Nobody Warned Me My Eyelashes and Eyebrows Would Disappear in Menopause

Nobody warned me about my eyelashes and eyebrows. I was ready for hot flashes. I had heard about night sweats and trouble sleeping. But no one told me that menopause could take my lashes and brows until they were nearly gone. Not thinner. Nearly gone.

Of all my menopause symptoms, this is one of the ones that has stayed with me the longest. Hormone therapy helped me with almost everything else on my list. It did not bring back my lashes or my brows. So for years I have been trying things, one after another, to see what would help.

This article is everything I have tried, what worked, what did not, and why. I am naming the products I used, because I wish someone had done that for me. And at the end, I am asking for your help, because I have not found my answer yet and I would love to hear what has worked for you.

The Symptom Nobody Talks About

I am 58, I am in menopause, and I am on hormone therapy. I talk about menopause a lot on this site because I suffered for years without knowing what was happening to me. My brain fog started at 38, and it took me about 15 years to understand that my symptoms were connected to my hormones.

When women list the menopause symptoms nobody warned them about, a few always come up: dry skin that no lotion helps, hair thinning on your head, and hot flashes that feel like burning from the inside out. I had all of those. But the one that surprised me most was my eyelashes and eyebrows.

I already wrote about my scalp hair in The Menopause Symptom I Still Have Not Solved. This article is the companion to that one. Lashes and brows are hair too, and they were affected just as much.

If you have been looking in the mirror and wondering where your lashes and brows went, you are not imagining it, and you are not alone.

Why Menopause Can Thin Your Lashes and Brows

Here is what I learned when I went looking for answers.

Estrogen and hair

Most of the research on menopause and hair looks at the hair on your head, not your lashes or brows. A review in BioMed Research International, The Female Pattern Hair Loss: Review of Etiopathogenesis and Diagnosis, notes that hair loss becomes more common with age and is highest in women after menopause. The authors say this may point to estrogen having a protective role for hair. Lashes and brows are hair too, so it makes sense to me that they could be affected by the same change. But I want to be clear that the research on lashes and brows specifically is thin.

Other causes worth ruling out

Menopause is not the only thing that can thin your lashes and brows. The medical name for losing eyebrow or eyelash hair is madarosis. According to Cleveland Clinic’s page on Madarosis (Eyebrow & Eyelash Hair Loss), common causes include:

• Skin conditions near the eyes, such as blepharitis (inflamed eyelids), contact dermatitis, eczema, psoriasis, and rosacea.
• Thyroid problems, both an underactive and an overactive thyroid.
• Autoimmune conditions, such as alopecia areata.

Cleveland Clinic also says that anything that damages or irritates the skin on or near your eyes can affect your eyebrows or eyelashes. That stood out to me, because irritated eyelids turned out to be the biggest problem I had with lash products.

DermNet, a dermatology resource from New Zealand, adds a detail in its Madarosis page that I think every woman should know: an underactive thyroid typically affects the outer one-third of both eyebrows. If the tail ends of your brows are disappearing, a simple thyroid blood test is worth asking about.

There is also a scarring type of hair loss called frontal fibrosing alopecia. A review in Dermatology and Therapy, Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia: A Comprehensive Guide for Cosmetic Dermatologists, describes it as an inflammatory, scarring hair loss that commonly affects women after menopause. Signs include a hairline that moves back from the forehead and loss of eyebrows. Because scarring hair loss can be permanent, this one is worth catching early.

What I Tried for My Eyelashes

Latisse: it worked, but I could not keep using it

The first thing I tried was Latisse, a prescription treatment. And it worked very well. My eyelashes looked longer than they were before.

The problem was my eyelids. Latisse was so irritating to the skin on my eyelids that I could not keep using it. I had to stop.

