How to care for your lash extensions to make them last as long as possible

When two clients leave the salon with the same set, and one comes back for an infill in three weeks while the other returns in five, it's no coincidence, and usually not due to a difference in their lash cycle. It's all about home care.

Lash extensions aren't high-maintenance — it just pays to know what can damage them. The following rules are essentially the complete list.

1. No water or steam for the first 24 hours

Lash adhesive cures in the air and continues to set even after you leave the salon. For the first 24 hours, avoid showering with your face directly under the water, saunas, hot steam, and intense sweating.

The exception is the UV method, where the bond is cured with a lamp. This is instantly cured, and the waiting period does not apply.

2. No oil-based make-up removers

Oil dissolves the adhesive. This is the most common reason why a set comes off sooner than it should — and clients often don't realise the problem could be with the make-up remover they've been using for years.

Check your micellar water, cleansing balm, and eye cream. Two-phase make-up removers are usually the worst thing for your lashes. The same goes for oil-based lash serums.

3. Brush them every morning

It sounds like a small thing, but it's the most effective tip on the list. Lash extensions can lose their shape during sleep and will stay splayed out without brushing. A few strokes with a brush in the morning:

• restores the lash line, making the set look fuller even if some have fallen out,
• reveals any stuck-together lashes while there's still something you can do about them,
• untangles lashes so they break less.

Brush from the middle of the lash upwards, never from the root — this puts unnecessary strain on the bond.

4. Don't sleep with your face in the pillow

Most broken and pulled-out lashes occur at night. When you sleep on your side or stomach, your lashes rub against the pillow all night. You'll notice which side you wake up on, as that's where the set will thin out first.

You don't have to retrain yourself to sleep on your back. A silk pillowcase can also help, as lashes are less likely to catch on it.

5. Forget about lash curlers

Lash extensions are already curled, and curlers will only crimp them. With a well-applied set, curlers can also pull out your natural lashes.

6. Mascara isn't needed (and mainly harmful)

The whole point of lash extensions is that mascara isn't needed. And crucially: mascara is difficult to remove from lash extensions, and removal causes the most damage to the set. If you do use mascara, apply it only to the tips and remove it without oil.

7. Don't pull, rub, or pick

The most expensive mistake on the list, because it doesn't cost money. If a lash comes loose and starts to irritate you, don't pull it — you'll pull out your natural lash too, which wasn't ready to fall out yet. Call us and pop in; we'll remove the loose lash in a minute.

The same goes for the entire set: removal should be done at the salon. It's dissolved with a product that releases the adhesive. Tearing them off at home is the most common reason why someone says they 'don't have their own lashes after extensions'.

8. Get infills on time

Your natural lashes fall out along with the attached ones, so after three to four weeks, the set will look sparse. If you come for an infill during this time, what has fallen out will be replaced, and it's quicker and cheaper than a new set.

If you let the set completely fall out, you'll have to start from scratch. And in the meantime, you'll have several weeks of lashes that look unkempt — which is worse than not having them at all.

What you can't influence regarding longevity

To be fair: some of the longevity is out of your control. Your natural lash cycle is individual and also changes with the seasons and hormones. Some people find their lashes fall out faster in spring, after an illness, or after changing contraception. Oilier skin also shortens longevity, as sebum can reach the bond.

That's why, if classically applied lash extensions don't last long for you even with perfect care, it makes sense to try the UV method — the bond is more flexible and holds better on oilier skin.

If you're unsure

Call or write to us. It's easier to advise you beforehand than to deal with a set that has come off after ten days.