Ultimate Eyelash Extensions Aftercare
Cleansing
Cleansing can help remove oils from skin, makeup and salts from working out, crying and swimming. Removing salts and oils will give you weeks more of healthy, soft extension wear. You must also wash salts or sweat off your lashes after work outs. Like our tears, our sweat has salt in it. Salt left on the extensions for too long slowly dissolves the glue. Cleansing and using a headband to stop sweat dripping into the eyes can help. Wash your eyelashes with approved lash cleansers, you don't want to get lash mites ...YES! lash mites are real, they feed on bacteria build up (see blog on lash mites for more info). So PLEASE wash them. Dry your eyelash extensions with a handheld fan or with a blow dryer on a cool, low setting. You can also use a tissue or lint free towel (microfiber is best) to soak up excess water and then come back to brush them once they are completely dry.
Swimming
Just like salt from our skin, salt and chlorine from pools can sit on our extensions and cause the glue to break down. After the gym and pool, rinse the lashes off with clean, fresh water. This will neutralise the salt and chlorine from the extensions. Do this after swimming in the ocean too.
Oil free Makeup & Moisturisers
Using the wrong eye makeup can be the worst culprit to lash retention. Many types of eyeliner have oils in them that can cause the bases of the lash extensions to pop or clump. Mascaras can cause volume fans to clump and adhesives to soften. Oils and glycol should be avoided in the lash area and care should be taken when removing makeup and oils from the eye area. This also applies to face oils and cleansers. If oils are a MUST for your skin, keep it well away from your lashes and ensure you are using an approved lash cleanser.
Sleeping
We don’t know what we do when we sleep but our sleeping pattern can affect our retention. Sleeping on your face will definitely cause retention issues. Tugging, pulling and rubbing will greatly affect retention. If you are a face sleep, we suggest a 3D sleep contour sleep mask or alternatively sleep on a silk pillowcase. This will prevent friction and damage to your extensions.
Heat exposure
Ovens, hairdryers and lighters all may affect the retention. Direct extreme heat can cause the extensions to curl, warp or come off. Really hot showers can also cause issues. Always avoid direct heat of any kind.
Sunscreen
We all need to protect our skin from the UVA and UVB rays however most sunscreens contain ingredients that can break down the glue. Avoid using spray on sunscreen and apply it thoughtfully so it doesn’t get onto the extensions. There is also oil free sunscreen available.
Towels
We all like a nice soft towel after a shower or bath. However, the fibres from a bath towel can catch on the eyelash extensions causing it to pop off. Use a towel on your body but use a microfiber cloth on your face and pat dry. You can also use a tissue to soak up excess water and then come back to brush them once they are completely dry.
If you like a faster approach, we recommend you invest in a handheld lash fan or a blow dryer on a cool, low setting.
Medication
Unfortunately some medications can cause issues with our hormones which in turn causes issues with our hair. This includes our eyelashes. If you notice you are losing a lot of hair on your head, chances are you are losing a lot of eyelashes as well. Hormone replacement therapy, thyroid medication and other medications can all cause issues. There is no way on knowing how your body will react to medication until it does. Sometimes we need to take a break from lashes until our body recovers and the chemical makeup in our body is stable again.
Lash cycle
We all have different lash growth cycles but typically we shed our lashes (and brow hairs) every 60-90 days. This is why we need to have refills between 2-4 weeks. And then twice a year, during Autumn and Spring we go through a “shedding” phase. Just like our animal counterparts we will lose more hair during those times than any other time. This is a natural occurrence and during this time you will have more baby lashes and gaps. This is temporary. They will grow back!