Skin Actives recently sent me a sample of its new eyelash and brow growth product and I started my trial this morning. The first thing I noticed was that didn't have any sensitivity to the product whatsoever. This is a big plus because many readers have reported reactions to Lilash and Revitalash and I even had a slightly uncomfortable feeling with Hydropeptide's eyelash growth product until I got used to it.

The second surprise was the applicator: foam, rather than a brush, and on the large side. However, it worked fairly well and was, in particular, easy to control.

It will be a few weeks before I can report back on whether Skin Actives has created a product that makes lashes grow, so for now I'll just mention some of the ingredients that stand out. The main active is keratinocyte growth factor. This is a protein in humans that is encoded by the FGF7 gene. Studies on mice suggest that this gene is responsible for  hair development. Assumptions that it is also responsible for wound healing have been disproven.

L-carnitine also comes backed up by research. Conducted at the University of Hamburg and published in the journal Experimental Dermatology, the study concluded that carnitine stimulated hair growth by increasing energy supply in the hair follicles: "Our findings suggest that l-carnitine stimulates human scalp hair growth by up regulation of proliferation and down regulation of apoptosis in follicular keratinocytes in vitro."

Meanwhile, saw palmetto is strongly associated with hair growth. According to Skin Actives, "saw palmetto sterols have been shown to inhibit 5-alpha-reductase activity, the enzyme responsible for conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone and to inhibit binding of dihydrotestosterone to the cytosolic androgen receptor".

There are several other amino acids and antioxidants, that could potentially give this growth serum a powerful punch. If Skin Actives lash serum does work, it will, at $9.50, be the deal of the year.

Ingredients

Distilled water, sea kelp bioferment, L-acetyl carnitine, niacinamide, soy isoflavones, saw palmetto, grape seed proanthocyanidins, coconut endosperm, chrysin, nettle extract, L-arginine, L-glutamine, glucose, Keratinocyte Growth Factor (KGF), superoxide dismutase, Propylene Glycol, Diazolidinyl Urea, Methylparaben (and) Propylparaben.