyone. In fact, crying is often the only thing that helps to release whatever you’ve got bottled up. While crying is genuinely beneficial, it’s also something that many people try to avoid. After all, what’s the point of spending all that time creating the perfect makeup look or applying your new lashes just to cry them all the way back to their hometown?
Let’s go ahead and just assume that you’re bare-faced in this particular scenario — no makeup streaking or red blotchiness to contend with. You may or may not have noticed on these occasions after you’ve bawled into your pillow for a while that the next time you catch yourself in the bathroom mirror, your lashes appear a little longer.
Hmm, strange. You don’t remember doing anything special to them to help them grow. You don’t recall anyone applying any secret serums or falsies to you in the midst of your crying session. But here you are with longer, shinier lashes, and all you can do is wonder, “How?”
A lot of people might argue that in addition to the general boost of beauty and life you get after a solid cry, your lashes also get a boost. Is this really true? Does the science behind lash growth support this theory? To get to the bottom of it, we’re going to break down all things lash growth.
Keep scrolling if you want to discover the real secret to giving length to your lashes and whether crying is actually one of them or if it’s just a trick of the light. Either way, you’ll leave with another bundle of lash knowledge to help you on your way.
Crying Ain’t All Bad
As much as crying can be reduced to the annoying consequence of frustration, sadness, or anger, it’s so much more than that. Crying is a cathartic and expressive experience that acts as our body's release for a reason. It’s proven to aid in mental, emotional, and physical health in more ways than one, so if you were wondering if crying was only making your lashes longer, then you’re in for a treat.
There are three main reasons why people cry.
- Basal: Tear ducts constantly secrete basal tears every time someone blinks. This helps to keep your eyes moist and hydrated.
- Reflex: This happens whenever someone’s eyes are exposed to external irritants such as strong winds, cold weather, smoke, and, yes, onions! If you’ve ever wondered why certain things make your eyes well up when your emotions are at bay, you’re just crying from reflex.
- Emotional: This is the kind of crying everyone thinks of. It stems from a range of our strong emotions, and when those emotions well up, so do we. These tears contain a lot more stress hormones than other types of tears.
Along with this range of responses, there is also a range of benefits that come with crying. Most people associate crying with weakness or discomfort, but by suppressing our body’s natural response to certain situations, we are actually missing out on these incredible bodily and mental benefits.
These benefits include:
- Self-Soothing: Crying helps to regulate our emotions, calm us down, and reduce stress.
- Relieves emotional and physical pain: Studies have shown that emotional release can also release pent-up physical strain in tandem.
- Stronger mind and body: Repressive coping can actually result in a weaker or more compromised immune system, along with mental health strain.
So, Are Fuller Lashes After Crying an Optical Illusion?
Tears can be an all-around beneficial coping tool, but what about the beauty boost we mentioned earlier? Do tears actually do anything for the external appearance?
Crying might indirectly improve the appearance of the skin. That’s why after a good cry, once your skin has calmed, you feel a renewed sort of glow. It does this by affecting the internal balance that we talked about above. Crying reduces stress in the body, and things like acne or hormonal breakouts (or other skin conditions) are often caused or worsened by high-stress levels in the body.
If you’re someone who cries often, you might notice a decrease in skin conditions such as these because you’re eliminating those waves of stress from your body regularly. Emotional crying also releases a stress hormone called cortisol from your body which is linked to reducing signs of premature aging. So, yeah, it makes sense that you get a little glow going on after you’ve let some tears fall.
While crying does have this effect on your skin, the appearance of glossier, fuller lashes is, unfortunately, just an optical illusion. As tears coat your lashes, that false gloss is just a temporary thing that tricks your brain into viewing your lashes as longer and thicker when, in fact, nothing has changed.
We know this might not be the news you were hoping for (what could be more convenient for your lashes than a free cry session?), but lucky for you, there are still multiple options for actually growing those lashes or giving them a thicker, fuller boost. Find our recommendations below for your next lash glow-up!
What Really Helps Your Lashes Look Longer?
If you’re in the market for a completely natural lash look, you may want to give lash serum a try. Lash serums coat your natural lashes like moisturizer for your face. It feeds your natural lash, helping to expedite the normally arduous lash growth cycle until you’ve got a natural bump of volume and fullness. It does this by extending the growth phase of this three-part process, giving them more time to grow longer.
As of right now, there is only one FDA-approved lash serum on the market, and you need a prescription to use this serum. Over-the-counter options can still give you results if you’re not in the market for a doctor’s appointment, but they are less effective overall.
If you’re down for other easy lash enhancement options, then we’d be remiss if we didn’t point you back to Lashify®. Our Gossamers® are safe and effective for even those prone to an allergic reaction to eyelash glues. We’re 100% vegan and cruelty-free, affordable, and accessible to all skill levels on the lash application spectrum.
We have plenty of tutorials, guides, and articles just like this one that can help you step-by-step on your journey to the perfect lashes, so you don’t need to fret about a single thing.
Other options also include lash lifts or extensions from professional lash techs, although these appointments will run you a pretty penny and more of your precious time compared to other avenues.
Whatever way you slice it, you’re left with a collection of awesome ways to get your lashes looking darker, thicker, and fuller at all hours of the day — no crying necessary!
Long and Lively Lashes
Here’s the bottom line: cry it out, girl. Just cry it out. You might’ve come here looking for an easy solution to knocking those lashes up a notch, and even though that part of your emotional release isn’t all it’s chalked up to be, crying has so many other amazing benefits that you shouldn’t pass up. And when you want your lashes to be rockin’, it’s time to head to Lashify.
We know it’s almost more acceptable nowadays to just keep it all on lock and not to show anyone the nitty-gritty of what you’ve got going on inside, but sharing the hard stuff really can help.
Lash enhancement is important, we know, but the health of your heart is so much more vital; go find a friend, cry it out, and then come on back here. We promise to still be here when you return, ready to hand out all the lash tips, tricks, and hacks your emotionally, mentally, and physically healthy self could want.
And on those bare-faced days, when you’ve welled up and washed out, it won’t hurt anyone to enjoy those glossy lashes while they’re around, even if it’s not actually there. Work those tears, girlfriend.
Sources:
8 benefits of crying: Why do we cry, and when to seek support | Medical News Today
Is crying good for you? | Harvard Health
Crying a lot can take a toll on your skin—here's what you can do to protect it | Yahoo News