falling out eyelashes

I tend to pick at my eyelashes a lot when I wear mascara, and they fall out; it sometimes gets to the point where I get 'holes' in my lash line

it's so frusterating, I want to have nice long thick eyelashes, but if this keeps up I'm not going to have any left!

I know that lashes fall out/ re grow about once a month, but this isn't helping their lifespan

any advice to make lashes stronger, or at least ditch the habit?

PS: not wearing mascara is NOT AN OPTION!!

When do you pick at them? If it is at night, after you are home, just go ahead and wash off the mascara...then you won't be tempted to pick it off. During the day? Just think about the fact that picking at it will (most likely) leave flakes on your face and eventually make your eye lashes look funny!

My sister does this, too....especially after she is home for the day. I do it at night, sometimes and when I notice, I just wash it off so I have nothing to pick at!

I don't think there is anything that would make your lashes strong enough to avoid being plucked out! Just work on catching yourself before you get going.

Do you wear waterproof mascara? I know that my eyelashes used to fall out when I would wear waterproof...

I don't pick at my mascara, but I do/used to pick at my cuticles. One way Ive been trying to kick this habit is by finding other things for my hands to do - namely, knitting. If I'm in class (when I know I'd pick while not taking notes) I knit. Not only am i not picking, I'm also doing something productive...

That's called trichotillomania, and it's a problem with impulse control. It can be treated with therapy and/or meds.

If you only tend to do it when you're wearing mascara & not wearing is not option...

Get them tinted! Go to your local beauty salon & enquire. You usually need a patch test of the dye 48 hours before your appointment to make sure you don't react (you don't want to have an alergic reaction on your eyes!). I recommend having them done blue/black as it seems to be darker than black & lasts a bit longer. It makes your lashes look longer & fuller & can last 4-6 weeks. Result!

All you then need do is curl them & hey presto!

clathanks for the tips

kelleigh yes i pick them most at night when I get home!! I SHOULD just wash it off then, not wait till bed time... aaah you're too smart

jblarghp oh my god, waterproff mascara is the worse!! it takes forever to get off, and i end up ripping out eyelashes trying to remove it!!... usually i just use waterproof over top of regular mascara for more staying power

emilyd2222 i don't think its that bad of an impulse.. like if im nervous or frusterated I play with/pull out my hair (seriously in like highschool id almost get a bald spot on my right side hair line cause id pull out hairs during exams!!) the picking at eyelashes in more of an annoyance after i have mascara on for too long... kelleigh's idea is geneous!

clairesty tinting is good, in theory.. i've had it done, and wasnt that impressed.. i like the drama of thick dark lashes, and going without makes me feel naked.. so the mascara stays :)

Uh, you know, you could also just comb your eyelashes to get the pickable clumps out, that way you've got it on and there's nothing to pick at.  Or you can buy false lashes, that way if you pick those out they'll only cost you a few more dollars to replace.

Or, oh man, genius idea, just stop picking the damned things.

CD, it's not always that easy.  I can't speak for carmen, but some people have obsessive ticks that are very hard to get rid of.  I used to pick my eyelashes and didn't even realize I was doing it.  It was not only a tick, but it had become a habit that I didn't even realize I was doing.

Carmen, I helped to get rid of this habit by laying off the mascara for a few weeks.  Then, after I started wearing it again, I made sure to wash it off as soon as I got home. 

Carmen,  as Emily previously mentioned, hair and eyebrow/lash pulling is called trictotillomania, a disorder related to OCD. If you continue to have bald spots in either your lashline or on your scalp, get treatment for it. If the hair pulling continues for too long, you can damage the follicles, resulting in permanent hair loss.  It is often exacerbated by stress or anxiety. If mascara causes you to pull more, ditch the mascara. Which is worse, light lashes, or no lashes?

I have a friend with trichtotillomania who has no lashes, no eyebrows, and large bald spots on her scalp from pulling. She wears a wig at all times, and has to pencil in her brows and lashes. She started with symptoms much as you describe, playing with and pulling her hair when stressed or bored when we were in school, and from there she started with the lashes, then all the hair on her body.  If you can control the impulse to pull, do anything, including getting rid of the mascara, to stop it. If that doesn't work, get treatment for it before things get really out of control. The longer it goes on, the harder it is to stop.

get your mascara tattoo'd on.

I still vote for falsies, that way you're left to pluck out fake lashes, or pick at the glue which'll tear the skin right off your eyelids, but leave your real lashes there.

Original Post by floggingsully:

get your mascara tattoo'd on.

 That'd be eyeliner...

Original Post by alibsam:

Original Post by floggingsully:

get your mascara tattoo'd on.

 That'd be eyeliner...

 My bad.

Original Post by floggingsully:

Original Post by alibsam:

Original Post by floggingsully:

get your mascara tattoo'd on.

 That'd be eyeliner...

 My bad.

Now I wanna see someone try to tattoo ink onto an eyelash.... >.>'

It doesn't have to be "that bad of an impulse," clearly it's bothering you, so it warrants treatment if you want to stop it. I had trichotillomania in high school and now my eyebrows are very thin and won't grow back normally. If you keep doing it it's possible that your lashes won't grow back.

scary.

i didn't know it could get as bad as you said, but now i see that i could be headed in that direction!! i do pick a lot at my body, mainly hairs or skin, sometimes resulting in bald spots or inflamation.. uh oh...

I know that I do have many of the OCD symptoms, so I will deffinatly have to look into some kind of treatment, or a method to avoid picking.

I know my moms eyebrows dont really grow anymore, they are very thin and since shes overplucked them for so many years, most of the hairs dont grow back... and I have seen animals/birds that are understress will chew on themselves or pull out their feathers, and its not a healthy habit

thanks for the advice, possibly saved me from getting too carried away