The Most Common Mistakes That Beginner Lash Techs Make, and How You Can Avoid Them. Part 1.
Stepping into the world of lash extensions is pretty exciting, but let's face it – it's not without its challenges, especially for beginners. As a beginner Lash Tech, you're bound to make a few mistakes – it's all part of the learning curve! The good news for you though, is that we and thousands of other Lash Techs have all made similar mistakes during our careers, so who better to guide you into avoiding certain pitfalls?
Today, we’re delving into the ten most common mistakes that we see and hear of new Lash Techs making in the beginning of their lash careers and how to sidestep these issues so that you don’t look back and shake your head a year from now!
Skipping Client Consultations
We get it – being a Lash Tech is a great gig for those of us who aren’t super into conversations with people we don’t know super well, as the vast majority of our clients will go straight to sleep once we’ve placed their eyepatches. However, we cannot ever skimp on the consultation with our clients!
We need to know whether there’s any chance of them having an allergic reaction, what kind of look they’re hoping for, and if there is anything special they would like, such as colored lashes.
It’s no good assuming that every client wants a copy+paste lash set and just applying the same three styles for everyone – you need to know that you’re applying what they want, in a way that will suit them perfectly.
If you want to up your consultation game, or even introduce one, check out this blog post where we’ve broken down exactly what you need to know.
Poor Lash Isolation
Put your hand over your heart and repeat after me: I solemnly swear never to place lash extensions without isolating the natural lashes first!
Isolation is absolutely essential when applying lash extensions. Not only does it ensure good and clean attachment, but it also prevents stickies. Eyelashes sticking together with lash extensions – stickies – is one of the main ways that damage can occur with lash extensions, and it’s something that we absolutely need to ensure isn’t happening for our clients.
Good isolation comes from you being able to focus on even the tiniest lashes while you’re working, and having the right tools to help with proper isolation and checking for stickies at the end of your lash set. To help with those things, we highly recommend investing in good lighting in your salon, and a good set of tweezers.
Incorrect Lash Length and Thickness:
It’s not unusual for clients to want HUGE lashes – the longest and darkest lashes you have, in a bold style. The thing is though, that not all natural lashes are created equal, and while some can handle 17mm lashes in 0.07 5D volume fans, others simply cannot.
We have to be really firm with our clients sometimes in order to keep them safe – this goes back to what we were saying about consultations, namely in taking the time to pass on information that will benefit them. Simply by telling clients‘I’ll do my best, but looking at your natural lashes, I would say that there’s a real danger that such long extensions could weigh them down, which can damage them and weaken them, or could even result in them not growing back at all’ you do a lot for managing their expectations, which will help you to create a loyal client base.
Overusing Glue
Getting to grips with how much glue to use at first can be tricky, and it’s so common to use too much. The trouble with too much glue is that it leads to stickies, similar to improper isolation, which weighs down the natural lashes, and in turn, will make your lash set look messy and unprofessional.
You should aim to dip the base of your lash extension into the glue by at least 2mm, and aim for a little micro-drop of glue.
For a complete guide to proper dipping techniques, take a look at this blog post!
Neglecting Lash Direction
This can come down to your attachment and your glue’s drying time, so let’s take a look at both to ensure that you perfect your directions.
Glue’s Drying Time.
If your glue is drying too slowly for you, your lashes may lean when you let go of them. If this is only happening occasionally, make sure you take note of your room conditions, as it may be that your temperature and/or humidity levels are a little bit too low for your glue’s preferences. If it’s happening frequently, it might be time to look for a more rapidly curing glue.
Attachment.
In an ideal world, every natural lash would grow lovely and straight, and we’d have no issues with attachment. In reality, our clients’ natural lashes grow in all sorts of directions, and to ensure that we’re giving them lovely, neat lash sets we need to pay attention to how we attach extensions to their natural lashes.
We borrowed from an old Instagram post by London Lash Approved Trainer Anastasia Nikulina to show you how you can achieve neat application despite lashes growing at strange angles.
Don’t feel as though you need to follow the direction of growth when attaching lashes – it’s better to ensure that the extensions are all nicely aligned so that the set looks beautiful. Remember that you can apply extensions to the bottom or the side of a natural lash, and not just the top.
That’s it for part 1! Stay tuned for the second part of this list of The 10 most Common Mistakes Beginner Lash Techs Make, coming soon!
