What Causes White Eyelashes? - Do You Know How To Avoid It?

This may seem like a very rare and peculiar occurrence. Since we all know lashes are generally dark in nature, well it depends on your hair anyway and eyelashes turning white may come as a shock.

However, it is not as really as odd as most people would think. Why do eyelashes turn white? It can be caused by different reasons such as albinism, vitiligo, blepharitis and of course, the usual suspect, aging. In this article, we will discuss all of this.

But before we jump on to the possible culprits of white eyelashes it is best to discuss melanin first since it plays a big role in giving your lashes its pretty and lush dark color.

Cells that are called melanocytes create melanin and these cells can be found in the hair follicle. When these melanocytes malfunction that is when the hair starts to become grey or white.

Albinism

People with albinism are not really that hard to spot. They are most commonly called albinos.

Do you know, what causes eyelashes to turn white? They are born with a congenital disorder that causes a lack of or poor melanin production in their system. Albinism is characterized mainly by white skin as well as light hair, eyebrows and of course eyelashes.

With albinism, it is hard to get your lashes to become dark again mainly because it is your body that refuses your ability to produce melanin.

Vitiligio

Unlike albinism, vitiligo slowly develops in people between the ages of ten to thirty. It is characterized mainly by the loss of pigment which translates to white patches on the skin usually in those areas that are most exposed to the sun.

A side effect of vitiligo is the early whitening or graying of the hair on your bodies such as those on your scalp, eyebrows, and eyelashes. The retina may also become lighter when one is diagnosed with vitiligo.

Aging

Aging with white Eyelashes

The most common reason for white eyelashes is actually plain old aging. No surprise here folks.

As people get older, melanin production weakens and hence grey hair can be found in people in their seventies and sometimes when you're unlucky in your fifties or sixties.

Although white eyelashes are more common in men than in women, it is still a pretty normal occurrence that is no cause for alarm.

However certain factors such as excessive smoking or malnutrition can speed up the aging process which also translates to a higher risk of having white eyelashes.

Treatment

Do eyelashes turn white with age? For those that are suffering from greying eyelashes because of age, you still have a couple of options for treatment. Listed below are a couple of options you can look into.

• Some people have found success in semi-permanent dyes. The great thing about these is the fact that you can buy these at any local drug store.It is, however, better to have an esthetician perform this on you. However, how often to eyelashes grow back, you will have to reapply this regularly.
• Eyelash enhancers have also been found to be successful with older people that are suffering from greying lashes.You can also buy these anywhere. You only need to apply these twice a day and results have been said to show in two to four months' time.

You must remember though that when speaking of lighter lashes by reason of age they are usually grey by nature, lashes that are white are usually telling of a medical disorder.

2 Sources

We review published medical research in respected scientific journals to arrive at our conclusions about a product or health topic. This ensures the highest standard of scientific accuracy.

[1] Biochemistry, Melanin https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK459156/
[2] Albinism: epidemiology, genetics, cutaneous characterization, psychosocial factors https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6857599/

Donna Fisher

Donna is an award-winning health, wellness, and beauty writer based in Texas. She has also published eBooks and edited several other Read Full Bio