Lash aftercare that buys your work another 2 weeks

However good the artist's work is, it won't last if the client gets the first 48 hours wrong.

This article is written for you to pass straight on to your clients. Send the link on LINE once you've finished — it works better than explaining out loud while the client is still half asleep on the bed.

The first 48 hours matter most

Lash adhesive hardens on the outside within seconds, but curing fully all the way through takes around 24–48 hours. This is when the work is at its most fragile.

During this window, avoid

• Water — no water directly on the eye area. Wash your face while avoiding around the eyes.
• Steam and heat — steam rooms, saunas, very hot showers, even leaning over a boiling pot.
• Hard exercise — sweat carries salt and moisture that interfere with the glue curing.
• Crying — if it can be helped.
• Eye makeup — especially waterproof mascara and eyeliner.

After 48 hours you can go back to normal life, including swimming and showering as usual.

How to cleanse properly

The most common misunderstanding is “never let them get wet”, which is wrong, and creates a different problem.

Lashes that are never cleansed accumulate oil, dead skin and dust, which leads to lash mites (Demodex), red eyes and itching. Just as importantly, that build-up degrades the glue faster.

The right way, once the 48 hours are over

1. Cleanse the lashes once a day, every day, with a dedicated lash foam.
2. Press the foam onto a soft brush, then brush gently along the lashes from base to tip.
3. Rinse gently with clean water. No rubbing.
4. Blot with tissue by dabbing, not wiping.
5. Let them air dry, or use a gentle cool airflow.
6. Brush them with a clean spoolie once completely dry, to set the shape.

Clients who cleanse daily get sets that last on average a week longer than clients who never cleanse. It sounds counter-intuitive, but it's obvious in regular clients.

What destroys lashes fastest

1. Rubbing the eyes

This is number one. The mechanical force pulls natural lashes out along with the extensions, and thins the natural lashes over time.

If they itch, press gently with a finger through the eyelid, or use artificial tears.

2. Oil-based products

Oil dissolves the glue directly. Avoid

• Cleansing oils and makeup-removing balms
• Rich eye creams
• Oil-based foundations and concealers
• Some lash growth serums — read the ingredients first

Look for “oil-free” or “for lash extensions” on the label.

3. Sleeping face-down or on your side

Three hours a night with the lashes pressed into the pillow visibly ruins the shape on that side and makes it drop faster than the other.

If you can't change how you sleep, switch to a silk or satin pillowcase, which causes far less friction than cotton.

4. Lash curlers and waterproof mascara

A curler breaks both the natural lash and the extension at the crimp point. Waterproof mascara needs oil to remove, which takes you back to point 2.

The good news is that with extensions you don't need either one.

Normal things that aren't worth panicking about

Clients are often alarmed by these, though they're entirely natural.

• Losing 2–5 lashes a day — natural lashes have their own life cycle. Everyone sheds several a day anyway, extensions or not.
• Feeling odd for the first day or two — that's normal adjustment.
• Lashes looking sparser after week 3 — because shed lashes add up. This is the signal that it's time for a fill.

When to contact your artist straight away

• Redness, swelling or stinging lasting more than 24 hours
• A sharp pain in one particular spot — an extension may be misplaced
• Unusually heavy clumped shedding within the first week
• Crusting or discharge at the lash line

Don't try to pull or cut the extensions off yourself — it damages the natural lashes.

The right fill schedule

Coming in every 2–3 weeks is the best value, because

• Enough of the original set is still there, which makes it cheaper than a full new set
• It takes less time
• The lash shape carries on — you're not starting from zero

Leave it past 4 weeks and there's usually so little left that it has to be charged as a full set, which costs more and takes longer.

For artists: getting clients to actually follow this

Telling them out loud at the end of the appointment barely works — they've just been lying down for two hours and are in a hurry to leave. Try these three instead.

1. Send the link to this article on LINE right after the appointment While they're still in the frame of mind of caring about the work you just did.
2. Sell a small kit with a brush and lash foam Clients who have the products in hand will use them. Clients who have to go and find them won't.
3. Message them on day three A short “how's everything going?” makes the client feel looked after, and lets you catch a problem while it's still easy to fix.

Questions about lash care? Message us on LINE @maisonducil Monday–Saturday, 10:00–19:00