ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Observations that eyelashes become thinner, shorter, and lighter, as women age has not been previously quantified. OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to investigate associations between eyelash characteristics and age. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The upper natural eyelashes of 179 subjects were photographed and analyzed (digital image analysis); length, thickness, and darkness (intensity: 0 = white and 255 = black) were calculated. Linear regression, including race as a potentially confounding factor, was used to assess the association between age and mean eyelash characteristics. RESULTS: Subjects' mean age was 40.3 (±10.3) years; 46.1% were white, 36.5% Asian, 9.0% Hispanic, 5.1% East Indian, and 3.4% black. Mean eyelash length ranged from 6.39 (±1.02) to 7.98 (±1.15) mm (subjects aged 50-65 years and 22-29 years, respectively). Mean thickness ranged from 1.17 (±0.42) to 1.62 (±0.56) mm (subjects aged 50-65 years and 20-29 years, respectively). Mean intensity ranged from 118.2 (±19.8) to 129.4 (±17.3) (subjects aged 30-39 years and 50-65 years, respectively). Adjusted for race, eyelash length, thickness, and darkness decreased significantly with increasing age (p < .000, p = .0090, and p < .05, respectively). CONCLUSION: Advancing age among an ethnically diverse population of healthy women is associated with significant decreases in eyelash length, thickness, and darkness.
