Having healthy, luscious lashes is all anybody wants - to be able to walk into a lash salon, have them applied and walk out feeling fresh confident. Of course, we all want to be able to maintain our lash extensions but there’s a lot more effort involved to keep them this way. Dirt, debris and pollution are our lash extensions' natural enemies and are almost unavoidable. So, how do you keep your lashes healthy and full?
In this article, we’re sharing why it’s important to keep your eyelash extensions clean, how dirt can affect your lash extensions and our top tips for how to wash them.
Why are healthy eyelashes important?
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 from 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 makeup 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.
Why should you keep eyelash extensions clean?
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.
How to clean eyelash extensions properly?
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. It’s safe for use on the entire face, which means you can replace that oil-based facial cleanser and give your extensions even more protection.
Tested in a salon environment, clients who used Prolong Lash Cleanser twice daily, presented for in-fills at 3 weeks with at least 60% of their extension still on! How is that for retention?
Top tips for keeping eyelash extensions clean
- When you do need to use an oil-based product (hello, sunscreen), ensure that you wash your eyelash extensions thoroughly after applying the product. Our cleanser will strip off those surface oils that can affect your eyelash extensions and make your lashes fluffy and clump-free.
- When using hair products and body washes in the shower, keep cleansing your lash extensions the last step, so to ensure that you cleanse off any oil residue that may have gotten on the lash line.
- Make sure you remove your makeup 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 makeup. The first cleanse removes the makeup, and the second cleanse gives you a deep clean that truly removes the oils and debris on your skin, eyelids and lash line. You can also use a makeup remover cloth, that’s super gentle around the eyes and removes your makeup just with water
As a lash artist, how does educating your clients about 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 fewer complaints. We have all had that dreaded phone call “my lashes have all fallen out” or “my lashes look 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. Stay consistent in your messaging, and stress the importance of washing lashes on your social media pages, website, when your clients make a booking, whilst you are applying their lashes and 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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