Later I learned that what happened to me is a known side effect. The American Academy of Ophthalmology’s page on Latisse (Bimatoprost Ophthalmic Solution) explains that Latisse contains bimatoprost, which was first used as a glaucoma drug. People using it for glaucoma noticed their lashes getting longer and fuller. The Academy lists possible side effects that include red eyes, dry eyes, itchy and irritated eyelids, and darker skin on the eyelids. It also says the colored part of your eye can become darker, and that change does not go away when you stop.

Something else I wish I had known: the LATISSE prescribing information says that when you stop using it, your lash growth is expected to go back to where it was before treatment. So it only helps for as long as you keep using it. If your skin cannot handle it, the results will not last.

Store-bought lash serums: most irritated my eyelids too

After Latisse, I tried a series of lash serums you can buy without a prescription. Here are the ones I remember:

• Neutrogena
• Elizabeth Arden
• LeVaye
• Lavish Lash
• And a few others

Most of them irritated my eyelids too much for me to keep using them. That meant I never used them long enough to find out whether they would work. I want to be fair to these brands: I am not saying they do not work. I am saying my eyelids could not tolerate them long enough to find out.

When I read Know the ocular effects of eyelash growth serums in Optometry Times, it helped explain my experience. The article says that store-bought lash serums can contain synthetic versions of the same kind of ingredient that is in Latisse, with the same possible side effects. Unlike drug companies, cosmetic companies are not required to list possible side effects on the package. The article suggests looking for “prost” in the ingredient names as a clue.

The same article describes a survey of 154 current and past users of store-bought lash serums. Forty percent had stopped using them, and side effects were the most common reason. So if your eyelids reacted the way mine did, you have a lot of company.

Castor oil on my lashes: gentle, but no change

The only thing I tried on my lashes that did not irritate my eyelids was castor oil. I used it for a few months. I did not notice any difference in my lashes.

That matches what I found in the research. Medical News Today’s article Castor oil for eyelash growth: Does it work? says there is no scientific evidence that castor oil helps lashes grow, although it may make them look thicker or glossier. The article also recommends testing castor oil on a small patch of skin away from your face first, since it can cause irritation in some people.

What I Tried for My Eyebrows

GrandeBrow: two good years, then it stopped working

My eyebrows have a happier story, at least for a while. I found a brow serum called GrandeBrow, and it worked well. My brows became much fuller, like they used to be. I was thrilled.

Then, after about two years, it stopped working. I am not sure why. It could be that the company changed the formula. It could be that my body chemistry changed. I do not know. I only know that it does not work for me anymore.

I am sharing this because I think it is useful for you to know that something can work for you and then stop. If that happens, it is not your fault, and it does not mean it never worked. Bodies change, especially through menopause.

Castor oil on my brows: it helps a little

Castor oil has helped my eyebrows a little. I do not see new growth. What I see is that my brows look smoother and better shaped, and that has become part of my morning.

My Simple Castor Oil Brow Routine

This takes less than a minute, and I do it every morning.

1. Get a bottle of organic castor oil. Any organic castor oil works for me. I do not use a special brand.
2. Put a few drops on your fingertips. You do not need much.
3. Massage it into your brows. I gently work it in and smooth the hairs into the shape I want.

I use this instead of a brow gel. It helps smooth and shape my brows a little. To be fair to brow gel, the castor oil does not keep my brows in place as long as a gel does. But I like using one simple, organic product, and it has never irritated my skin.

If you try this, do a patch test first on a small area of skin away from your face, as Medical News Today suggests. And keep the oil out of your eyes.

Castor oil shows up in other parts of my wellness routine too. If you are curious, I wrote about castor oil packs here on Peacefully Proven.

What Hormone Therapy Did and Did Not Do

I want to be very clear about this, because I am a strong advocate for hormone therapy. HRT is the single thing that helped me the most. It cleared my brain fog, which was my biggest win. It stopped my drenching night sweats and nearly all of my hot flashes. It helped my joint pain and my depression.

It did not bring back my eyelashes and eyebrows. It did not fix my scalp hair or my dry skin either.

