Choosing the right lash stylist is the most important part of your lash extension experience. If it’s your first time you may be scared off if you have a bad experience maybe never wanting lash extensions again. Here is a few things to consider when choosing a lash stylist who can get the job done the first time and every time.
- Proper Sanitation Practices: When you have someone working around your eyes, it is imperative that the workstation, the stylist’s hands, and the utensils have been properly sanitized. Ask the stylist how they sanitize their eyelash extensions tools. Do they use acetone or another proper sanitizing agent to clean the tweezers before every client? Is there hand sanitizer at the workstation to ensure that the stylist is properly sanitizing their hands before working around your eyes?
- Training: The growing trend of lash extensions has “lash stylists” popping up everywhere to fill this demand. Xtreme Lashes®, who the owner/artist (Shauna N. was trained by along with fellow lash tech/aeshtetician Sheyna C.), offers an intensive hands-on training program where the stylists are required to pass their level one class, & come back to pass a test to get certified. All students need to be a licensed esthetician or cosmetologist before taking their class. So ask, who did they get trained by? How long was the training program and was it a “hands-on” program or did they learn by viewing a video?
- Products: Make sure you inquire about what brand of eyelash extensions and products they use. The products you should ask about include the adhesive, primers, eye makeup remover, under eye gel patches, and the actual lashes themselves. Are the products made in the United States? What brand are they? Do they have a list of ingredients in the products? Because of the popularity of lash extensions, many salons are now importing the cheapest products from foreign countries. These inexpensive products do not have their ingredients listed and tend to have potent fumes which can cause an uncomfortable stinging sensation during and after application.
- Experience: Before and after pictures are a good way of seeing the work and experience of the lash stylist. Make sure that the pictures are not stock photos from lash extension companies.
- Time: While many lash places tend to boast that they can do the service more quickly than others, this is NOT a good sign. The process of applying a full set of lash extensions should take between 2 and 2.5 hours. The process of doing a quality lash fill should be at least 1.25 hours. When the stylist has been trained in the proper technique, they isolate each individual natural lash while they meticulously apply an extension. At this point, the stylist must maintain the isolation for enough time for the adhesive to dry and for the lash to not stick to the neighboring lash. When stylists go too fast, the lashes tend to stick together and look messy and clumpy with adhesive.
- Cost: Be careful of places offering very low priced lash extensions. If it’s very cheap, then most likely you are getting what you paid for—cheap, messy, extensions that will end up damaging your natural lashes. Reputable and quality brands are costly and this is why lash stylists that use their products must charge more. As stated earlier, many places are getting their products at low prices and then rushing through the application to save time and money. This is why they can charge next to nothing for their service. Look for a good deal, but some things ARE too good to be true.
So remember good things take time! When finding a lash stylist make sure to ask plenty of questions before putting your trust in just anyone to work around your eyes. When lash extensions are safely applied by a trained professional it should be a comfortable experience with beautiful results!
Mahalo XO,
Alohi Aesthetics
PS….Some of the information written in this article can be found at: http://www.eastsidebodyandskin.com/buyer-beware-read-this-article-before-you-get-lash-extensions
