L’Oréal researchers have developed a gel that might make false eyelashes and mascaras unnecessary, according to British newspaper reports from August 16.

The research team guided by Dr. Patricia Pineau, scientific communications director at L’Oréal, say they have found a way to enhance the growing time of eyelashes and increase their number on the eyelid.

Normal eyelashes grow for three months before they fall out but Pineau and her colleagues used a combination of citric acid and extracts from a Mexican plant called Centella Asiatica to extend the growing period, leading to more, longer and fuller lashes.

The gel developed by L’Oréal was tested by 32 women. After applying the treatment to the hair roots every night for three months, participants saw their lashes increase by an average of 20 to 30 percent.

It is not the first time that researchers come up with a lash-enhancing product. Latisse, developed by Botox makers Allergan, was approved for sale last year but needs to be prescribed by a doctor (as reported earlier).

Its effects are undisputable (Latisse is approved by the FDA in the US and the 280 study participants’ lashes grew longer, thicker and darker), but there were some side effects from the $120 drug such as eye itching and red eyes, the same as for glaucoma treatment, from which Latisse was derived.

Some media also reported that Latisse made hair grow where in unwelcome areas of the face (including cheekbones).

L’Oréal said that they were planning to sell their lash-enhancing product over the cosmetics counter.