If I had to choose just one makeup product to use every morning, it would be mascara. Why? It doesn’t require as much effort as eyeliner or eyeshadow. With just one or two strokes, it instantly gives my lashes that thickened look that every makeup lover desires.
Although mascara is loved by many, the downside of it is its very short shelf life. I, among many mascara users, find myself replenishing my mascara supply more often than any other cosmetic product because it doesn’t take long for it to dry out. This is essentially why I’ve resorted to getting eyelash extensions.
What Exactly are Eyelash Extensions?
If you’ve reached a point where constantly applying and restocking mascara has become too demanding and time-consuming, then eyelash extensions are what you need. Eyelash extensions are synthetic lashes made of PBT Fiber that is attached to your natural lashes semi-permanently using medical-grade adhesive. They can be applied individually or in clusters.
Common objections people have against eyelash extensions include possible allergic reactions or achieving unnatural, unflattering results. This is why it’s important to consider the different factors involved when getting eyelash extensions.
In this guide, I’ll break down all the information you need before getting your first eyelash extensions:
Choosing the Right Length
Getting eyelash extensions is not a one-size-fits-all affair. Choosing the right length and diameter for your extensions is crucial if you don’t want to risk serious damage to your existing lashes. Lashes that weigh too heavy may cause your natural lashes to break and prevent your lash follicles from growing healthy abundant lashes.
The rule of thumb here is to choose a length that’s 2 to 3 mm longer than your natural eyelashes. To ensure safe application and a natural appearance, it’s best not to go beyond 3 mm.
Another thing to remember is to choose a diameter as close as possible to that of your natural lashes. You can go slightly thicker if you’d like a more drastic change.
If you’re planning to get long lashes, you might want to consider a thinner diameter to reduce the weight and to achieve balance.
Choosing the Right Type of Curl
There are several curl types to choose from when getting eyelash extensions. The most natural-looking one is the J-curl. It starts off straight with a very slight curl at the tip. It gives more emphasis on length than curl. This type of curl is ideal for those looking to add volume and length. It’s also the simplest one to apply.
The B-curl has a slightly curlier tip than the J-curl. It’s the ideal choice for those with tricky straight lashes that need only a bit of a lift.
The C-curl is the most popular curl as it suits almost any eye shape. It’s perfect for those who have a slight curl in their natural lashes but want to make their eyes appear fuller and more open.
The D-curl is shaped like a semi-circle and is best for those who want a more dramatic look. It usually suits those who already have naturally curly eyelashes.
The L+ curl has a similar curl to the C and D curls except that it has a flat base, which gives your lashes maximum lift. It’s suitable for those who have hooded eyes, single eyelid, and lashes that point straight and downward.
Choosing the Right Volume
While classic eyelash extensions are directed at giving lashes more length and curl, there are also clients who prefer a fuller look that goes beyond single lashes. This is why volume lashes started gaining popularity in the eyelash extension industry in the early 2010s.
Volume lashes are done by applying multiple extensions to a single eyelash, each extension being lighter and thinner than the previous one. The lightweight nature of the lashes creates a darker yet softer appearance that doesn’t necessarily damage your natural lashes.
Volume lashes split into two or more parts. With 2D lashes, 2 extensions are added to every natural eyelash, and so on and so forth.
2D extensions are a bit fuller than classic extensions. Both 2D and 3D volume lashes achieve a natural look and are suitable for thin and sparse natural lashes.
4D to 6D lashes are ideal for those who want to create a more dramatic appearance. These are suited for those with naturally strong-looking lashes. The categories extend all the way up to 20D. I usually don’t go beyond 6D.
Find the Right Salon
Finding the right salon is critical because a good salon will ensure that you walk out the door with a set of eyelash extensions that you are completely happy with – if there ever are any issues they will always correct them for you. Alternatively if you choose the wrong salon you run a much higher risk of receiving a result you’re not happy with and leave yourself never wanting to try eyelash extensions again which would be a shame.
Choose a salon that specialises in Lashes
First of all you need to find a salon that specialises in eyelash extensions. Don’t go to a generic beauty salon that does lots of different services and doesn’t have a specialty. This will insure that the lash technician you get will have a lot more experience doing lashes perfectly and will generally be doing them all day every day during the work week instead of doing a few hours of lashes, then some facials a few massages and a few hours of hair removal etc – meaning they’re getting far less experience at lashes per day than a master lash tech.
Find a Professional Salon
It’s generally not a good idea to go with a home-based business for your first set of lash extensions. Even though there are many home-based businesses who are extremely talented at what they do you also run a high risk of going to someone who doesn’t have that much experience and possibly has just completed their lash course and is basically practicing on your lashes. Many home-based lash technicians aren’t very good at finding clients so even though they may only do lash extensions they also may only be doing a couple of clients per week so they’re really not getting experienced very quickly and they don’t have the support team of a salon to help them improve their skill or pinpoint the things they’re doing wrong.
Plus because of a much lower budget home-based businesses don’t often have the sterilisation procedures that proper salons do so you run a higher risk of getting things like conjunctivitis or other types of infections due to bacteria.
Don’t try to find the cheapest around
Don’t try to find the cheapest price around when looking for lash extensions. If you call around and ask for prices believing that lashes are the same everywhere you will get some incredibly low prices, but you will often be left disappointed because the lash technician you go to probably won’t have much experience and they also will be cutting corners to reduce the costs like having lower quality extensions lower quality glue and just a worse set up in general.
You also don’t have to go to the highest price salon that gives you the best experience however generally with eyelash extensions if you are paying more you will get a better service and a better experience – they are able to charge those higher prices because they are generally just better so can easily find clients even at the higher price.
Choose a lash technician who has been doing lashes for at least a year full time
Once you found a salon that looks good ask for a lash technician who has a lot of experience – they will need to have at least one year full-time experience to have mastered the art of eyelash extensions so anything less than that it’s better to wait for a staff member who does have the experience you need, but those staff members may be booked out further in advance.
Choose the Right Style
Choosing the right style is something an experienced technician can help you with because the style of your lashes should be tailored to your eye shape and also your face shape along with the environment that you’re going to be wearing the lashes in. If you plan to wear eyelash extensions in a corporate environment that would look very different to if you were getting lashes for a wedding or to go to a music festival for example. A good lash technician will be able to guide you to find the perfect style, length and volume for you.
Be Gentle With Them For 24 Hours
Make sure you are gentle with your eyelash extensions for at least 24 hours after the application. Even though lash glue has come along way in recent years and they say it cures instantly and by the time you walk out the door it doesn’t matter if you get them wet, we have found it still good to be gentle and careful with the extensions for 24 hours. That means try not to get them wet, don’t put any pressure on them by sleeping on your face or with your eye squashed into your pillow, and make sure you don’t get any creams or oils on your new eyelash extensions.
Get Your Lashes Infilled Every 2 to 4 Weeks
Lastly you need to get your eyelash extensions in filled every 2 to 4 weeks depending on how perfect you like them to look. The natural cycle of your eyelashes falling out every day will obviously cause your extensions which are attached to them to also fall out and over time that can create a gap look to your extensions so you need to go back and get those gaps filled in every 2 to 4 weeks depending on how quickly your lashes shed and how for you like them to look.
You’re now ready to go out and get your lashes with the confidence that you’ll walk away thrilled with the result!
Conclusion
By now you must know that everyone’s eyelashes are different and applying eyelash extensions is a complex process – before, during, and after. It’s important to choose the right size, curl, and volume before anything else. To achieve the look that suits you best in the safest manner possible, make sure you consult a reputable salon or more specifically the actual lash technician.