‘Thanks, I Hate It’ and Other Things Lash Techs Don’t Want to Hear: A Guide to Avoiding Awkwardness.
We all want the moment that we reveal a lash set to a client to be a happy one, but very occasionally, we might see a client’s face drop followed by ‘I don’t like them.’ This is a bit of a nightmare for Lash Techs, and something we all hope to avoid. On the whole, it is something that can be avoided, but on those rare occasions that your client’s lash set just didn’t come out the way either of you expected, here’s what you can do.
First Things First
The very first thing to consider is that you shouldn’t take it personally. A client not liking the way a lash set looks on them isn’t a reflection on your hard work, skill set, or talent, and it provides you with the perfect opportunity to show them that you care about their experience with you, and that can turn them into a loyal client for you.
Now, before you panic and offer a refund, consider the following points…
What’s the Issue?
The first step to fixing a lash set that doesn’t meet the client’s expectations is to ask them what exactly they don’t like about it. In assessing this, you stand a chance of being able to fix the issue and possibly even avoid having the issue with any other clients in the future.
If the client says that the set isn’t as full as they’d hoped, it’s likely that there’s a reason for this. Either they have sparse natural lashes and some gaps in their lash line, you were using narrow fans instead of wider fans, or perhaps you didn’t have time for 100% coverage.
In this case, it’s unlikely that anything you do in the short amount of time you have left will make much of a difference. Get them booked back in as soon as possible and swap out some of the narrow fans for wider fans to cover any gaps – we’d advise that this is done free of charge to keep them on side, though if you want to charge a small amount to cover your materials, you can do that, just make sure you’re very polite about it.
If the lashes are too full for them and you have 10 to 15 minutes left, have them lie back down and use the banana peel method to remove a few fans through the lash set at regular intervals to lighten up the look of the set. In this case, make a note on their client record card to go lighter on their next lash set. If you don’t have time at their appointment, get them booked in as soon as you can to remove a few lashes, or remove the set and re-apply a lighter set. In the second instance, we’d again recommend that you charge only for materials if anything at all.
Sometimes it will come down to the lash mapping style used, for example, a client with downward growing lashes on eyes that are lower in the outer corners will not be a good fit for a Cat Eye Lash Map, though they will often ask for it nonetheless. The issue here would be that Cat Eye Lashes will make their eyes look sad with a drooping appearance, which isn’t really what any of us are going for when we have our lashes done. In this case, a style change will be needed, and they’ll need to be booked in for a follow-up appointment to remove the lashes and apply a fresh set using stronger curls, and either a Natural Lash Map or a Squirrel Lash Map to give them the lift that will complement their eyes.
Side Note: How to Make Lashes Look More Full
While using closed or narrow fans will add density and texture to your lash sets, on sparse lashes they will instead highlight when a client has gaps in their lashes. Here’s how you can make a lash set look fuller.
👉 Use shorter lashes to create density. If the client wants longer lashes, use shorter lashes on the bottom layer and go for length on the middle and top layers so that they get the best of both.
👉 Use wider fans on the middle layer of lashes to cover gaps. This will mean that you can still apply lash mapping styles such as Wet Look Lashes for your clients which uses closed fans, but the gaps will be less obvious.
👉 If you’re struggling with coverage on full lashes, cover 50% of the top layer, 75% of the middle layer, and 100% of the bottom layer. When your client opens their eyes, they’ll see a lovely full set of lashes. Be sure to book them in for a Lash Fill in the next 2-3 weeks to keep their lashes looking full. You’ll have an easier time getting full coverage on future sets because you’ll already have a base to work from.
👉 Use wider fans in general – you still want to be making your fans around 1/3rd base and 2/3rds body, but just create fans with more space between each lash so that they cover more space and hide gaps more effectively.
👉 Try Easy Fan Lashes. As these have a mixture of two lengths on each strip, they naturally give you more density around the bases of the lashes, which will make your sets look fuller.
👉 If it’s a set of classic lash extensions, cover any gaps with 2D volume fans. This will technically mean that it’s a set of hybrid lashes and not classic lashes, but if only the gaps are covered with fans then it won’t be too noticeable. We should note here that the only classic eyelash extensions that can also be used for volume fans are 0.10. If you’re using anything thicker than that for the classic lashes, use 0.10 for 2D fans, or even 0.07. As much as we want to cover gaps, our clients’ lash safety is more important.
👉 If it’s just about saving time, mix in some Premade Volume Fans as you’re working. You can, of course, do the entire set using Premade Fans, but if you’re aiming for a mixture of fan widths, then adding in a few Premades will save you some time while giving you the same quality.
👉 Check the lashes as you go with a mirror. This will allow you to see and fill any gaps as they arise while you work, rather than handing your client a mirror at the end of a set and having them tell you they don’t like it.
Could This Have Been Avoided?
Sometimes, it is literally a case of a client thinking they want a certain density, only to realize they don’t actually like it when they open their eyes. Most often though, these reactions can be solved by having a more thorough consultation process. If they’re someone who works somewhere that they’re not really supposed to have lashes but they want to save some time and feel a bit more glam day-to-day, applying Mega Volume Lashes isn’t going to sit right with them.
Similarly, just because someone walks in wearing no makeup doesn’t mean that they want a natural lash set – remember that they’re doing you a favor being bare-faced as you have to spend less time on lash prep, and they may generally wear heavy makeup that they want big lashes to complement.
Basically, never assume, and always educate. A lot of how a client feels about their lashes comes down to managing their expectations in the first instance. If they’ve said during their consultation that they want huge dark dramatic lashes but they have very sparse natural lashes, it’s your responsibility to gently explain that it might not be something that you can achieve on this visit for safety reasons, but that you will do your best.
The same goes for the Lash Mapping Style that you use – no Lash Map is one-size-fits-all, and sometimes a particular shape simply will not suit that client. Explain this to them, and then try to meet them in the middle.
Despite your best efforts and most placating tones, some clients will simply want a refund for their lashes. In this case, it’s recommended that you book them in for a free removal as soon as you can. It’s up to you if you refund the set fully or offer a majority refund, explaining that you aren’t able to offer a complete refund as you need to cover the cost of your materials. Lastly, it may be worth implementing a policy that states your exact course of action in these cases so that clients are well aware ahead of time that a refund isn’t the first or only solution.
