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Introduction
From everyday wear to the glamour of a black tie event, eyelash extensions have surged in popularity due to their ability to instantly uplift the face and add a touch of daily glamour without the need for makeup. Learning to apply them correctly as a lash tech can set you apart in the beauty industry and offer you a new career.
For those starting out, mastering this skill can enhance your client's natural beauty and pave the way for a rewarding career. Transforming someone's appearance with a carefully crafted set of lashes is both an art and a science. In this guide, we'll discuss the best practices of eyelash extensions and the common pitfalls beginners face, arming you with essential tips to excel in this craft.
Essential Tips for Perfecting Eyelash Extensions
Understanding the best practices of lash application, whether you're a beginner or expert, is fundamental to creating beautiful, long-lasting eyelash extensions and building a thriving career as a lash tech.
Choosing the right lash curl and length
Choosing the right curl and length lash for your client should be decided by the look your client is looking for. Before you start, talk to them about what they envision; do they want a natural curl? A mega volume look or something in between?
For example, if your client wants a soft, natural look, a shorter length and soft curl (such as a C curl) would be the best option. On the other hand, for those looking for a more dramatic or noticeable volume, a longer-length lash with a more defined curl would work; our DD curls are the perfect option for a dramatic look.
However, before you agree to apply the lash extensions, note your client's eye shape and offer advice on length and curl to ensure they leave with the eyelash extensions of their dreams. Those with more hooded eyes should always use a D curl over a C or DD curl because it hides the hood. Meanwhile, those with more inset eyes looking for a natural and softer lash should use a medium curl instead of a shorter lash to look natural and not short on their face.
Choosing the right curl and length for your client is crucial. A mismatched lash can appear awkward and uncomfortable.
Proper adhesive usage and curing time
Adhesive usage is a delicate balance. If you use too much, you can make the lash extensions stick together, too little, and they will fall out. Using just the right amount and allowing adequate curing time is essential for the adhesive, ensuring a secure and durable bond.
As you go through your training, you will learn the best ways to apply adhesive and the proper curing time, as this can change depending on the type of glue and if you use Silk Touch Lashes Super Bonder, which cuts the curing time down.
Finding the ‘right’ amount is a case of practising until you’ve got it and can do it consistently every time - nobody becomes an expert overnight!
Understanding lash mapping and styling
Like fingerprints, eyes come in all different shapes and sizes and are as unique as your client is. As part of your training as an expert lasher, a solid understanding of lash mapping and styling is necessary to understand what to do with your clients' different eye shapes. With this understanding, you may find that they look right once applied, such as using a doll map to a round eye and making them look shocked or adding a cat eye to a downturned eye and accidentally giving them a sleepy look!
Knowing what lash map to apply to each eye shape will set you apart as a lasher whose clients can return repeatedly! Although you will get to understand them through time, experience, and sometimes tears and frustration, a good training course is the perfect way to learn quickly without the tears before you even have your first client. As part of our training at Silk Touch Lashes, we offer training on eye theory, lash mapping and styling before you even touch a model. Setting you up with the best theory that can be applied in practice and leaving your clients with smiles and luscious lashes.
Importance of aftercare and maintenance
Educating your clients on the importance of aftercare makes the difference between stunning, long-lasting lashes and ones that fall out and need infills every other week. Remind your clients to stay away from water and steam for at least 12 hours, avoid using oil-based products, and wash and brush extensions gently with a clean mascara wand. After all, lash extensions are costly and time-consuming, so crafting great lashes is only possible if they last.
Trust us; having an open conversation with your clients about aftercare will keep lashes healthy and glamorous and your clients happy.
Seeking mentorship and ongoing education
Every beginner should go with others; learning from professionals is invaluable for continuous improvement and can help you understand best practices to take your eyelash extensions career to the next level.
At Silk Touch Lashes, our DMs are always open to lash technicians for troubleshooting advice whether you trained with us or not. With over ten thousand sets of lashes and some national awards, we live and breathe lash extensions and want to help everybody be a better lash artist.
If you’re based in Scotland and interested in training with us, explore our course options here.
As you book your training at our Academy, let's discuss some common mistakes beginner lash techs make and how Silk Touch Lashes will ensure you don't make them.
