Problems With Lash Retention? Not on Our Watch!
How A Great Lash Prep Routine Will Improve Your Lash Extensions Retention!
If you want to give your clients the BEST lash retention ever, then how you perform the pre-treatment routine is crucial! In the past, a decent Cleanser and Primer were seen as sufficient for eyelash extensions prep - we’re here to tell you that this will no longer cut it!
Yes, Lash Cleanser and Lash Primer are going to prepare the natural lashes for extensions more than using either alone, or – god forbid – nothing will do, but Lash Prep is about more than just cleaning the glue bonding zone!
So, how should you be carrying out your Lash Prep, what can you skip, and is it all actually worth it? Let's find out...
Step 1: Lash Shampoo
Always, always, always wash a client's lashes before the treatment with Lash Shampoo. With just a lash cleanser and lash primer it's not always possible to clean natural lashes up to the excellent standard you want to be known for. Lash Shampoo is the best product to remove eye makeup quickly, so if your client comes to you wearing mascara and eyeshadow, this will be your very best friend.
Lash Shampoo also cleans the skin around the eyes, which helps your tape and/or eyepatches to stay in place, and out of all of the steps of our tried and trusted Lash Prep routine feels the most like a spa treatment to your clients, so it's worth doing!
How to Use:- Dispense a single pump of lash shampoo onto the back of your gloved hand.
- Grab a bit of the lash shampoo with a cleansing brush and massage gently into the lash line.
- Rinse with saline solution. Make sure you completely wash away the shampoo from lashes - if you leave some traces of lash shampoo on the lashes it will affect your retention in the same way as if you'd leave oils or traces of make-up there.
- Pat dry with a tissue.
TOP TIP: You can also stock our lash shampoo in your salon and sell it to your customers to maintain their aftercare routine at home.
Can You Skip It?
Only if your client definitely doesn't have any eye makeup on, or any makeup around the eyes. Though you may still find that you have issues with your eyepatches sticking, and you can't always see skincare residue so in all honesty, Foam Cleanser is always a good idea. If you're very pressed for time, and your client has little - no makeup around their eyes/lashes, you can skip this, but to help your eyepatches stay in place, start off your pretreatment with Protein Remover Pads...
Step 2: Protein Remover & Cleansing Pads
These are an essential step in your Lash Prep routine to ensure that any makeup traces, natural oils, skincare leftovers, and proteins are removed from the natural lashes and the skin around the eyes. They get even closer than Lash Shampoo can, and you can even use a microbrush to get a really close cleanse of the lash line, which aids retention massively and also helps to prevent eye infections.
How to Use:
- Take one protein pad and place it around your fingertip.
- Gently wipe the lashes, eyelids and the skin underneath the eye until you remove all leftover makeup and oils.
- Protein Removing Pads can also be used during Lash Fills to clean the eye area or lash line - use a dabbing motion on the lashes to avoid them getting stuck to the glue bonds, and focus on the skin around the eyes in gentle swiping motions.
Can You Skip It?
Well, in a sense yes but only if you used Foam Cleanser first. These are not only going to give you a lovely close cleanse of the lash line (more so than lash shampoo because you have more control, being as you're using your finger and not a brush) but they're going to help keep your eyepatches in place, which is a big win for you.
Step 3: Lash Cleanser
Next step, Cleanser! Cleanser is alcohol based so gets straight to work breaking down any oils, sebum, makeup and product residue on the lashes. It's going to provide the perfectly clean surface that lash extensions glue needs to be able to form a strong bond, so it's pretty essential!
How to Use:
- Apply a drop of Cleanser to two micro brushes and dab the excess onto a tissue to avoid any running into the eyes.
- “Sandwich’ the lashes between the two micro brushes and brush from root to tip, focusing on the glue bonding zone.
- If you're struggling to 'sandwich' the lashes with two brushes, take a waxing stick and hold it under the lashes, and then you can press the brush against that as you're cleansing to avoid any product going into the eyes.
- Repeat throughout the lash line on both eyes.
Can You Skip It?
Not really, even if you've used the two prior steps Cleanser will get rid of EVERYTHING – Steps 1 and 2 provide a good cleanse, but they're very gentle where Cleanser is quite harsh on any leftover residue of anything. It's well worth using.
Sep 4: Lash Primer
Primer must follow Cleanser. Because Cleanser is alcohol based and breaks down oils, it is drying on the lashes. Lash Primer is water based so reintroduces moisture to the lashes, making them the best surface for extensions! As we all know, glue needs moisture in order to dry, so if we skip Primer, we're setting ourselves up for the most frustrating lash set of our lives!
How to Use:
- Apply a drop of Primer to two micro brushes and dab the excess onto a tissue to avoid any running into the eyes.
- “Sandwich’ the lashes between the two micro brushes and brush from root to tip, focusing on the roots
- Repeat throughout the lash line on both eyes.
Can You Skip It?
Never skip Lash Primer if you've used Lash Cleanser. If you've skipped Cleanser and have only used Lash Shampoo or Protein Remover Pads then Primer won't really make a difference for you where retention is concerned.
Step 5: London Lash Booster
Retention & Speed Booster is a multi-functioning product that has an alkaline pH, which allows it to gently open the hair cuticles, giving the glue more surface area to grip onto.
Booster can also be applied to your strip of volume lashes to prevent your fans from closing, though isn't needed on Premade Lash Fans, and shouldn't ever be used on Easy Fan Lashes.
How to Use:
- Apply a drop of Booster to two microbrushes and dab the excess onto a tissue to prevent it running into your client's eyes
- Dab the Booster along the base of the lashes, avoiding touching the skin and focusing on the glue bonding zone.
Can You Skip It?
Yes, you can. We'd actually recommend that you do skip Booster if you're new to lashes and are just getting to grips with placing extensions. If you're a bit more experienced and you use Booster once though, you're sure to be a lifelong fan!
For a deeper dive into how Booster works and how it can benefit you, take a look at this blog post next.
All things considered, having a solid Lash Prep routine in place will do wonders for your lash extension retention, and on your client retention as they quickly discover that you take the time to make them feel amazingly pampered and looked after, and that their lashes last longer than ever!
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