We Tried The Ordinary’s Brow & Lash Growth Serum Before Anyone Else

The Ordinary is one of a few beauty brands that really understand our needs and wants. Breakouts? There's a cult salicylic acid serum for that. Cracked feet? Try the Glycolic Acid 7% Toning Solution. Shampoo not working like it used to? That's what the new Sulphate 4% Hair & Body Cleanser is for. But it's the latest launch which has really whipped up excitement.

Enter: Multi-Peptide Lash & Brow Serum, £12.40.

From microblading and hyperrealism brows to lash extensions and lifts, the sheer amount of brow and lash treatments available proves that plenty of us want a little help in the hair growth department. But these treatments can become an expensive and tedious habit. That's where targeted brow and lash growth serums come in.

With ingredients like peptides (hair strengthening proteins), biotin (or vitamin B7, which is known to stimulate hair follicle growth) and hyaluronic acid (which hydrates brittle hairs), at-home brow and lash serums by brands like RevitaLash, M2 Beauté and GrandeLASH-MD have become viral sensations. The millions of TikTok tags and countless before-and-after pictures point to some impressive results. So what makes The Ordinary's offering different?

The price point, first of all. At an affordable £12.40 it's a snip of the price of other trending brow and lash growth serums, which tend to be in the hundreds. That said, judging by the ingredients list, the serum's make-up isn't too dissimilar to the luxury brands. You'll spot a handful of familiar growth-enhancing peptides, as well as panthenol to strengthen hair and lock in moisture, and arginine, known to improve blood flow to the scalp, which is what hair needs to grow. The brand recommends eight weeks of twice-daily application (morning and evening) along the lash line and brows for the best results.

It's no secret that we're huge fans of The Ordinary and we snapped up samples of the product ahead of its launch this week. For around two months, three R29 staffers have been putting the serum to the test. This is the effect it had on their sparse lashes and brows.

"As a hay fever sufferer, each time spring and summer rolls around I don't like to wear as much mascara because of the eye-rubbing, watery mess that inevitably follows. I've been desperate to try a lash lift or enhancing treatment for my lashes for a few years now but I've never got around to it, either because of time or money. So when I heard about The Ordinary's serum, I jumped at the chance to try an affordable alternative.

The instructions on the packaging simply say to apply the product to your lash line after cleansing. After spending a confusing couple of days trying to work out whether the lash line was on the top or bottom of the lashes, I got into the swing of things and used it every day and night for two weeks. [Beauty editor's note: apply to the upper lash line, like you would liquid eyeliner, so as not to get any inside your eye.]

At the two-week mark I was convinced I was seeing signs of growth or lengthening, and I was definitely experiencing less fallout. But then life got in the way and my routine flew out of the window. My more or less consistent approach ended up being less consistent. I've heard that products like these strengthen the way the root is attached to the lash line, which prevents fallout and lets your lashes grow longer. So when I stopped using it consistently every day, it did stop working. If you're very diligent I would definitely recommend it. Alternatively, I have been practising TikTok's Vaseline lash lift hack as a way to lengthen my lashes on the daily and to avoid mascara. I swear by it."

"As a very hairy person and given the size of my eyebrows (plus the effort it takes to tame them), you'd think I'd never struggle in the eyelash department. But I do. Somewhere between childhood and my teenage years, my lashes stopped growing. Now, they're short, fair and have no semblance of a curl. I'm known to wear two mascaras (one for lengthening, the other for volume) to give my lashes a helping hand. I've also tried a lash perm yet I suffered a legitimate panic attack at the thought of having the perming solution so close to my eyeballs.

A friend with eyelashes so long they touch her eyebrows has been preaching about the benefits of growth serums for a while but I've always doubted they'd work for me. Attempting to be a little more optimistic, I've been using The Ordinary's lash serum morning and evening for almost eight weeks and to my surprise, I can see a difference. Now, it's a very microscopic difference and likely only I can tell (but that's all that matters, right?). Still, the magic happens when I apply my daily mascara and it becomes more visibly noticeable that my lashes are longer and curlier — as if I've had a subtle lift. I will keep using the lash serum because a little improvement has gone a long way in making me feel better about my lash length."

"Being Asian, I've become used to my eyelashes being a little on the sparse side or pokily straight. What's more, I've been known to be a little rough with makeup removal. Micellar water goes on a cotton pad and then it's rub, rub, rub until I get the desired result — at which point there's many an eyelash casualty. On top of this, I wear contact lenses and after a particularly scarring eye ulcer (yes, it's a thing — beware!), I'm always a little wary of any sort of cream or gel going near my eye. But in the name of lush lashes, I was willing to be a guinea pig!

I liked the minimal, no-fuss packaging. Every night (I avoided it in the daytime because of aforementioned contact lenses) I'd apply the serum to the root underneath and brush up into the lashes. Sometimes it would get in my tear ducts and burn but as time went on it got less fiddly and slipped straight into my daily routine. [Beauty editor's note: avoid the area underneath your upper lash line so as not to get the product inside your eye. Instead, apply it on top.] The first week I didn't notice anything and then suddenly my eyelashes seemed bushier, thicker and a smidge longer. I don't know if the pics do it justice, or maybe it's a placebo effect, but I'll definitely use this until it's empty and then invest in a more expensive one, which may promise more impactful results."