I cut off my eyelashes for work — it’s paying off

A 28-year-old entrepreneur cut off her eyelashes to prove that her eyelash growth serum works — and now she sells one bottle every three minutes.

Kasey Giarratana used to spend $2,400 every year on eyelash extensions, so she decided to stop — and then started her own beauty business instead.

Giarratana and co-founder Michael Giarratana wanted to launch a brand that sold products that work and don’t have any toxic ingredients, since some commercial eyelash serums could potentially be harmful.

“Some of the toxic ingredients being used in commercial pharmaceutical lash serums use known carcinogenic and hormone-disrupting ingredients,” she told the Daily Mail.

Giarratana claims that customers are “rolling the dice with their health” by using these serums and that side effects can include darkening of skin around the eyes, eyelid inflammation, eye pain, darkening of the iris, drooping eyelids and thinning or loss of eyelashes.

“The real problem is some lash serums marketed as cosmetics contain a synthetic version of the same prostaglandin analog. These ingredients have the same potential side effects,” Giarratana said.

The Melbourne, Australia native launched Xali Organics in June 2021 and started selling her first product: a natural eyelash growth serum.

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The co-founders ensured that the product only had clean ingredients — and it’s one of the only clean products on the market.

Ingredients in the product include “purified water, hyaluronic acid, collagen, cucurbita pepo pumpkin seed extract, myristoyl pentapeptide-17, arginine and vitamin B7,” according to the Xali Organics website.

It’s formulated with advanced polypeptides to promote eyelash thickness and length.

Consumers can expect to see results in just one week, and in six to eight weeks, they’ll have a full transformation, according to the brand.

But not everyone had faith in the natural product, which sells for $53.60.

In order to prove her natural serum works just as well as those on the shelves, on March 27, Giarratana cut off her eyelashes and began documenting their regrowth with the help of her own serum.

She livestreamed the process on social media, which made sales grow exponentially — and the sales keep coming.

“I’ve staked my whole business’s reputation on this stunt by chopping my lashes off, and I am confident they will grow back more luscious and longer than ever, in a very short space of time, by using the Xali Organics serum,” Giarratana said.

“We are on track for this to be the best month ever for our business,” she added.

Customers have left over 100 reviews on the brand website, sharing photos of their results and positive experiences.

“I’ve been using this natural lash growth serum for just two weeks, and I’m already seeing a noticeable improvement in the length and thickness of my lashes! I was skeptical at first, but I decided to give it a try after reading all the positive reviews, and I’m so glad I did,” one person wrote.

“I have been using this lash growth serum for a month and I am already seeing results!” someone said.

“I’m so glad I found this serum. It’s made my morning routine so much easier – I don’t have to spend as much time doing my eye makeup,” another said.

“I love that this serum is made with all-natural ingredients, it makes me feel good about what I’m putting on my lashes,” a customer shared.