Sharing My Lash Growth Secrets… (WITHOUT Prostaglandin Analogues)

0:00 If you told me I was going to see these results from a lash growth serum that didn't have the potential to give me these terrifying side effects, I wouldn't have believed you. Because as many of us now know, these are the risks we expose oursel to when using lash growth serums that contain a class of ingredients called prostaglandon analoges, which spoiler exist in many of the most popular lash growth serums that exist today and is exactly why I stopped using lash growth serums for years until recently. And now that I have tested this for a fair amount of time and captured these before and after results, I am ready to dive into it with you guys and tell you everything you need to know. But in order to fairly do that, I do want to provide just a little bit more context as to how we got to this point with lash growth serums and the

0:47 severity of the risks that many people to this day are still unknowingly exposing themselves to. In the early 2000s, brands like Latise, Grande Lash, Rapid Lash, and Revital Lash absolutely exploded in popularity because the results that they were giving people were undeniably impressive. Unlike a lot of gimmicky hair growth products that we see today, like powders and gummies and supplements and sketchy oils that you find on Tik Tok shop, these serums actually worked. People who regularly used lash serums from these brands were experiencing longer, thicker, and darker lashes. And the reason for that is because all of these lash growth serums contain prostaglandin analoges which mimic the naturally occurring prostaglandins in our body and as a result promote the growth of longer, thicker, darker lashes. But what most of

1:34 us in the early 2000s did not know is that these impressive results we were seeing came with a risk of some really scary side effects like iris darkening, eyelid skin darkening, perorbital fat loss, which can create a sunken or hollow appearance around the eye and dry eye, which by the way is not just your eyes feeling dry like I mistakenly used to think, but instead a chronic medical condition that can cause really unpleasant symptoms like blurred vision, stinging, burning, and excessively watery eyes amongst a lot of other symptoms as well. And if that's not scary enough, some of these side effects are thought to be irreversible for some people. Meaning, you could discontinue use of one of these prostagland and analog containing lash growth serums, but continue to experience those side effects permanently. Obviously, that's not going to be the experience that everybody has in using a lash growth

2:20 serum like that. But for me personally, it was enough to scare me away from this category altogether until this winter. So after the risks of prostagland and analog containing lash growth serums became more widespread, more widely known, a lot of PGA free alternatives started to emerge as a solution to this problem. A lot of really big well-known brands were launching them and I feel like there would definitely be launches from time to time that I was super interested in, but I would go read the reviews, see that they just weren't very good. Lots of comments about like this just doesn't work. I saw no results. So, I think I just hit this point where I was like, I think I just need to accept that I'm never going to have lashes that were as long as they were when I was using Rapid Lash. That was my poison of choice back in college. And my god, did it work amazingly well. You know what? I

3:06 am 100% positive that the first YouTube video I ever filmed is still up on YouTube. Editor Emily, let's insert a clip of that because that's when I was using Rapid Lash. My lashes were so good. So, I just kind of dismissed this product category until I saw some dermatologists recommending the same lash growth serum as an amazing prostagland and analog free alternative. That was a mouthful. Say that 10 times fast. That was enough to peique my interest and make me want to purchase it to do a proper before and after review. But even still, I was not expecting anything. Oh, and the lash growth serum is called Swede, by the way. And I know that one of the derms I saw recommending Swede was definitely Dr. Jenny, but I know that there was another and I'm spacing on who that might have been. You know what I'm going

3:51 to do is literally just Google Sweet Lash Serum dermatologist. Let's see who pops up. Oh, I'm seeing that Tea with MD has recommended it and I do follow her, so that could very well have been the other dermatologist. Anyway, just wanted to share in case you're curious who made me purchase this and why. I was definitely influenced by some derms. But before we dive into details on Swede, including ingredients and risks, and oh, by the way, I did actually get a quote from an optometrist for this video to talk about risks in using this or other kinds of lash serums. So, we will dive into all of that, but I first want to put a list of a lot of the more commonly used prostagland and analog ingredients on the screen here. So, if you're unsure whether or not the last serum that you are using or interested in purchasing contains these ingredients, this can hopefully give you a little bit of help because I feel like a big issue with

