Aftercare for your eyelash extensions      

What are eyelash extensions?                                                 

Eyelash extensions are individual lashes bonded one by one to your existing eyelashes. They are almost weightless, feel and look completely natural and are available in different lengths, thicknesses and curls to create your desired effect. Choice of eyelash designs range from a completely natural (although enhanced) look, a sassier sexy look or the ultimate glamorous look. Whichever look is decided upon the lashes will add fullness and really open up your eyes making a difference to the way you look and feel about yourself.

Aftercare dos and don’ts

• Do not cleanse eyes, shower, swim, use a steam or dry sauna for at least 12 hours after the procedure. Preferably 24 hours is advised for proper bonding.
• Avoid heat treatments like saunas and sunbeds.
• Always be gentle with lashes. Try not to sleep on them.
• Do not use an eyelash curler.
• Avoid all oil-based makeup products and eye-makeup remover.
• Avoid waterproof mascara. There are mascaras on the market designed for eyelash extension, which I do retail.
• Touch-ups are recommended every 2-4 weeks
• Get them removed by a professional
• Never pick at them, if a lash is out of place cut it with scissors instead or brush them.
• Brush eyelash extensions daily. Available to buy at my salon.
• Apply sealant to your lashes regularly following the advice of the brand used.

Cleaning your eyelash extensions

Ideally, daily you should wash your eyelash extensions with shampoo. To do this I mix Johnsons and johnsons baby shampoo (or similar) with a little water and directly apply it to the lashes. Extremely gently massage the lashes back and fore, then away from the body. Never use anything which is oil-based to clean your eyelash extensions. Daily I will allow the water from my shower to run over my eyelash extensions moving them sideways slightly to get the water between the lashes. After getting out of the shower I pat them dry and let them dry naturally.

Please remember your natural eyelashes (not extensions) fall out and another one grows back in the follicle to replace it, so don’t panic if you lose some eyelash extensions while cleaning them. You would naturally lose 1 -5 lashes a day with or without eyelash extensions.

However if you find you are losing a lot of eyelash extensions when you wash them, it could be that the eyelash extensions you have on are too long and not suited to your natural eyelash extensions, so therefore the amount of eyelash extensions anchored to your natural lash isn’t enough or they simply haven’t been bonded correctly.

How to remove makeup around my eyelash extensions

After a day of wearing makeup, you often find that makeup has gathered around the base of the eyelash extensions. To gently remove it, wet a cotton bud (AKA Q-tip in America) and wipe around the eyes. I use simples oil-free makeup remover for this. Never use the same cotton bud on both eyes as you may have an eye infection developing you are unaware of and pass it onto the other eye. You can always give your eyelashes a gentle brush at this stage being extremely careful not to damage the extensions.

Eyelash extensions and blepharitis

It is good practice to keep the eyelash extensions clean to prevent eyelash extension Blepharitis. Blepharitis is when the hair follicle becomes infected and blocked. It becomes blocked with your skins natural oil called sebum, dead skin cells and bacteria, which hasn’t been cleaned away. It basically looks like dandruff around your eyelash extensions. If you do find you have blepharitis it’s best to ask your eyelash technician to remove the lashes and visit your GP for some topical ointment to apply to the eyelid to clean up the infection.

This isn’t just for eyelash extensions wearers, this could easily happen to people who don’t remove their mascara or generally clean their face daily.

The Eyelash emporium has an amazing selection of aftercare products for keeping eyelash extensions healthy and looking great. I highly recommend beauticians to stock their products for retail. It’s very important to make sure the clients understand how invaluable a lash sealant is!

What are party lashes?

This is also why I strongly advise people to avoid party lashes as there is no way of keeping them clean at home. Party lashes are only meant to be on for 3 days maximum, however sadly there are eyelash technicians locally who do sell them as a full set of lashes using the stronger glue. I honestly can’t stress enough how important it is to find a good eyelash technician. These photos were shared on one of the ‘eyelash forums’ I  am part of you can see how there is no way the client could keep these clean and they are falling out in clumps ripping out her natural eyelashes out with them.

I welcome tips and advice from clients who wear eyelash extensions and other technicians, so please feel free to comment on this blog post. I also welcome guest blogger, so if there is a subject you would like to cover on my website please tell free to ask.

Other blogs which might interest you:

• How to shampoo eyelash extensions?
• Can I apply mascara to my eyelash extensions?
• Why are my eyelash extensions coming out without natural lash?