5 Lash 'FACTS' That You Definitely Believed

The world of lashing is growing faster than a lot of other sectors in the beauty industry and with good reason. It requires talent, passion, patience and not to mention the obvious, the beautiful end result a set of lashes gives the client. We love it, and we hope you love it and long may it continue.

But with this burst of growth within our relatively small industry, hearsay, opinions and misheard information can snowball until it becomes seen as a 'fact'.

So, we want to run through 5 commonly believed 'Lash Facts' and hopefully spread some lash knowledge and keep this industry safe and booming.

1. Once you are qualified, you are good to go.

If you have passed your course and succeeded in getting a qualification in lash extensions, first of all, well done! But we have some news for you... The lash industry is forever evolving and moving on. Which means you need to make sure that you keep up. The best way to do this is to join forums, take refresher training and speak to other lash technicians. What was gospel 2 years ago, may not apply now. Just think, only 2 years ago, trainers were teaching you to use 0.30mm in lengths up to 18mm! There is a great saying that I always stick to. 'If you stand still, you will fall behind' and this is exactly true for lashes. Keep improving, keep learning and don't ever believe that you know enough, there is always more. We recommend doing your own research every week and take proper refresher training every 2 years.

2. Patch testing is 100% reliable.

Let me start by stressing that patch testing is extremely important and that you should always patch test 24-48 prior to a new client's appointment. No patch test = no treatment. Now that I have got that bit out of the way, here's the facts: Patch testing does not 100% confirm if a client will have a reaction. This is because when you apply a few lashes to the corner of the eye (LashBase recommended way of patch testing), you are not giving your client the full exposure as you will during the full application process. Another reason is that allergies to lash adhesives are accumulative, so the first patch test might come up fine, but then at the second visit (full application), a reaction may then occur. A client may even become allergic after 2 years of being fine. The best thing to do is make sure you explain this to your client prior to full application. This will save any potential issues if a reaction does occur.

3. Buy cheap, buy twice.

Lash products come in all shapes and sizes. They also come in all different price ranges. Unfortunately though, lots of people are tricked into thinking that the more they pay for something, the better it is. This is just simply not true. We research and test all products before putting them on sale and the research includes the price point. We believe in offering great value and do not try to squeeze every penny we can out of products. Take tweezers for example. All of our tweezers are under £10. Does that mean they are rubbish? Most definitely not. We can let you in on a little secret too... The tweezers that we sell are the same product that one of our competitors is selling for over £25! Go figure. Our advice would be to not be lead by price. Do your research and test lots of different products. You'll find the right fit for you and who knows, you might find a hidden gem.

4. 4 Week Infills/8 Week retention.

We bet that every single person reading this will have seen a picture of a client's lashes after 3-4 weeks with a load of lashes still on and the technician claiming that it is all thanks to the amazing adhesive they use. I am afraid to tell you that this is false. No doubt you went through this in training so you have all heard about the natural lash cycle right? Natural lashes fall out at different times and at different rates depending on lots of factors. Stress or hormones for example. Now if you catch a client at the exact perfect stage of the majority of her lashes cycle, apply the lash extensions correctly and have your client follow the perfect after-care procedures, they will get the amazing retention that you've all seen before in pictures. However, the opposite can also happen. Your client will come back with hardly any lashes and you will believe that the adhesive you are using gives your clients poor retention, but it is simply not the case. There are so many other factors that affect retention other than the adhesive itself, so do not be fooled! Now, on to '8 week' retention... Do you know why companies can claim that? If you do a set of lashes and 8 weeks later there is 1 lash extension still hanging on in there, that is 8 week retention. Crazy right! It is biologically impossible for a client to have full retention after that amount of time. So again, do not be fooled.

5. The BEST product.

What's the best adhesive? What are the best lashes? What Tweezers are the best? All questions you will have been asked and also asked yourself. Here's your answer: There is no such thing as 'The Best' product. From Lashes and Adhesive to Tweezers and Eye Pads plus everything in between, they are all personal preference. What works for one technician, won't work for another and that goes for any lash product you can think of. If you want to find the right product for you, the only way is to actually use the products yourself. If there was such thing as 'The Best', we would either all be out of business or all stocking the same products, which simply isn't the case. Research and physical testing are key to find 'The Best' for you.

There are lots of other Lash 'Facts' doing the rounds, so keep your eyes open and look further into and research anything that you aren't sure about.

Let's keep this industry moving in the right direction, so we can all grow with confidence and continue to blossom. Thanks for reading.