Welcome to the third instalment of the Retention Series - by now, you’ll be a real pro at pretreatment, and you’ll know how to keep that glue tip-top to the last drop! If this is the first instalment you have landed on - hello, welcome - please feel free to read on, and take a few moments to read parts 1 and 2 when you’re done :) 

As we’ve mentioned, in the first and second instances great retention comes from your awesome pretreatment routine, and from picking THE perfect glue! Once your client wakes up from their lash nap looking like they’re about to grace the cover of Vogue, it’s pretty much in their hands! You could have done everything so absolutely perfectly that the lash gods themselves are shaking, but if your client doesn’t treat them with the care and attention they deserve, you might as well have stuck the lashes on with a wish and a promise for all the good they’re about to do them! 

So what do you tell them? 

CLEAN THEM!!

This is a big one. Back in the early days of lash extensions the advice was to not get them wet, ever - obviously now, we all know that’s a little bit silly (read: TERRIBLE ADVICE) - once the glue is dry, it’s water resistant and will not mind coming into contact with water, even a little bit. The fact of the matter is that cleaning our lashes is something we should ALL be doing, and something we should ALL be telling our clients. For one thing, oils and makeup residue can build up and are so gross to clean when they come back to you, equal parts crusty and shimmery in the lash region. Not only is this taking away valuable treatment time - you may recall from Part 1 that we recommended they are given the foam cleanser to go and wash their lashes with before even coming close to the bed - but oils can get between the glue bond and the natural lash, causing the extensions to just slide right off. 

As well as this, there are a whole host of health issues that can arise from not cleaning our lashes properly, from infections such as blepharitis to literal bugs that live in your lashes and eat them - I’m not kidding. See Demodex Mites.

As someone who has had many lash sets in the time that I’ve had the luxury of working with LLP, I have tried a fair few cleansing routines, so allow me to use myself as a case study:

When I say ‘oily skin’ I mean OILY - my eyes get sore if I don’t cleanse them twice per day, whether I wear makeup or not, and whether I have lashes or not. I’ve tried using cleansing wipes to clean my eyelids and just around the eyes and just cleansing once per day. I’ve tried just cleansing by pressing a cotton pad with micellar water into the lash line (this is BAD practice, and I am not advising this, it doesn’t clean the lashes well) I also tried baby shampoo back in the day, as this used to be something that was recommended due to it being oil free. Nothing has cleansed my lashes so well as foam cleanser. Who’d have thought that a product created specifically for cleansing lashes would be the best product for cleansing lashes? 

Just remember that I went through failures so that you can prosper. Foam cleanser is gentle, oil free and it really gets in between the lashes giving you a deeeeeeep clean. 

We stock a range of foam cleansers depending on your favourite scent, and you can even buy them in packs of 9 to retail to your clients so you KNOW they’re getting the best aftercare. My personal favourite is the inLei foam cleanser in rose scent. 

After cleansing, pat dry with a towel and brush with a mascara wand. Give the wand a little wiggle for optimal fluffage!

DON’T PICK!

Some of us like to fiddle with things, but our lashes shouldn’t be one of them! Apart from messing with retention, picking at your extensions can pull out the natural lashes from the root - these lashes may then never grow back. 

Some people have a certain type of anxiety disorder which causes them to pick at their hair and lashes - it can’t be helped but it can still be damaging. For these clients, perhaps suggest something like Lash Filler which will give them less to pick at, and also note that asking for help is always okay 💖

THINGS TO AVOID

Steam rooms and saunas.

Yes, heat and humidity cure your glue. But extreme heat can also soften the glue - not only can this weaken the bonds but it can cause more fumes to be released, which reopens the possibility of an allergic reaction and of irritation. Extreme heat can also affect the curl of the lashes, so watch out for any flattening of the lashes - heat could well be the culprit!

Oily products.

We’ve touched on this briefly, but it’s always worth reiterating! Oil won’t break down glue but it can sneak in between the glue and the lashes, making them slide right off. If you’ve got an oily client, it’s great to use Booster to open up the hair fibre and give the glue more to attach to :)

Getting them wet for 24 hours.

Glue will mostly be dry in 8 hours, but if we tell clients 8 hours, they will be submerging their entire face in a swimming pool within 4, so add extra time just in case! If you do have clients who like to swim/shower/cry shortly after treatment, try adding Superbonder at the end of your treatment to instantly cure the glue whilst keeping it flexible, not brittle. Then they can swim (or cry) to their heart’s content. 

What Else Can Affect Retention?

These next points aren't really things you can tell your client to change in so far as some people do have periods, and some people do smoke. You can just look out for these things if a client tells you they have had poor retention. 

Hormones

Whether it’s pregnancy, or Aunt Flow is in town for the week, hormone levels can play havoc with retention. Skin can become more oily, the hairs’ growth rate can speed up causing lash loss more quickly. 

Smoking

While there isn’t really a lot of research on this, smoking can make a difference to the lash retention. This is most likely due to the chemicals in cigarette smoke, and also the little bursts of heat close to the lashes at semi-regular intervals. 

To make your job slightly easier, we’ve created packs of aftercare leaflets which come with the little brush for your clients to keep their lashes fluffy! 

Lots of love,

LLP x