This is the one subject that everyone wants to know more about. It is also one of the hardest subjects to deal with as well, due to there being so many various reasons that you may be having retention issues.
To start with, your natural eyelashes tell your lash technician many many many things. It could be that you sleep on a particular side at night time, it could be that you are going through stress or hormone imbalances, it could be that you are just not taking care of them or it could even be what you are using on your face.
We can tell. We do lash extensions every day and it is what we love to do. So when we ask you, have you been cleansing your lashes……we already know the answer.
So the question is….how do I get the best retention from my eyelash extensions? The answer is….looking after them and be honest with us when we ask you loads of questions at the start of your appointment.
The best thing for your lashes is to cleanse them at least every 3 days. You need to start a new routine and incorporate your new eyelash extensions into this routine. So every 3 days, you want to be using an eyelash extension safe lash cleanser. This is a cleanser that has been designed and tested to be used with eyelash extensions. If you have a cleanser at home and prefer to use that, it may actually be causing more harm then good. Like everything, there are a multitude of different cleansers on the market. What you need to make sure of, is that it does not contain oils. Cleansers that contain oils, may start to break down the lash glue quicker than it is supposed to. We recommend a lash extension cleanser that is also anti-bacterial.
How you cleanse your lashes may also be damaging your lash extensions too. Sounds silly but it is true. When you are cleansing your lashes, you want to be doing a couple of circles on your eyelid with the cleanser and brush and then you want to be going down and through your eyelash extensions. Pushing anything near the eyelash line, down and away to the tips of your lashes. You can do side to side cleansing, which is from the outside of your face to your nose and back again, however with sideways movement is putting sideways pressure on the lash glue points, which is weakening the bonds and therefore, adding to your retention problems.
Again, you want to be cleansing your lashes at least every 3 days. This will change if you are doing things like crossfit, gym, working outside or excessive sweating or living in the Top End. If this is the case, we recommend adding a sealant to your lash extensions. This sealant will add a waterproof coating to the adhesion points of your lash extensions. This will great help to increase your retention. By adding a waterproof coating to the adhesion points it will help to repel the waters, salts and everything else that is in your sweat, from breaking down the adhesion points quicker than they are supposed to.
How does the sealant work, the routine that you want to start is cleansing the night before and then the next morning, adding your sealant to your lash extensions. Then 3 days time, cleansing at the night and then the next morning, adding your sealant and then repeat.
The way you sleep also affects your retention. If you sleep on your right side, because your pillow will be on the right hand side, your head will sink into the pillow and every time you move, it will be putting side pressure onto your lash extensions. The same will happen when you sleep on your left side and will happen even more if you sleep on your face. This is a tricky on to try to fix. The best option that we have found is using a lash bra eye mask, which is an eye mask that is specifically designed for eyelash extensions. The other option is an airplane next pillow. Some of our clients have said that the next pillow stops them from rolling around as much during the night and therefore not putting pressures on their lash extensions.
Now this subject is a difficult one. Hormones. The body is a magical and wonderful instrument. It does all sorts of wonderful and amazing things that we still do not fully understand. What we as lash artists do understand though, is that when something is out of wack with your hormones, your eyelashes tell us that something is not right. If you have recently fallen pregnant, your hormones are going crazy, your eyelashes may start shedding quicker than normal. If you are going through menopause, your hormones are going crazy and your eyelashes tell us. If you are on certain types of medication, it may cause retention issues because your hormones are going crazy. If you are stressed or on that time of the month, your hormones are fluctuating and going crazy.
Basically, any unusual hormone fluctuations or changes to your “normal” can cause retention issues. This is not an easy one to pinpoint but again, talking to your lash technician can help to try to work out what is going on and potentially lead to answers.
Your skin care. This is by far the most difficult to detect but definitely the easiest to fix. Please tell your lash artist your skin regime. As you can see already, looking sideways can make your extensions more difficult to maintain but the more you talk to your lash technician, the easier it will be.
With your skin care the rule of thumb is to stop putting your creams or oils or potions, at least 2 fingers in all directions away from your eye sockets. Your creams, oils and potions will still migrate into those areas but the idea is to keep your natural lashes as natural as possible. Your creams etc can leave a coating on your natural lashes that will make your retention, almost non existent. As we said earlier, oils on your natural lashes, affect retention. Creams that have oils in them, will leave this residue on your natural lashes and when your lash technician tries to apply your extensions, they will simply pop off.
Like any good relationship, communication is the key. Talk thoroughly with your lash technician. The more that they know, the more that they are able to help if something goes wrong with your extensions. They are there to work with you. Lash extensions are an investment and like any investment, we want the absolute best for you.
If you have questions or want to know more information, we are always around to help out. Reach out to us at any time
xxDee & Steve
