Let's talk pH Levels!

Lets talk lashing pH levels! 

Sounds confusing right? Don't worry we're here to help. We've broken it down so we can help you all understand the science... 

Natural oils, makeup, shampoo/conditioner or soap residue and dust/particles in the air can all settle on the natural lash and interfere with the bonding process. If the natural lashes are not clean, your adhesive will not bond the eyelash extension to the natural lash properly. This then results in retention problems and unhappy clients. 

The pH levels of the natural lash CAN cause problems with retention, here's the science: 

First off, here is a run down of what can be on the surface of the lashes, prior to cleansing along with their pH levels:

Natural oils: 5.5
Mascara: 6.5 to 8
Skin toners: 4 to 5
Shampoo: 3.5 to 9.0

In addition to this, here is what can be used to cleanse lashes with prior to lashing:

Tap water: 6.5 to 9.5
Saline: 5.5
Distilled water: 7

Quite a big scale, right?

Now for the important part... 

Cyanoacrylate (Lash Adhesive) is massively affected by the pH of your natural lashes. If the lashes are too acidic (0 to 6.9) then the bonding process will be slower.

So, what does too much alkaline (7.1 to 14) do? Yes, you guessed it; speeds up the bonding process. Both of which will cause a poor bond, meaning poor retention; your clients could notice their lashes not lasting as long.

In conclusion, it is so important to make sure your clients lashes are clean and dry and as NEUTRAL in pH as possible (we recommend using distilled water when cleansing, as this has a pH of 7, be sure to thoroughly rinse off any cleanser).

If you want to be sure the lashes are as neutral as possible, we recommend Lash Neutral our pH balancer, pre treatment product.

We hope you find this blog post helpful, as always if you have any questions get in touch with us on Instagram and we'll be happy to help.