Want to know if you can really use coconut oil for eyelashes safely? Does it actually work to make your lashes longer and remove eye makeup?
We evaluate the research that provides the answers to these questions, plus we discuss coconut oil alternatives, and why coconut oil can improve your eye health if you wear mascara!
Plus we discuss a now-abandoned patent that could make dispersing coconut oil on your eyelashes much easier!
Everything You Need To Know About Coconut Oil For Eyelashes
Coconut oil is used in 100s of different beauty cosmetics, at concentration levels ranging from a low of 0.0001% all the way up to 70%. Coconut oil is even used in tanning lotions like Maui Babe.
It is safe to use on your eyelashes, and can even help your lashes grow and protect against eye infections!
Tip: Want dramatic results? Consider trying Revitalash Advanced Serum!
Coconut Oil Helps Improve Hair Quality & This Strengths Your Lashes
The benefits of coconut oil for hair (and therefore lashes) over other oils, like mineral or sunflower oil, are revealed in Rele and Mohile’s (2003) research. Among these three oils, coconut oil was the only one found to decrease protein loss levels for both damaged and undamaged hair when used before or after washing the hair.
Unlike sunflower or mineral oil, coconut oil is a triglyceride of a fatty acid called lauric acid, and has a low molecule weight and has a linear straight chain. Thus it is able to penetrate the hair shaft better than mineral or sunflower oil (Rele and Mohile, 2003).
More recent research in the past decade has linked coconut oil (particularly Vatika-enriched coconut oil) to stimulated hair growth and a reduction in hair loss.
The result is stronger, healthier, and hopefully longer and fully eyelashes in the long run!
Coconut Oil Even Protects Against Eye Infections!
Worried about the safety of putting coconut oil near your eyes? Don’t be! A study by Mutalib et al. (2015) shows that coconut oil is just as safe as saline and commercially sold eye drops. Coconut oil will not irritate your eyes… in fact, it can nourish your eyes!
Lauric Acid Protects Against Fungal & Bacterial Infections
Instead of irritating ingredients, coconut oil contains hydrating fatty acids. Fatty acids like lauric acid are effective at protecting against the microbial organisms in your eyelashes that can cause fungal or bacterial infections. This is thanks to lauric acid’s special antifungal and antimicrobial properties. In fact, lauric acid offers the biggest antibacterial protection of all of the medium-chain level fatty acids!
Unsurprisingly, thanks to the presence of lauric acid, virgin coconut oil is proven to have antimicrobial benefits.
Plus, there’s some evidence (Mutalib et al., 2015) that coconut oil could even help heal conjunctivitis (pink eye)!
Related: While you’re protecting against infections with coconut oil, why not consider the benefits of coconut oil for the rest of your face? This miracle oil can even reduce the appearance of scars!
These Fatty Acids Help Prevent Eye Infections From Old Mascara Tubes & Are Effective At Removing Makeup
If you wear mascara and other eye makeup regularly, you may want to use coconut oil on your eyes… for reasons other than (just) the lengthening and nourishing benefits!
Your mascara can be contaminated by the microbes on your eyelashes, particularly if you keep using the same tube for too long. Microbes were found on 36.4% of mascara tubes that were examined after three months of use in one study by Pack et al. (2008). The lauric acid in coconut oil will help protect against eye infections caused by using old mascara tubes.
These fatty acids also make coconut oil an effective makeup remover – they break up your face and eye makeup and help it lift easily off your skin and eyelashes. Your eyes may blur momentarily if you get some of the coconut oil in your eye, but it shouldn’t sting and it won’t last.
Product To Disperse Coconut Oil On Your Eyelashes?
In 2015, an inventor filed a patent for a travel-sized tube of coconut oil with a special brush that would apply 100% Virgin and Organic coconut oil to eyelashes (or eyebrows) easier. The patent described bristles that are sofer than typical mascara brushes, but also firm enough to evenly coat the eyelashes in coconut oil.
Although this patent application has since been abandoned, there’s still a market for easy coconut oil application to the lashes. Although a lot of eyelash serums contain coconut oil, there are no major product options available right now to disperse pure coconut oil on your lashes directly. Until a product launches, we’re stuck with DIY ideas for now!
Tip: Make sure you buy virgin organic coconut oil. Non-organic oil is fertilized using harmful chemicals that you don’t want anywhere near your eyes!
How To Use It On Your Lashes
If you want to use pure virgin organic coconut oil on your lashes, buy a tub of the real thing. Use a Q-tip, a disposable mascara wand, or your fingers to apply the coconut oil.
Apply some organic virgin coconut oil to your fingertips. Rub your fingertips together and massage it over your eye area (and skin if you wish to remove your face makeup). Grab a cotton pad or a q-tip and wipe the coconut oil away.
Coconut Oil Alternatives
If you can’t get your hands on coconut oil (or if you can’t justify the price), consider using baby oil instead. Personally, I like to use an empty bottle of the ‘Too Faced Mascara Melt Off‘, fill it with baby oil, and use that to remove my mascara and help my eyelashes grow.
If you want to try a marketed skincare product that is known for its eyelash benefits, I highly recommend the ‘Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream‘ (though it’s a lot more expensive than coconut oil).
Coconut Oil In Mascara?
Coconut oil is actually a really common ingredient in mascara (though only a very small amount is added to the formula).
This oil is not used in high volumes in most mascara formulas, largely due to the high price, and because it does not impact the look of the mascara on the lashes that much. The benefits of coconut oil in mascara is that it improves the health, length, and volume of your lashes over time – not the appearance of your lashes in the short run.
Tip: Try using coconut oil as a moisturizer or a makeup brush cleaner too! Plus, it’s an effective natural teeth whitening substance, as an alternative to whitening strips.
Allergic Reactions?
Prone to allergies? Coconut oil can, in very rare cases, cause allergic reactions.
For example, contact cheilitis, most commonly caused by wearing lipstick on the lips, is often triggered by oils (including coconut oil) in the lipstick formula.
Make sure you’re not allergic to anything in coconut oil, always buy the organic virgin type of this oil, and consult your doctor before use if you’re in any doubt.
