When you have a barrier such as mascara, dirt, dust or oils, this will prevent the eyelash lift solution from being properly absorbed, resulting in poor lifts. This could be the problem if the eyelash lift only worked on one eye and not the other; maybe one eye had makeup or oils left over. If you think you've applied too much adhesive, you can use a Y-shaped comb to remove the excess and separate the lashes. Let's face it, customers sometimes have a bad track record of coming to their appointment with eyelash extensions, mascara, straightened lashes, yesterday's makeup, and more.
Even after sending them a text message and an email stating clearly that they should come with clean tabs, cleaning the eyelashes as much as possible is still essential for successful results. Using a good eyelash extension cleaner to remove dirt, grease, and build-up will ensure you have a clean slate to work with. Most of the time, even if the customer comes with clean eyelashes, it's best practice to wash them anyway. You never know what oil-based cleaner they're using.
After a good cleaning, you can start the service or use an eyelash base to prepare them further; this will eliminate any remaining stealth oils.
Key Tip:
If your eyelashes aren't clean, if they have dirt and oil, the solutions may not penetrate all layers of dirt and oil and break disulfide bonds. Using too much adhesive is one of the most common problems with failed eyelash lifts. You need adhesive to stick the lashes to the protector; however, if you're not careful, too much adhesive can prevent the solution from working. Use a small amount of adhesive to be able to stick the top part of the natural eyelash to the protector. This is due to overprocessing of the eyelashes and leaving the stretching solution on for too long.If this happens, have the customer apply coconut oil or an eyelash conditioner to their lashes at night and let it work while they sleep. This will rehydrate your natural lashes. Cleaning your eyelashes before going for an eyelash lift is essential, as any mascara or makeup residue on your eyelashes can prevent the relaxing lotion from working properly. For more tips on how to best care for an eyelash lift, read my daily Lash Lift aftercare guide. Your eyelash artist will evaluate your eyelashes at the beginning of the consultation and will base the processing time on what they see. What this means is that the eyelash artist may have left the stretching solution on the eyelashes too long or not long enough.
If you get your lashes wet during that period of time, you run the risk of diluting the eyelash solution and ruining your results. Most eyelash lifts are designed to last 4 to 6 weeks, and then it's recommended to wait at least another 2 weeks before doing another eyelash lift. The best way to know that the eyelash lift didn't work is if you don't notice any difference in your eyelashes. When using an eyelash lift kit, take your time and follow instructions to get long, natural lashes. It is very important that your artist uses the right size rod to perform the lash lift; otherwise, stretching may not work. If you have extensions on, make sure to remove them completely before your appointment or else you may not be able to do a lash lift.
If you are not satisfied with results of an eyelash lift, it may be because it didn't work or because your lashes are tight or too curly for your liking. In this case, you can get a keratin lash lift that includes cysteine. Your artist needs to see your lashes in their natural state to evaluate which approach is best for tightening them. One of the main reasons an eyelash lift didn't work is because they were either overprocessed or underprocessed.
