Eyelash Aftercare

Now that you have your beautiful extensions, you will need to follow some simple aftercare rules to keep them looking their best.

Remember, just like nails, your natural lashes grow, and this means that your set will start to look less full over the weeks. After 2 – 3 weeks you will require a maintenance appointment, if you wish to keep them looking thier best. You will see your eyelash extensions naturally shedding daily, so do not be alarmed as this is perfectly normal. Your’e natural eyelashes do this every day, but you just cannot see them.

Clients returning for infills must return with at least 50% of their set remaining, otherwise this will be classed as a full set and the full set fee will apply. Clients that attempt to return for an infill outside of the designated infill timeframe set by their therapist, may be charged for a full set of eyelash extensions due to the additional work now required to rectify the set.

At an infill we remove extensions that have grown out and twisted, and replace those extensions that have naturally shed with your natural lashes.

Humans shed approximately 2-5 natural eyelashes per upper lid, per eye, per day (lets average this at 3 per day), and your therapist will apply approximately 100 extensions to the suitable natural lashes of each eye, therefore you will see the following general loss patterns:

• After 7 days you will lose 21 extensions

• After 14 days you will lose 42 extensions

• After 21 days you will lose 63 extensions

Therefore after 3 weeks you may have lost over half your set.

NB: It is normal to loose up to 5 extensions per eye within the first 24 hours, do not worry.

Now you can see why your lashes, just like your nails, have to be maintained to keep them looking their best; because eyelashes grow and shed daily!

The Key To Maintaining Your Lashes

1. Wash Lashes Daily

Washing daily is, by far, the most important eyelash extension aftercare instruction. Yet, washing daily seems to be the step that clients forget the most! You cannot stress this to your lash lovers enough; wash, wash, and wash! It seems that when we tell clients to avoid moisture and all of these other things, they think they can’t touch them AT ALL…wrong! Ensuring your clients wash their lashes is ensuring they are remaining clean and clear of debris or products containing oil. They could also get lash mites! Yuk. Read this article by Consumer Health Digest and I guarantee you will be making sure every one of your clients is on a daily regimen with their lash cleanse

2. Avoid Moisture

If you don’t use a nano mister, you should let each client know that they will need to wait 24 hours before introducing any form of moisture to their eyelash extensions! This is a long time for some clients to avoid a hot shower, cooking over the stove, or working out! Make sure they are aware of this prior to their service so they can plan accordingly. Introducing water molecules to their eyelash extensions too soon could cause their lashes to fall out almost immediately. A nano mister will knock a solid 20 hours off of that 24 hour waiting period! Clients will only need to wait four hours to introduce moisture. The science behind how nano misters work is pretty awesome, especially if you are a lash nerd like me.

3. Avoid Oil Around Lashes

Avoiding oil based products means ALL products. Many clients take this as, “Okay no more oil based mascara…easy!” Wrong, this part is not easy because it doesn’t stop there. The seeping power of any facial product is astonishing. That means facial cleansers, moisturizers, and foundation! These products get sucked so far into our skin that they can spread all the way to our lash follicles…even if we avoid the eye area! You’ll even want to let your clients know that oil based body lotion can cause retention issues without them even knowing!

4. Avoid Touching/Rubbing Lashes

Touching eyelash extensions or rubbing eyes can be a totally sub-conscious tendency. Some clients even rub their eyes in their sleep. Let each client know that doing so will cause their lash extensions to prematurely fall out. The oils or lotions from their hands will break down the adhesive causing them to come in for lash fills much more often – which, in this case, is NOT a good thing!

5. Avoid Sleeping on Lashes

This is a tricky rule. I can honestly admit, I am a face sleeper; I’ll never not be a face sleeper. Face sleepers are easily identifiable, though. If you have a client with lashes that are going every-which direction, and no I don’t mean curly lashes – that is a completely different situation – there is a good chance they are a face sleeper! Especially if only one eye has crazy lashes (their dominant face-sleep side). This is a good thing to note in their client profile. Quite often, these clients will come back and say they have no idea how, but they lost so many lashes on the outer corners or only on one eye! Well, if you’ve noted it in their profile, you will have the answer for them! “YOU ARE A FACE SLEEPER!” If your clients can avoid doing so, great! If your clients cannot avoid doing so, best to make them well aware that it will cause retention issues. This way, they will walk away with realistic retention and eyelash extension aftercare expectations. Suggest they use a satin/silk pillow case to make the night less treacherous on their extensions!

6. Avoid Extreme Heat

I have literally had clients come to me with seared eyelashes. It’s almost comical. They’ve either gotten way too close to the soufflé in the oven or their cigarette or candle! These seem like very obvious issues. But, for those clients who have never had to be careful around heat, this may be a good talking point BEFORE it happens. Clients who are new to lashes have never had to worry about their natural lashes shriveling up near heat. Just make sure you address this before they come in thinking their lashes are randomly melting.

7. Avoid Chemical Peels and Facials

Unless we dissect each and every chemical and product and ingredient, there is no way for us to know whether or not chemical peels and procedures will cause retention issues for our clients. The best course of action, if a client asks, is to completely avoid the eye area. This will ensure nothing is seeping into that lash line, as I mentioned earlier!