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Does Rimmel Lash Accelerator Mascara with Lash-Grow Complex Work?

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Eyelash growth serums are all the rage, but they don’t necessarily all work. Recently Rimmel released Rimmel Lash Accelerator Mascara with Grow-Lash Complex ($8.53, amazon.com) and Rimmel Volume Accelerator Mascara ($13.89, amazon.com), which contains hair-growth ingredient Procapil™ along with other ingredients intended for conditioning and moisturizing. While it might seem promising at first, Procapil™ doesn’t seem like it makes for the best eyelash growth serum (and it’s hardly been proven for hair growth). However, Rimmel’s latest product does make pretty darn good mascara anyway.

Hair Growth Cycle

hair_growth_cycle

Many products intended to increase hair growth work under the idea that they manipulate hair’s growth cycle, which occurs in three phases: the anagen phase, the catagen phase, and the telogen phase. While hair itself is not “alive,” so to speak — the strand is made of protein and keratin — the strands are a part of system of dermal papilla cells near the root that causes its growth.

In the anagen, or growth, phase, the hair root’s cells divide quickly, creating new hair and pushing it up and out of the follicle. This process can last for years in hair, but is much shorter — something like 30 to 45 days — for eyelashes (American Hair Loss Society). In the next phase, the catagen, or degeneration, phase, the hair is cut off from the blood supply and cells and stops growing. This becomes known as a “club hair.” Club hairs then enter the telogen, or resting, phase, where the hair is fully formed and no longer growing. This lasts for several months in the scalp and even longer for hair on other parts of the body, including eyelashes.

At the end of the hair growth cycle, when hairs are in the telogen phase they detached in what’s called the exogen phase. This is the phase that hair is in when it “sheds” from our body (Expert Opinions in Biology). At any point in time, various hairs on your head and body will be in different phases of growth.

The Kind of Hair Loss this Procapil™ Stops

The idea behind products that increase hair and prevent hair loss is generally that if you lengthen and increase the anagen phase for hair, then there will logically be more of it. It does this by targeting the main cause of androgenic alopecia (or testosterone-induced hair loss) involved in male pattern baldness: dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Dihydrotestosterone is created in a peripheral conversion of testosterone by 5α-reductase.

Hair follicles have androgen (or male hormone) receptors, which are more sensitive in some than others. When dihydrotestosterone bonds with the follicles androgen receptors it activates particular genes that cause the hair follicles to become miniaturized, shortening their anagen (growth) cycle (The New England Journal of Medicine).

Stopping Hair Loss with Procapil™

Procapil™ is the main growth ingredient in this mascara and is produced by the company Sederma. It’s a combination of biotinyl-GHK, apigenin, and oleanolic acid, and is primarily intended to stop the kind of hair loss associated with androgenic alopecia.

Biotinyl-GHK (also known as biotinyl tripeptide-1) is intended to extend and improve the anagen phase, purportedly by improving the skin matrix and metabolic activity, according to Sederma’s 2011 patent. Essentially, this peptide is supposed to improve the root shaft and dermal papilla and increase the protein that anchors hair.

Oleanolic acid, according to the company, inhibits the 5α-reductase that causes dihydrotestosterone, which, in turn, causes male pattern baldness. Another study, cited in this a 1995 review in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, also found that oleanolic acid is a 5α-reductase inhibitor.

Apigenin is used as a vasodilator, intended to increase blood flow to the area of application. While I haven’t found studies other than the company’s own information, there have been studies on apigenin for its ability to increase permeability of the skin barrier and its tumor preventative qualities (Experimental Dermatology, Pharmaceutical Research).

In studies done both ex-vivo and in-vivo for Sederma, researchers saw an improvement in both the ex-vivo skin explant with hair follicles and in a placebo controlled study on 35 men with more than 20% of their hair in the telogen phase (Sederma Study). However, aside from this there are few studies about the effectiveness of these ingredients or their combination in the serum Procapil™.

Will This Work for Eyelashes?

This might help make skin and lashes healthier, but it doesn't seem that it will work for everyone in terms of actually growing lashes.
This might help make skin and lashes healthier, but it doesn’t seem like it will have the incredible benefits Rimmel claims.

Rimmel claims that after using this mascara with its lash-growth complex you can expect lashes to appear 80% longer instantly and a whopping 117% longer and 12 times thicker in 30 days. Even if this were to make lashes grow, it would be absurd for it to work instantaneously, so you can thank old-fashioned good formulating if you feel your lashes appear 80% longer after the first use — that’s not the serum, it’s the work of the makeup.

I have my doubts about the claim that lashes will appear 117% longer and 12 times thicker after 30 days unless you suffer from androgenic alopecia. Procapil™ was formulated with the intention of combating androgenic alopecia. Ideally, it stops the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone by inhibiting 5α-reductase, but there are no independent studies to back up the Sederm’s claims.

Androgenic alopecia is much more common in men and tends to affect women more who have hormonal imbalances or those who are postmenopausal — and these women might find that this mascara benefits them (though even the hair growth studies are still only industry-sponsored and very sparse) (Genetics Home Reference). Other forms of hair loss in women have other causal factors, such as malnutrition.

It seems more likely that the ingredients that help improve the condition of the skin and help to moisturize the lashes stop them from breaking off and make them healthier overall. It’s possible that this will make lashes appear longer, thicker, and healthier, but so far there’s little proof that this will actually make eyelashes grow more. Latisse is one of the only eyelashes serums that has actually been shown to help eyelashes grow in studies.

Personal Use and Opinion

I will say that when I walked into the office after applying Rimmel Volume Accelerator Mascara, everyone commented on how long and thick my lashes looked. It’s well formulated, at the very least — making it good mascara (if not necessarily the best lash grower). I found that it didn’t clump too much and it really made my lashes look long (though not 80% longer) and thick (though not 12 times thicker). While I wouldn’t use it for a lash growth serum, I’d definitely use this again purely for the purposes of mascara.

*I want to note that I have naturally blonde eyelashes (and so they’re hard to see in photos). Keep that in mind when looking at the change in the photos below.

Bare lashes
Bare lashes
Lashes with Rimmel Volume Accelerator Mascara
Lashes with Rimmel Volume Accelerator Mascara

Bottom Line

Rimmel Volume Accelerator Mascara and Rimmel Lash Accelerator Mascara with Grow-Lash Complex might be good mascaras, but the science doesn’t seem to point toward their formulas being great lash growth serum. The main ingredient Procapil™ is targeted toward the factors that contribute to androgenic alopecia, so even if it is an effective ingredient for that, it will really only help women with androgenic alopecia. Otherwise, the beneficial results come from moisturizing and conditioning ingredients and a great mascara formulation.

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Nicki Zevola is the founder and editor-in-chief of FutureDerm.com. Named one of the top 30 beauty bloggers in the world by Konector.com since 2009, Nicki

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