4:37 this is that a lot of people don't know how to spot these kinds of ingredients on a label. I know for me for a while I was like, I don't know how to tell whether or not my last serum has those ingredients and like I'm worried that I'm going to miss it and something might actually be one of those ingredients and I didn't know that. So, I'm just going to wipe my hands clean of this category altogether, especially because they're not actually listed as prostagland and analoges. Like, you're not going to see those words on a label. Instead, you will see ingredients like this. This is certainly not an exhaustive list, but again, just what I was able to find and wanted to put on the screen. Something that I also found to be helpful in searching for this was the fact, where is it? I'm losing it in my notes. So a dermatologist wrote in a blog post that I found when I was preparing for this video that something that can be an

5:22 indicator that an ingredient is a prostaglandon analog is having prost in the word somewhere which we are seeing all over the screen here. So knowing that we can take a look at the ingredients list for the sweet eyelash serum and you'll see there's nothing with prost anywhere in it. There are no prostaglandon analoges within this serum. So, if this sweet eyelash serum does not contain any ingredients that have prost in them or any other prostagland and analoges, what's in it and how does it work? Sweet highlights the use of peptides, biotin, pumpkin seed oil, and vegan keratin, which we can see in the ingredients list here. Aside from that, this also contains water, hyaluronic acid, panthanol, and lary europa wood extract. So, let's dive into some of these ingredients that they're highlighting a bit further.

6:07 Based on what I've learned about hair growth in my tririccology course and hair science lectures, in perusing available studies on PubMed, we can't really highlight biotin or keratin for much more here than conditioning our lashes, which isn't to say that that's not beneficial. Like, there's of course a benefit in having our eyelashes conditioned. It's just that topical application of those ingredients has not been proven to impact the hair growth cycle in any meaningful way. Lyrics Europa wood extract is something that I was like what the heck even is that at first and of course I wanted to dive into it just like figure out why this would have been something they included and I actually discovered that it's part of a trademark hello part of a trademarked technology called redinsol that claims to reactivate bulge stem

6:53 cells to favor hair growth. Obviously, this technology is not just that extract, like it's a blend of other ingredients as well, but it was just enough to make me want to look into this ingredient further. And it turns out it's actually utilized in a lot of other hair growth serums. I wasn't able to find any publicly available published studies on this ingredient for hair growth, but that's something that could definitely be part of the equation. The specific peptides in Swede serum include Miristoil pentipeptide 17, Miristoil pentipeptide 16, biotinino tripeptide 1, octtopeptide 2, and soybean polyeptide. I was not only able to find some patented technologies on these peptides individually, but also together. So, there's this technology named WK Pep prolash that contains several of these

7:38 peptides and is claimed to act as an anti-hair loss, hair growth, and eyelash growth agent. It claims to do this by activating keratin production and stimulating adhesion protein growth to protect hair follicles, thereby preventing hair loss. It also claims to have a more significant effect on growth than both a prostaglandon analog and minoxidil, which is pretty wild to claim. So, I'm obviously taking that with a grain of salt. Pumpkin seed oil is another really trendy hair growth ingredient right now and is thought to support growth as an anti-androgen by blocking the action of five alpha reductase and therefore DHT. But as is the case with so many hyped up beauty ingredients, we definitely need more high-quality studies to draw definitive conclusions on that, especially because most of the studies that do exist are conducted on men with androgenetic alopecia. But this is another ingredient

8:24 that could be playing a role here. So I did reach out to Swede to see if there was anything that they'd be able to share with me about their technology, like clinical studies and trials. But at the point of me filming this, they haven't gotten back to me. So from what I can gather, there are no publicly available clinical studies on the technology and the Swede lash serum. So, I'm comfortable making some guesses about what caused the results that I saw here. My guesses being peptides, maybe pumpkin seed oil, maybe this extract, but I'm not comfortable making any sort of definitive claim based on the information that is publicly available at this time. That would be irresponsible. But I do still think it's fun to hypothesize and like consider what may or may not be impacting results. Regardless of which ingredients are doing what here, it's my opinion, I guess, that the way that this lash serum is likely working is very similar to the

