What is a Lash Lift? 5 Common Questions, Answered!
Lash lifts are hardly new, but they’re still a bit of a mystery to some, especially to our clients! We took to Google to find out the five most common questions your clients – existing or potential – may be asking about lash lift treatments so that you’re armed with the knowledge to answer perfectly every time!
What is a Lash Lift?
To put it simply, a lash lift treatment lifts the lashes, increasing the appearance of length, thickness and curl. To get a bit more technical, there are three main stages to a lash Lift – for the purposes of this explanation, we’ll be talking specifically about InLei® Lash Filler as we know it like the backs of our hands, but generally speaking the vast majority of eyelash lift treatments will have similar steps.
The first step (after the lashes are lifted onto the right sized shield) is applied to the middle section of the lashes – that’s avoiding the roots and the tips of the lashes – and is left on for an amount of time determined by the thickness of the client’s specific lashes. This is anywhere between 4 minutes and 12 minutes. This step is alkaline based which means that it is able to open up the hair cuticles and penetrate the hair shaft, where it breaks open the disulfide bonds in the hair, ready to reform them into their new shape.
This is then removed, and the second step is applied, again to the middle section of the lashes. Step 2 enters the lash and reforms the disulfide bonds, fixing the lashes into their new position. It has an acidic pH, which means that it closes the hair cuticles.
At this stage, there is the option to add a tint to the lashes – most of the time clients will ask for black lashes to replicate a mascara effect, but there are lots of different tint shades available to complement any client’s skin tone and hair colour perfectly!
The final stage – in our case – is Lash Filler, which is left on the lashes and nourishes them. Lash Filler also penetrates the lashes all the way into the bulb and adds extra keratin to the hairs from the inside. (Fun fact: Lash Filler was tested on human volunteers at the university institute in Italy and was found to increase the thickness of hairs by up to 24% over the course of 3 treatments)
Are Lash Lifts Bad For Lashes?
Not if they’re done right! There’s a really good reason that the solutions are applied only to the middle section of the eyelashes and that is so that the tips don’t get frazzled, and the skin isn’t touched.
Generally speaking, lashes will be thicker, stronger, more obedient and shinier after a Lash Filler treatment than they are normally. If you are someone who is looking for a Lash Technician, as with any beauty treatment, make sure you’re looking for someone who is fully qualified and has great reviews.
How Do You Take Care Of A Lash Lift?
A lash lift is so easy to take care of – they’re arguably one of the easiest beauty treatments to maintain. We recommend using a Foam Cleanser each morning to clean them – this is gentle on skin but gives the lashes a really good clean as well. Once that’s rinsed, just pat them dry and brush in some InLei® Adiutrix just to give them a bit of extra nourishment to support their growth.
At night, if clients have been wearing eye makeup, you can recommend that they use cotton pads and micellar water to cleanse the lashes and eyelid area, followed by the Foam Cleanser again for a deeper clean.
One other to remind clients is that for the first 24 hours after an eyelash lift, they need to be a little bit careful with them while that new shape really gets locked in. The main rules are; don't rub your eyes, try to avoid sleeping on your face, avoid getting them too wet and don't apply any mascara. After that 24 hours is up, they should still be treated gently but nothing needs to be avoided.
Can False Lashes Be Worn With A Lash Lift?
They can be, as lash lifts are really easy to maintain so as long as the lashes are kept nice and clean, there shouldn't be any problems. We recommend being gentle when you’re cleaning off any strip lash residue though as you don’t want to rub too hard on the lashes.
If clients are asking about eyelash extensions and not strip lashes though, they can still have them, but it’s recommended that they wait for a couple of weeks after the lift. For clients whose lashes grow downwards, it’s actually going to make your life as a lash tech easier to apply extensions if they’ve had a lift within the last month, so bear that in mind!
Is A Lash Lift Worth It?
Lash lift treatments vary in price, but generally speaking cost a little less than eyelash extensions and are a faster treatment as well. They’re especially great for clients who develop an allergy to eyelash extensions glues as well. Really, they’re a great low-maintenance option for anyone, and are well worth trying at least once!
All in all, an eyelash lash lift basically does what it says on the tin, but it also gives your clients extra confidence and saves them time in the mornings, two factors alone which make them so worthwhile!