Common Mistakes Beginner Lash Techs Make
Starting on the right foot involves knowing what not to do. Many beginners in the field of lash extensions make errors that can lead to unsatisfactory results or even damage to natural lashes. Awareness of these missteps is the first step toward professional growth.
Using too much glue
One of the most common beginner mistakes is overusing lash glue, which can impact the look you want.
At Silk Touch Lashes, our best practice for knowing how much glue to use is: In a classic lash application that uses individual lashes, we recommend that the glue covers 40-50% of the extension before the lash is applied.
For lash looks with volume, where you use lash fans made up of 3 or more lashes, for the best look, we recommend you only make sure 30% of the lash extension is covered. You can risk the fan closing too much, and instead of a sultry, voluminous look, you will end up with each lash extension becoming a thick lash. The most important thing is to ensure that all the body/area of the extension covered in glue is touching the natural lash to guarantee proper bonding and longer retention.
Less is more when it comes to lash glue, as excessive amounts can cause clumps, stickiness, discomfort, and potential lash loss.
Improper placement and spacing
Lash extensions aim to create a natural and seamless look that blends with the natural lashes, with each lash extension the same distance from the eyelid, ensuring that all lashes look the same length.
However, as you start, you may find that you keep making the same common mistake: accidentally applying the lashes too high up or spaced apart, which can lead to lashes looking unnatural or different lengths, not to mention adding extra time and frustration to your appointment.
Don't worry. As you gain confidence and experience as a lash tech, placement will get easier along with speed. Remember, we all start somewhere, and practice makes perfect!
Overloading natural lashes
We all love creating voluminous, dramatic lash looks for our clients that catch the eye, but doing it safely without overloading the natural lash is key to success. Before agreeing on a look, assessing the natural lash to make sure it can handle the weight of the lash extension is key to creating a dramatic, volume lash without harming the natural lash.
At Silk Touch Lashes, if we had a client who wanted heavy, dramatic lashes but we can see that the client's natural lash wouldn't be able to handle our maximum lash length (18D 0.05mm), we would recommend a fan 0.03 in thickness, cutting the weight in half without ruining the look your client is going for.
Although beauty is in the eye of the beholder, knowing when to offer an alternative lash extension thickness to not overload your client's natural lashes is key to being a successful lash tech. Your knowledge and expertise are needed to make sure you do not overload the natural lash and cause breakages to the natural lash.
Not customising for different eye shapes
Every client's eyes are unique and beautiful. As a lash tech, it is crucial to customise every look to flatter and tailor your lash extension to the shape and width of their natural eyes. The best way to do this is to assess your client's eye shape, size and even the location on the client's face and listen to what your client is looking to enhance or fix with the magic of lashes.
For example, following a cat-eye map creates the illusion of almond eyes on a round eye shape. If eyes are wide apart, we can make them look closer together by applying voluminous lash extensions in the corners of the eye.
As a beginner, this can often be confusing. Still, through the Silk Touch Lashes training, we teach you how to apply lashes and safety precautions, deep-dive into lash theory, and map lashes to different eye shapes.
Lack of proper isolation techniques
If you think fanning is the hardest thing to learn or have mastered knowing the suitable maps and eye shapes, you must know the proper isolation techniques to get anywhere as a lash tech. With the proper understanding of lash isolation, lash extensions will stick together, look clean, and make your clients look for a new lash tech.
Lash isolation is the holy grail of lashing! It is the technique of separating each natural lash before applying the extension. With proper education and training on how to do so, you will build up the skills to quickly apply lashes, how comfortable the lash will feel when on and how healthy the natural lash will be. Learning to isolate quickly and well between layers makes a lasher stand out.
Conclusion
Above, we've laid a foundational blueprint for success from Silk Touch Lash's essential tips to the common mistakes you may find you make as you start. Remember, perfection comes with practice and patience. Each set of lashes you apply brings you one step closer to becoming an expert.
We encourage you to keep honing your skills, learn from every mistake, and embrace every opportunity to grow. With dedication and the right knowledge, you will master the art of eyelash extensions. Keep practising, keep learning, and watch as your confidence and client list grow.