The 10 Mostly Overlooked Roles of Eyelashes

Eyelashes are often the favorite topic of beauty blogs and online makeup gurus around the world. Beauty experts from every corner of the internet seem to be always clamoring for the latest lash serum or lengthening mascara that can make their eyelashes appear more lush—thicker, darker and longer. Despite this constant attention however, the regular beauty expert often overlooks one essential question: what are eyelashes for?

Even scientists and health experts seemed to be stumped about evolutionary purpose served by the miniature strands of hair that rest at the tip of our eyelids. What practical function are they supposed to serve and why are they even there? Depending on who you ask and which angle you’re coming from, the answers to why you have eyelashes will certainly vary. Here are 10 of the most overlooked roles of lashes.

Airflow Regulator
In 2012, Guillermo Amador, a doctoral student at the Georgia Institute of technology began to execute a comprehensive scientific study about the possible evolutionary functions of eyelashes. One of the most important points in his paper explains that since all mammals are born with naturally wet eyes, airflow can often become an enemy to our eye surfaces, and thus our vision. This is where the protective function of eyelashes comes in. Supporting the study, Deborah Netburn, a contact reporter for the LA Times states that reducing airflow is important as the eye keeps evaporation at bay with less moving air. This stops dust from getting deposited on the eye surface and eventually causing irritation.

Shady Business

Aside from blocking too much air from drying out and irritating our eyeballs, Amador also states that eyelashes act as shade-providers for our eyes. Without eyelashes, or with lashes that are too short, our eyes are more likely to be subject to photosensitivity, or an aversion to bright lights.

Amador posits that even though a lot of people covet the longest, thickest lashes, a functional eyelash doesn’t have to be extensively lengthy to perform the most optimal balance between keeping air out and letting the perfect amount of light in. After measuring eye shape to lash length ratios for hundreds of mammals, he discovered that the best eyelash length will measure a third of the subject’s eyeball. This means that if you have very short eyelashes, or if you recently experienced hair loss, you should look into rejuvenating your lashes for health reasons. Safe to say, both women and men are encouraged to maintain a good lash length.

Moisture Routers
Your eyelashes, along with your eyebrows, are designed to keep sweat and moisture away from your eyes. Even though these substances are produced by your own body, sweat, oil, and moisture can often irritate the eyes, causing redness and discomfort. To minimize conditions like these, evolution has made it so that your brows and lashes are thick enough to catch excess moisture and reroute it to the sides of the face, where it cannot harm the eyes.

Miniature Dust Busters

Aside from blocking out sweat, unwanted moisture, and harmful airflows, our eyelashes also do an excellent job at preventing dust from touching the delicate surfaces of our eyes. Think of lashes as natural filters—they prevent all potentially detrimental substances from ever making contact with our eyeballs. In fact, it’s for this very reason that camels have such long eyelashes. It’s not just to look attractive to prospective mates, but to give them formidable protection against all the sand and dust particles in their natural habitats. While humans have far shorter lashes, they function in a very similar manner.

Temperature Regulator

Eyelashes also provide some minor regulating for your eye temperature. In a small way, your lashes ensure that your eyes don’t get too hot or too cold by adjusting to the current weather that you’re in. When exposed to directly to the sun, they provide the proper shade to keep your delicate eyes cool. In extremely cold weather, especially in the presence of snow, your lashes also catch all the cold water particles that threaten to harm your eyes. In a way, your lashes are one of your best allies against harsh weather.

Conductor to Your Eyelids
Eyelashes help your eyelids detect when it’s appropriate to blink for your protection. Whenever it’s too bright, whenever the air is too dry or filled with dust-like sediments, your eyelashes help signal that you need to blink in order to normalize the surface. In summary, do eyelashes protect the eyes? Yes, certainly!

Your Face’s Perfect Frame
Beyond health reasons, eyelashes are also one of the defining features of your face. Besides your eyebrows, your eyelashes do a good job at framing the focal point of your face: your eyes. Curling your lashes well and making sure that they’re kept in a healthy state will make you look consistently put-together. Even without make up, a well-kept set of lashes will provide some extra depth and definition to your eyes, making them look bigger and more alive.

Instant Facelift

The best part? Since the lash transplant will not alter the structure of your skin, the effect will be so much more natural. Plus, aside from making you look much younger and fresh, an eyelash transplant also ads extra protection for the eyes, especially if your eyelids have sparse lashes due to genetics.

Ticket to Stardom

Starlets like the Kardashian sisters have made entire careers out of showcasing their bountiful lashes for the cameras. But who said thick, beautiful lashes are exclusive to celebrities? It’s about time that you put your lashes front and center as well, not just for the sake of beauty, but to get back a more confident and youthful look on top of having a healthy vision.

Making Your Wishes Come True
Folklore says that blowing away a stray eyelash can grant you wishes. But at the NuHart Clinic, you can make all your lash dreams come true with the world’s finest, most cutting edge restoration solutions, brought to you at affordable prices. If you weigh the pros and cons of an eyelash transplant, you’ll discover that the pros, considering health and beauty, will definitely outweigh the cons by a mile.

See how eyelashes are serving you beyond aesthetics? They are, in fact, very essential to your body with the biological roles they serve. From protecting your eyes from foreign materials to helping you see better, natural eyelashes are worth investing in.

Know that conditions like hair loss can readily affect and be seen on your eyelashes, thus both men and women should pay attention to them. When you experience symptoms, consult professionals immediately to avoid common mistakes with eyelashes. When both health and beauty are on the line, choose the trusted specialists.