Plucking an eyelash once in a while is unlikely to cause lasting harm, but doing it regularly can damage the follicle, invite infection, and eventually prevent the lash from growing back. Whether it’s a cosmetic habit, a response to an irritating lash, or something you find hard to stop, the risks depend on how often you’re doing it and why.
What Happens to the Follicle When You Pluck
Each eyelash sits in a follicle embedded in your eyelid. Pulling a lash out by the root creates a small wound in that follicle, triggering inflammation as the tissue heals. A single pluck here and there gives the follicle time to recover. But repeated plucking of the same spot can cause scarring inside the follicle, and scar tissue can distort or permanently close the opening where the lash grows. Once a follicle is scarred shut, the lash won’t come back.
Even when the follicle survives, lashes that regrow after plucking sometimes come in misdirected, pointing toward the eye instead of away from it. This condition, called trichiasis, can scratch the surface of the eye and cause ongoing irritation, creating a cycle where you feel the urge to pluck the offending lash again.
How Long Regrowth Takes
Eyelashes follow a three-phase growth cycle. The active growth phase lasts about 30 to 45 days, followed by a two-to-three-week transition period and then a resting phase of roughly 100 days. If you pluck a lash during its active growth phase, you’re resetting the clock. Most plucked eyelashes take six weeks to three months to fully regrow, with two months being a common average. That’s noticeably slower than the hair on your head, which has a much longer growth phase.
As long as the follicle and surrounding eyelid skin are healthy, regrowth is expected. But if plucking has been frequent or aggressive enough to scar the follicle roots, some lashes may never return. People with a long history of compulsive pulling sometimes develop permanent gaps in their lash line.
Infection and Irritation Risks
The eyelid margin is home to oil glands, sweat glands, and bacteria that normally coexist without problems. Plucking creates a tiny opening that bacteria can enter, raising the risk of a stye (a red, painful bump on the eyelid) or a broader eyelid infection. Using unsterilized tweezers or pulling with your fingers makes this more likely.
Complications from repeated eyelash removal include infection, scarring, skin discoloration around the follicle, and visible gaps where individual lashes are missing. These risks apply whether you’re plucking for cosmetic reasons or trying to deal with an ingrown or misdirected lash at home.
When Plucking Becomes Compulsive
If you find yourself pulling out eyelashes and can’t stop, that pattern has a name: trichotillomania. It’s classified as a mental health condition, not a bad habit, and it affects a significant number of people. The diagnostic criteria require that the pulling is intentional, that you’ve tried to stop or reduce it, and that it causes noticeable distress or interferes with your daily life.
The most effective treatments combine two approaches. The first is habit reversal training, which starts with building awareness of exactly when and how your hand moves toward your lashes. You then learn a competing response, something like making a fist for one minute whenever you notice the urge or the movement starting. A support person in your life can help by gently reminding you to use the competing response and offering encouragement when you do.
The second approach is stimulus control: identifying the situations, emotions, or sensory triggers that lead to pulling and then modifying those triggers. Some people pull more while reading, watching TV, or feeling anxious. Changing your environment during those moments, even in small ways, can reduce the behavior significantly. If you recognize yourself in this description, a therapist who specializes in body-focused repetitive behaviors can guide you through both strategies.
Safer Ways to Handle a Problem Lash
If a single lash is growing inward and scratching your eye, the instinct to yank it out makes sense, but plucking at home often makes things worse. The lash tends to regrow within four to six weeks, and lashes broken off during removal can leave sharp stubs that irritate the eye even more than the original misdirected lash did.
For temporary relief, a warm compress (a clean cloth soaked in warm water, held against the eyelid for up to 10 minutes) can ease discomfort. Over-the-counter eye drops or soothing ointments help with redness and irritation. These won’t fix the underlying problem, but they buy time until you can get professional help.
For lashes that keep growing in the wrong direction, more lasting options include electrolysis, which uses a small electrical current to destroy the follicle root, laser or radio wave ablation that targets the lash at its source, and cryotherapy where the follicle is frozen and removed. When a larger section of the eyelid is involved, surgical procedures can reposition the lash line so it points away from the eye permanently.
Helping Plucked Lashes Recover
If you’ve stopped plucking and want your lashes to come back as quickly as possible, the most important thing is to leave the area alone and let the follicles heal. Prescription lash growth serums containing the active ingredient in Latisse are the only FDA-approved option shown to promote thicker, longer lash growth. Over-the-counter lash serums are widely available but contain different ingredients and may not deliver the same results.
Keeping the eyelid clean, avoiding rubbing your eyes, and being gentle when removing makeup all help protect recovering follicles. If lashes haven’t started reappearing after three months of leaving them alone, the follicle may be too damaged to recover on its own, and it’s worth having an eye doctor take a closer look.