Whilst I was pregnant I didn’t get that much talked about glow. My skin just became even more dry than usual. I didn’t develop thick lustrous locks either, absolutely nothing changed – except perhaps my scalp was slightly less oily so I guess that was a bonus.

What did happen though, literally straight after we welcomed Mabel into the world, was my eyelashes started falling out in clumps.

I had always been blessed with thick, long lashes. I have never really concerned myself with them much before – only felt lucky (and perhaps a little bit smug) when my friends were paying a small fortune for lash extensions and all sorts of jiggery pokery to endeavour to improve their flutter factor.

It started on my left eye, a weird bald patch towards the inner corner that almost appeared out of no-where. And then the outer corner of my right eye started to shed, I would notice up to 10 lashes on my cotton wool pad as I removed my eyeliner and mascara in the evening.

I’ll cut a long story short, I have had issues with losing lashes ever since, and have only really been able to get the situation under control recently. Initially I thought I perhaps had blepharitis which is where your eyelids become red, itchy and inflamed and a combination of this and dry scaly skin can cause your hair follicles to become blocked with oil. Sexy.

A visit to my GP and my Optometrist concluded that I didn’t in fact have blepharitis, Alopecia Areata was also ruled out. If you believe you might be suffering from the former there is an excellent article on the Liz Earle Well Being website. I found it incredibly useful with regards how to better take care of your lashes in general.

I firmly believe that I essentially bought my lash line baldness upon myself. Being a new Mum meant I was continually exhausted and I simply wasn’t taking my eye make-up off properly at night. I was also turning to waterproof products as I was finding I didn’t have time for touch ups during the day so anything long lasting was my go-to.

The problem with waterproof liners and mascara is they are indisputably difficult to remove. I would would find myself scrubbing away half-asleep taking off several lashes in the process. I am also coming to realise that many products (no matter how covetable) can make your lashes very brittle, thus they become weak and increase the volume of breakages.

I no longer use eyelash curlers and whenever possible use a mascara with a soft flexible bristle type wand as I find these are much kinder that the stiff rubber variety. Unfortunately my beloved Max Factor Clump Defy is now saved for special occasions and I whip out the Bobbi Brown “Everything” on an almost daily basis instead. It gives natural glossy definition and separates exceptionally well – which is exactly what you need when you’re feeling on the sparse side.

I rate Rimmel Exaggerate liquid eyeliner for a no smudge formula but easy removal. Dotted in-between lashes (particularly on more obvious gaps) really helps to give the illusion of lash volume at the root. I favour Avene gentle eye make-up remover as it’s super gentle and never stings. It’s gel formulation is refreshing and non-oily too. As I type you can purchase Avene from Look Fantastic with 20% off by using the code “Miracle”.

If you are REALLY feeling lash-less then Shiseido Full Lash Volume Mascara is something magical. It builds and lengthens like nothing else, seriously. To be perfectly honest I’m not a huge fan of the OTT almost-spiders-legs look but when I’ve worn this several folks have asked if I’m wearing falsies. And I guess you can’t get much more of a compliment than that.

I’m yet to venture into the world of growth serums – I’ve read a few horror stories about various formulations containing ingredients not approved by the FDA, I also don’t want to promote any further irritation. However my sister really rates Rapidlash (currently 15% off at FeelUnique.com) and there’s no denying the reviews and claims online are dazzling.

Apparently plain old Castor Oil works well to promote natural growth and improve condition, it contains ricinoleic acid (also known as omega-9 fatty acid) which stimulates lash growth and nourishes your hair follicles. I have bought myself a bottle with the view to apply a very thin layer to my lash line before bed, I’ll let you know if I notice anything amazing occurring.

All of the above lash loss causes and potential cures of course also apply to the hair follicles of your eyebrows.

Have you ever experienced lash loss? have you ever tried a fancy growth serum and witnessed impressive results? Any recommendations for excellent eye make-up removers that don’t cause redness or leave a greasy residue?

Please do feel free to ask me any questions and make recommendations in the comments box below.

P.S Completely unrelated to your peepers but if I don’t tell you now the opportunity might be missed. And the would be tragic. Chanel blusher in “HyperFresh” is one of my favourite make-up discoveries of 2016. Scarily bright pink in the pan, the tiniest dab can’t fail to make you look healthy in a brisk-walk/roll-in-the-hay type of way. So. Good. I’ve received so many compliments on it recently and many of my friends will be unwrapping one come the 25th of December.

However, it’s ruddy limited edition. And it’s nearly sold out. Everywhere. The only place I can find it’s still stocked is Boots. Hurry up and treat yourself before I bulk buy them all as back-ups.