Eyelash Extensions

If you’re anything like me, you are NOT a morning person and don’t want to put in the effort to get all dolled up every day. So, what is the secret to a hassle-free morning routine? Eyelash extensions! These miracle workers are individual eyelashes, made from silk, mink, or synthetic material. Extensions are attached to your natural lashes with semi-permanent adhesive.

The process is very easy and VERY relaxing. When you arrive at your lash appointment, the technician will have you lie down on the bed. They will place gel pads under your eyes and over top of your lower lashes to prevent the adhesive from attaching your eyelashes together (haha). Next, they will begin to attach the extensions one by one. Depending on the experience of the technician, the service can take anywhere from 45 minutes to two hours. It’s a great time to catch up on your sleep!

Everyone has their own experiences with the service as it is customized to each person’s eye shape. Don’t expect to look like you’re wearing strip lashes. Extensions usually come in lengths of 8mm to 15mm, though generally people prefer lengths around 10mm to 12mm. There are many different types of curls, A, B, C, C-C, D, J, L, and L Lift. The most natural curl is ‘J’ and the most dramatic curl is ‘D.’ Extensions can be made from faux mink, faux fox, silk, real mink, and real human hair. Each kind affects pricing so the most common is the faux mink.

As long as you take care of your lash extensions, you can have them up to a month a half. Most salons recommend you come back every 2 to 3 weeks for a touch up (fill). Technicians advise you to avoid water for 24 hours after the appointment to ensure that the adhesive does not warm and cause it to run into the eyes or cause the top and lower lashes to stick together. Also, reframe from using water-proof mascara and other oil-based products since this can cause the adhesive and extensions not to stick and to fall out quicker.

For those of you who enjoy wearing a full-face of makeup on a day-to-day basis, fear not, you are still able to do so with eyelash extensions. Go as dramatic as you want to or as bare as you want to, extensions allow you to do it all. If you love wearing eyeliner, you still can, just be sure to be gentle on your lash line as you don’t want to damage your extensions. Mascara is not suggested but if you feel that you HAVE to wear mascara, only wear non-waterproof mascara on the tips of your lashes. The more mascara your wear, the harder it will be to remove without ruining your extensions and the harder it will be for the technician to clean them when it is time for a fill. When removing your eye makeup, it might be a little bit trickier than without extensions. Be sure to take extra care the closer to your lashes you get. Plus, with extensions you don’t have to worry about waking up the next morning with raccoon eyes from left over mascara.

I must warn you… whatever you do, do NOT pull out the extensions. It is VERY painful and nine out of ten times it will pull out your natural lash with it which will leave you with few to no natural lashes. If you do in fact pull them out, you can always apply Vaseline or caster oil to your lash line every night to help them grow. You can also use them to grow your lashes longer and stronger if you are looking into getting a longer length of extensions. Remember that growing your lashes takes time so be very patient, it may take up to two months to completely grow your lashes back.

If you find you don’t want the ease of extensions anymore or you had an allergic reaction and don’t feel comfortable leaving them on, you can always get them removed by your lash technician. Having them removed is just as quick and painless as having them applied. If you don’t want to pay the money to have them removed, your next best option is to let them grow out since the extensions fall out with your natural lash’s growth schedule anyways. This takes longer but its free!

See? I told you eyelash extensions are awesome!