Will Combigan or Travatan Z Help my Eyelashes Grow As Well As Latisse Does?

   Latisse is the only drug approved by the FDA for growing eyelashes.  Interchanging other similar drugs or drugs in the same families may be reasonable, but the truth is they have not been tested for that purpose.

Combigan "combines" two drugs, neither of which is in the same drug class or type as Lumigan.  One of the the two drugs is a beta blocker, which can have important systemic cardiovascular and respiratory side effects in susceptible individuals.

 

So, the short answer is: "No."  Don't even think about using Combigan for eyelash enhancement!

Latisse is a drug from the prostaglandin class of medications. It is the only FDA-approved medication to grow eyelashes. Do other glaucoma medications enhance eyelash growth? Absolutely, all of the prostaglandins do (Travatan & Xalatan), however, keep in mind that the companies that make the other drops have not gone back to the FDA to seek approval for this clinical use, so we cannot prescribe these medicines for eyelash growth. Only those "lucky" patients who use these for glaucoma will see the eyelash-growing benefits. Cosmetic patients will have to stick to Latisse.

 

There is no difference between Lumigan (the original formula) and Latisse. They are both bimatoprost 0.03%. I mention the original formula, because Allergan has recently released a newer version of Lumigan which is 0.01% to try to reduce eye redness (one of the most common and bothersome side effects for patients who use Lumigan for glaucoma).

 

Does combigan cause eyelashes to grow? NEVER. Combigan is combination of brimonidine (an alpha-agonist) and timolol (a beta-blocker). Neither of these classes of drugs will cause eyelash growth.

 

Bottom line: don't self-medicate. Get your medications from a reputable doctor and you will get the right medication for the right indication.

At present, Latisse is the only FDA approved treatment for growing eyelashes. Latisse is a prescription-only solution that has been scientifically proven to stimulate the growth of eyelashes whereas the other medications you have mentioned have not been proven. Many studies have been done for Latisse to show its effectiveness using unbiased observers. The long-term safety of Latisse has been established based on 32 clinical trials involving more than 5700 patients over 13 years.

The drugs you listed are other medications used to treat glaucoma. This does NOT mean they will grow your eyelashes. Originally when Lumigan (which is the glaucoma version of Latisse) was used, patients' eyelashes were growing as a "side effect", so Allergan repackaged the medication with different instructions for use, and named it Latisse. This does not make Latisse interchangeable with other glaucoma medications, nor do all the medications have the same side effects - they are different medicinal compounds.