I share that so you do not start hormone therapy expecting it to fix everything and then feel let down. And I share it so you do not decide hormone therapy is not worth it because it did not fix one symptom. For me, it changed my life, even with the things it did not touch.

If your doctor will not talk with you about hormone therapy, and you have no medical reason you cannot take it, it is okay to find another doctor. I wrote more about this in The FDA Took the Black Box Off Menopause Hormone Therapy.

When to See a Doctor

Gradual thinning of your lashes and brows through menopause may be part of the change. But some patterns deserve a closer look. Based on the sources above, I would make an appointment if you notice:

• Sudden loss, or loss in patches.
• The outer third of both eyebrows disappearing. Ask about a thyroid blood test.
• Your hairline moving back from your forehead along with eyebrow loss. A dermatologist can check for frontal fibrosing alopecia.
• Red, itchy, scaly, or swollen eyelids. Skin conditions near the eyes can cause lash loss, and they can be treated.

Cleveland Clinic recommends seeing a healthcare provider for any new hair loss. Doctors usually treat the cause, which can stop more hair from falling out.

Symptoms like these are easy to blame on something else. That happened to me with my brain fog, and I wrote about it in I Thought It Was Early Dementia. It Was Perimenopause.

If You Want to Try a Lash or Brow Serum

Here is what I would tell a friend, based on my own experience and what I read.

• Ask about Latisse. It is the one that worked best for me, and it needs a prescription. The American Academy of Ophthalmology says your eye doctor will check your eye health first. People with certain eye conditions should not use it, and people on eye pressure medicine need to be monitored.
• Apply only where the label says. The Latisse prescribing information says to apply it to the skin of the upper eyelid at the base of the lashes, and to blot any extra with a tissue. The label warns that product left on other skin can cause hair to grow where you do not want it.
• Read the ingredient list on store-bought serums. Look for “prost” in the ingredient names, as Optometry Times suggests, so you know what you are putting near your eyes.
• Patch test first. Try any new product on a small patch of skin away from your eyes.
• Stop if your eyelids get irritated. Cleveland Clinic notes that irritated skin near your eyes can itself affect your lashes and brows. Pushing through irritation may make things worse.
• Tell your eye doctor. If you use a lash serum and notice redness, dryness, or irritation that does not go away, let your eye doctor know.
• Expect that results may not last. With Latisse, lashes are expected to go back to how they were once you stop. My brow serum stopped working after two years. Keep that in mind before you spend a lot.

Your Turn: Please Share What Has Worked for You

I have been trying things for years, and I still have not found the answer for my lashes. For my brows, I found something that worked for two good years, and I would love to find that again.

So I am asking you. What has helped your eyelashes or eyebrows during perimenopause or menopause? A serum that did not irritate your eyelids? A food, a supplement, or a routine? A conversation with your doctor that led somewhere good? Something that worked for a while and then stopped, like my brow serum did?

Please share it in the comments below. One thing will not work for everyone, and that is exactly why your experience matters. The tip that did nothing for me might be the one that works for the woman reading this after you. I would love to read them, and I know other women reading this would too.

And if you are in the middle of this right now, please hear this: you do not have to suffer through menopause in silence. Symptoms can start about ten years before menopause, and many of them can be helped. Keep asking questions, keep trying, and keep talking about the symptoms nobody warned us about.

Sources

• Madarosis (Eyebrow & Eyelash Hair Loss): Causes & Treatment, Cleveland Clinic.
• Madarosis, DermNet.
• The Female Pattern Hair Loss: Review of Etiopathogenesis and Diagnosis, BioMed Research International.
• Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia: A Comprehensive Guide for Cosmetic Dermatologists, Dermatology and Therapy.
• Latisse (Bimatoprost Ophthalmic Solution), American Academy of Ophthalmology.
• LATISSE (bimatoprost ophthalmic solution) 0.03% prescribing information, DailyMed, National Library of Medicine.
• Know the ocular effects of eyelash growth serums, Optometry Times.
• Castor oil for eyelash growth: Does it work?, Medical News Today.