These Eyelash Serums Will Give You Longer, Thicker Lashes Without a Trip to the Salon (2024)

Feel like you suddenly need five or six coats of mascara before it looks like you even have eyelashes? Yeah, you're not imagining things—hair loss, even in your eyelashes, is really a thing. Changing hormones and vitamin deficiencies can cause eyelashes to fall out, says Dendy Engelman, MD, FAAD, a dermatologist in New York City. Womp, womp.

Meet Our Experts: Dendy Engelman, MD, FAAD, dermatologist in New York City, Jaimie DeRosa, MD, double board-certified facial plastic surgeon, Michele Green, MD, cosmetic dermatologist, Inna Lazar, OD, founder of Greenwich Eye Care, Lian Mack, MD, board-certified dermatologist in New York City

Enter eyelash growth serums, products designed to add back nutrients to sapped eyelash hair. The big cheese of eyelash growth serums is Latisse, an FDA-approved serum you can only get via prescription. But if you're not looking for a prescription-level commitment, try an OTC lash serum instead.

"Look for lash serums that contain ingredients that stimulate hair growth (peptides and amino acids), vitamins that support healthy lashes (vitamin E), and those that hydrate the lash and help to support brittle dried lash hairs and prevent further breakage (hyaluronic acid)," says Jaimie DeRosa, MD, a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon.

To save you from squinting to read ingredient labels, we've rounded up the best eyelash growth serums—all backed by dermatologists and overwhelmingly positive online reviews.

Loaded with amino acids, biotin, and vitamin B5, Lian Mack, MD says she's used this eyelash growth serum herself and can vouch for its impressive results. The Rapidlash serum promises improvement in lash and brow growth in as little as four weeks, but give it a full eight says Dr. Mack. "On average, it takes about 8 weeks to fully replace a lash.”

GrandeLash has a solid fan-base on Sephora.com, with 81 percent of users recommending the serum to others. Dr. DeRosa agrees it's a good bet for eyelash growth. "[It's] my go-to starter serum," she says. "Its ingredients include L-proline, an amino acid, which helps promote the growth of healthy lashes, as well as hyaluronic acid to help keep lashes hydrated and prevent breakage and Vitamin E to nourish the lash hairs."

If you're looking for one of the most natural options out there, try a castor oil like this one. "Castor oil has hydrating properties that moisturize the hair and may decrease the risk of breakage," says Michele Green, MD, a cosmetic dermatologist in New York City. "It’s speculated that the ricinoleic acid in castor oil promotes circulation and may promote healthier hair growth." This product is pure castor oil, which is full of vitamin E and fatty acids to nourish lash hair.

This serum is more hardworking that most, since it's packed with ceramides and hyaluronic acid designed to smooth and illuminate eyes and fortify lashes all at once. Talk about a two-for-one!.

Loaded with arginine and pro-vitamin B5 for extra-strong lashes, this great drugstore deal can be applied before your mascara, morning and night. The soft cotton brush instantly delivers shine, but yields lusher, longer lashes in about four weeks.

Milk Makeup’s lash and brow serum features hemp-derived cannabis seed extract to help hydrate and condition. It's also packed with plant peptides, which have "been shown to increase the length of eyelash hairs and the density of brow hair," says Dr. DeRosa.

This lash serum is safe enough to apply and wear with eyelash extensions to help keep your natural lashes strong. It's all thanks to a cruelty-free formula that contains both peptides and flower and nut extracts to encourage new, more dense growth. Use on both lashes and eyebrows for the most bang for your buck.

This lash-growth serum is Ecocert-certified (meaning at least 95 percent of its ingredients are organic) and it's vegan, too. The patented herb extract blend delivers nutrients to feed lashes with powerful, natural ingredients for fuller, longer lashes.

This lash serum uses peptides to help make lashes thicker and longer, an ingredient Dr. Engelman says has been shown to improve hair growth. “It doesn’t have parabens, sulfates, or phthalates, which will limit the risk of any irritation," she adds.

This lash conditioner is ophthalmologist-developed, so you know it's safe for use around the eyes. Still, it's just as effective as any other OTC formula—if not more so. It's powered by antioxidants and amino acids to protect against breakage.

The sodium hyaluronate in this serum saturates lashes infusing them with a hefty dose of hydration that not only helps prevent breakage, but also makes them instantly appear fuller and shinier.

Advanced polypeptides? Check. Amino-acid rich fortifying biotin and panthenol? Check. Beautiful, strong, durable lashes? Check, check, check! It may be pricey, but this lash serum gets rave reviews for a reason. It's suitable for everyone, too—contact lens wearers and those with sensitive eyes.

It may be a newcomer to the market, but this eyelash growth serum is already getting rave reviews from dermatologists and shoppers alike. Likely because it comes at a moderate price point from a brand already beloved for their haircare products. It's effective, too—the serum is packed with a proprietary blend of peptides and biotin to nourish each individual lash, plus hyaluronic acid to hydrate and condition.