9:10 way that a lot of hair growth serums work today. And that is by keeping lashes rooted in the lash follicle longer before shedding than they normally would as part of a typical lash growth cycle. Because just like the hair on our head, our eyelashes also go through a growth transition and rest phase before shedding from their follicle. Our lash growth cycle is obviously just significantly shorter than our hair growth cycle. Otherwise, we would have eyelashes down to our hips, too. So, what I did not experience in using this lash serum was like a sudden rapid growth in my eyelashes. If anything, the growth was so normal that I honestly didn't even notice that I had seen such impressive results until Ryan said something to me with no mascara on. One day, I have no makeup on. He looks over at me and he's like, "Look at how

9:55 long and fluttery your eyelashes look." I was like, "Okay, something's up." Like, that is what made me go get my after footage because again, I hadn't even really noticed that much of a difference. Like, I definitely was like, "Oh, yeah. I think my eyelashes are longer. I think I am seeing some improvement." But I feel like I didn't notice how much of an improvement I saw until I actually got the after footage, compared it to the before because of the fact that this happened gradually. And I'm making sure to point that out because of how much misinformation is in this space. more so for hair, but I even still see it for lashes that like if you use a serum like this, you're going to see rapid growth, rapid results, and that is just not the reality. Those are not realistic expectations. If somebody is trying to sell you something with that sort of messaging, run. So, I captured this before footage on January

10:40 20th and then the after footage on May 14th, so almost exactly 4 months later. I will say that it took me a few weeks to get myself to consistently use this every single night, probably like right around 3 weeks. I just hadn't used a lash serum in my nighttime routine in a long time. So, it wasn't a habit. It wasn't something I was remembering. So, while I did definitely use it like several times in those first few weeks, it was not every single night until I sat it on the counter and was like, "You're not forgetting." And then it became a habit. And since then, I've been using it every single night since. So, I may have reached these final results that I saw sooner if I had remembered to use it every single night those first few weeks. Or maybe not. The biggest factor in determining the speed at which you will see results with something like this is just the speed of your regular growth cycle. You can

11:26 absolutely start to see improvement sooner than 4 months, but to hit that final result, it is just going to take the length of your growth cycle. So, obviously, the main difference that I saw here was just a significant increase in the length of my lashes. But other than that, the biggest thing I noticed is just the fact that my lashes look quite a bit more curled or lifted. Even though yes, I was using the exact same mascara combination in both videos. So, this was a combo of Maybelline Lash Sensational and L'Oreal Lash Paradise. Big deal. If anything, I just used less mas less no less mascara in the after because I just didn't need as much to get to the result that I wanted. Like, you can definitely tell that my lashes look a bit thicker or more voluminous in the befores. And that's just because I was applying more to get them to be longer and fuller. I don't think that

12:11 the serum like created a curl in my lashes that would not have been there otherwise. I think what's more likely going on here is that number one, my eyelashes just naturally start to lift a bit more as they get longer. And I just wouldn't have known that because my lashes were never hitting this length before. And then also maybe that just my eyelashes are able to hold a curl better at this length than they are when they're shorter. But aside from those two things, I would say I haven't really noticed anything else. like it's not like my eyelashes are darker, nothing else like that going on, including negative side effects because I have not experienced any since I started using this. But I'm obviously very aware of the fact that that does not mean that there's no potential risk for negative side effects. So I really wanted to reach out to an expert in this space to ask what those kinds of risks are, what we should look out for, what we should

12:57 be aware of. And I have a quote directly from an optometrist that I follow on Instagram named Dr. Ena Lazar. The reason why I actually found her account in the first place is because she stitched a video that I had posted maybe like a year ago where I was using Lumifi eye drops and I wrote in it like, "Can a doctor please confirm that these are safe?" Because I love these eye drops so much, but like I'm scared that these are somehow bad for my eyes. So, I've been following her ever since and was able to get a quote from her for this video. So, according to her, lash serums that do not contain prostaglandon analoges, which would include swede, anything else without those ingredients, are generally safe. Some contain oils like castor oil that can irritate the eyes, but other than irritation, the biggest risk is usually having an allergic reaction due to allergies to certain ingredients in

13:42 them. So, that's definitely something to be mindful of when considering testing out any new lash serum because that is not a risk that is exclusive to Swede. That really is something that you are at risk of with anything you're putting on your eyelid. I'll be sure to include Dr. Ena's account in my description box below. Definitely go follow her for all things eye health. She is a great resource for that and insanely beautiful by the way. Like look at her. I can't. And thank you so much to Dr. Ena if you're seeing this. I really, really appreciate your expert advice. So, we have covered most of the details I want to cover in this video. Let's wrap up with final thoughts. Do you have to use an eyelash serum to have healthy eyelashes? Absolutely not. Could you see amazing results in using a lash serum that doesn't contain prostaglandon analoges like Swede or something else?

