Before we dive into why it is SO important to keep eyelashes clean, we need to understand what it is that eyelashes do.
The main function of eyelashes is to protect your eyes. Eyelashes stop substances like dirt, sleep, dead skin cells and debris entering your eyes. Eyelashes are a filter, and like any filter, they don’t work effectively if they are not clean!
Dirty lashes are known to cause Blepharitis, Styes, Conjunctivitis or even an infestation of lash mites! This applies to eyes in general, even people without eyelash extensions or people who do not wear make-up, should be adhering to good eye hygiene.
Did you know that a lash mite’s favourite meal is dead skin cells? In one way that’s great, they help clean up debris, HOWEVER when there is a lot of build-up of dead skin cells these mites need some friends to help get the job done. Lash mites also leave waste products and can cause irritation around the eye area and block hair follicles and oil passages. A few lash mites are normal and rarely problematic, but an infestation is another story.
For those who DO have eyelash extensions, not only is it important to protect your eye health, but also to prolong the life of your eyelash extensions.
Eyelash extensions do not adhere well to dirty lashes, so if you are not thoroughly cleansing the natural lashes before applying a set of extensions, you are already compromising the lifespan of the extensions.
The glue that bonds eyelash extensions to natural lashes is a medical grade glue made for use on human skin. Excellent for sticking lash to lash, however its bonds does not stand up to the test of oil.
Oils and oil-based products break down the glue bond and cause extensions to disconnect from the natural lash and fall off before the natural lash is ready to shed.
In the process of glue breaking down, it becomes soft and often adheres to other soft glue nearby. This means that multiple eyelashes extensions stick to each other. When this occurs, natural eyelashes cannot grow and shed as they normally would.
Prolong Lash Cleanser keeps eyes debris and oil free and it assists the natural shedding process. Don’t get us wrong, Prolong Lash will not MAKE natural lashes fall out but it allows lashes that are READY to shed naturally, to fall out on their own, without pulling at its neighbouring lashes because when eyelash extensions are clean, the natural lashes and eyelash extensions stay separated and clump free.
Oils are found in most beauty products, cleansers, moisturizers, make-up, sunscreen, hair products and the list goes on. But we also produce our own oils in our skin, sweat and tears that can break up the loving relationship between the eyelash extension and its natural eyelash.
A quick glance at most ingredient labels of beauty products will have you reading words like Glycerine, Glycerol, Fruit, Vegetable & Plant derived oils. Even products labelled ‘Oil Free’ often contain oil derived ingredients.
So, with the odds stacked against your eyelash extensions, what can we do? And what products CAN we use?
Specifically designed for use with eyelash extensions, and proven to extend the life of extensions, Prolong Lash Cleanser is your frontline defence in the battle against oils and build-up.
Tested in a salon environment, clients who used Prolong Lash Cleanser twice daily presented for infills at 3 weeks with at least 60% of their extension still on! How is that for retention!
pH balanced, Prolong Lash Cleanser is safe for use on the entire face, this means you can replace that oil based facial cleanser and give your extensions even more protection.
When you do NEED to use an oil-based product (Hello Sunscreen), ensure that you wash your eyelash extensions thoroughly after application of the product. Our cleanser will strip off those surface oils that can affect your eyelash extensions and makes your lashes fluffy and clump free.
When using hair products and body washes in the shower, make cleansing your extensions the LAST thing you do in the shower so to ensure that you cleanse off any oil residue that may have gotten on the lash line.
Make sure you remove your make-up at the end of the day. We know sometimes we are all a bit too tired, but your lashes will THANK you for it. Double cleanse when you are removing make-up. The first cleanse removes the makeup, the second cleanse gives you a deep clean that truly removes the oils and debris on your skin, eyelids and lash line.
Eyelash extensions cost hard earned money, and time!
Protect your investment, protect your extensions, protect your eyes, wash with Prolong Lash Cleanser twice daily and AFTER every application of an oil-based product.
As a lash tech how does educating your clients to have great lash hygiene help you?
If you can teach your clients the importance of washing their eyelash extensions twice daily, you will make your own job so much easier at infill time.
Can you imagine your clients turning up to an infill in 3 weeks time and seeing clean, clump free extensions on their eyes? What a dream right? So much less clean up time for you. All you need to do is remove very grown out extensions and fill that set back up. This also means more time spent filling, so infills will be so much fuller and more impactful.
Another bonus is that you are going to get less complaints. We have all had that dreaded phone call “my lashes have all fallen out”, “my lashes look stuck together”, “a lash fell out and there were 3 stuck together”. When your clients are caring for their extensions these comments start to disappear, and consistently happy clients are walking through your door.
We know it is not always easy to convince someone to spend more on a product when they have just paid for a full set of lashes, so make educating clients key. Consistent messaging is important, stress the importance of washing lashes on your social media pages, on your website, when your clients make a booking, whilst you are applying their lashes, not just when you get to the reception desk to take payment. If it’s not a surprise at the end of their appointment they will be much more receptive to understanding why they NEED to practice good lash hygiene and not feel like you are trying to make an extra few dollars out of them.
When you truly understand aftercare and can articulate it to your clients with confidence, they will know they are in safe, expert hands.
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