14:28 You absolutely could. could being the key word because results are obviously not going to be the same from person to person. There's no guarantee that this is going to work just as well for you as it did for me. Which goes for any beauty product that literally anyone recommends ever. But for me personally, I'm super impressed by the results that I saw. Probably also because I had literally zero expectations. But I really do feel like this has made a significant difference in how long and fluttery my eyelashes look. So because of that and the fact that that does not come along with all of these really scary risks that again are associated with prostagland and analoges, this is something that is officially a permanent My brain just stopped. This is something that is now a staple in my nighttime routine. Maybe it stopped because I was thinking like permanent for now, but who knows? Like new things come along all

15:13 the time. Maybe I'll want to test something else out in the future, but like as of right now, temporarily permanent. I will say that. And even still, this could be something that you're like, you know what? I don't want to risk period. Like, I'm done putting things on my eyelids and then finding out years later that there's this really scary potentially permanent side effect. I completely understand that train of thought. Like, I totally get it. And there are even moments where I'm like, "Oh my god." But like, what if something happened? Like, it's scary. So, everyone needs to make the decision that is the best for themselves with the information that they have available. And if what's best for you is to never use a lash serum ever again, trust me, I get it. Use it. Don't use it. Buy it. Don't buy it. It's none of my business. I am just here to share the products that I test, how they work for me, my experiences, and brutally honest thoughts along the way. I don't want to forget to mention

15:59 this in case any of you do want to purchase this though. This is not sponsored in any way, shape, or form. Period. Otherwise, I would be disclosing that to you guys like I always do. But I had actually posted a video showing the before and after results that I saw over on my short form platforms right after I like put them side by side. I was like, I have to post this. This is crazy. And a couple days after I did that, I got an email from the affiliate site that I use that said that Swede, this brand, had generated a 20% discount code for my audience. So, just some like context on how this works. There's an affiliate site called ShopMy and that's where you can create links that are affiliate links where you earn a small commission if someone uses it to purchase. It's also a platform where you can create shelves of all of your favorite products so that it's just like easier to view and shop for your viewers. And it's somewhere that you can directly communicate with brands. So that's where

16:45 a lot of brands will reach out to ask if I want to get PR. That's where brands will let me know if they have sales going on and also where they will offer or generate discount codes. So that's how Swede sent that discount code to me, which again is how a lot of brands will send those over, but it's not something that gives me like any sort of extra kickback. I still will get like the small percent of that purchase for like a normal affiliate link, but beyond that, that 20% off for you guys doesn't do anything extra for me. So, I'll make sure to add that to where I currently have all of my active discount codes listed so that you guys can use that moving forward. But it is abby-20 if you use it through that link. But again, not sponsored. Buy it, don't buy it, doesn't matter to me. I just wanted to share that. And I don't think I saw like an end date for the code. Sometimes brands will do like for a certain amount of time, but I didn't see one. So hopefully

17:31 it's something we can continue to use moving forward cuz I would like a discount on it, too, since it's not cheap. All right, that is it for this video. I am so curious to hear your thoughts in the comments below. Have you tried this? Have you tried other lash serums that don't contain prostagland and analoges? Where are you at with this category altogether? Are you interested? Are you not interested at all? Let's chat in the comments. And if you enjoyed this video and found it helpful, please don't forget to give this a thumbs up. Subscribe to my channel if you haven't already. Click on that notification bell and send my channel to a friend. All of those things really help to support my channel and mean so much to me. So, thank you so so much for your support in doing that. Thank you for watching my videos. I love the freaking heck out of you guys. And stay tuned for my ne what? Stay tuned for my next video because that will be up a week from today. And until then, I hope you have a great

18:16 week. Gosh. [Music]