Here at i-Lashes, we are committed to ensuring you have the healthiest, most beautiful eyelash extensions available. In order to achieve this, your lash technician will make recommendations at each visit about the ongoing care and maintenance of your natural lashes and eyelash extensions. This includes identifying and suggesting when to have refills and when a full set is required. Here are some of the things we keep front-of-mind when making such recommendations:
Your eyelashes have a natural cycle of growth
Your natural eyelashes, much like your hair, have a growth cycle of their own. Generally, the cycle of growth, maturity and natural shedding takes 2-3 months. Because each lash is at a different stage in this cycle at any given time, you’ll constantly be losing your natural lashes. Each time a lash falls out, it takes the extension with it. This is completely normal and maintaining a regular and timely routine of alternating between full sets and refills will ensure that your lashes always look their best.
The health of your natural lashes is important
In order for your eyelash extensions to look their finest, it is important to keep your natural lashes in the best health possible as they are the foundation on which your extensions are built. As your extensions grow out, the point at which your extension is bonded to your natural lashes weakens. In order to prevent bending and breaking, once the extensions grow out too far, we recommend removing them and applying a new set to protect your natural eyelashes.
The condition and fullness of your extensions needs to be considered
Refills are designed to fill in any obvious gaps left as extensions naturally fall. The point at which your real lashes join the eyelash extension weakens over time due to oil or other impurities. After about three weeks, the join starts to become unstable and will be ready to come off. For this reason, we prefer not to do a refill after the 3 week mark as its very likely a large number of your extensions will fall out within the next week.
This is why we recommend you attend a refill appointment within the first three weeks of having your new set applied to get the most out of your extensions and the best value for money. After 3 weeks, we suggest a new set to make sure your eyelash extensions last and always look their best.
We want to avoid having too much adhesive on your lashes
When we apply a new set of eyelash extensions, we do so on clean, adhesive and residue-free lashes. This is the ideal scenario for the extensions to bond effectively. When infills are applied, we are using adhesive on top of the adhesive that is already there. This means that the bond is not as strong and residue will be building up on the hair follicle which is not ideal for your eyelash health.
To maintain a full, soft and lush look, we recommend only 1 set of refills (or in rare cases an absolute maximum of two) in between each full set. Think of it like this- if you applied hairspray to your hair too many times in between washes, your hair would be stiff and clumpy. No-one wants eyelashes that look like that!
Refills are for maintenance only
Refills are designed to be a maintenance procedure, not a substitute for regular replacement of a full set. The number of refills applied in a procedure is fixed and will add 50% of the lash quantity of a full set- this is why it costs less for this service. Refills are there to fill any gaps caused by the natural shedding of lashes in between full sets. As long as you follow the timing guidelines between a full set and a refill appointment, your lashes should be at anywhere between 70-100%+ in density compared to a full set after this appointment.
For best results we recommend refills being applied within three weeks of the original full set. Outside of this three-week period, a full set will represent better value for money.
Refills are done with four goals in mind:
1. Clean & tidy up eyelash extensions still on your eyes
2. Remove the lashes that are ready to fall out due to the natural growth cycle
3. Remove any weak bonding lashes
4. Fix any obvious cavities between lashes & lash extensions
Ladies ask us almost every day, “why are my lashes falling off quickly this time?’ or, “I feel my lashes are not as thick as I’d like them…”.
If this is you, consider these three things:
- Is it my natural lash growth cycle? It’s possible that this has ended and your lashes are falling out to make way for new ones, taking your extensions with them. This is not something that can be controlled by you or us- this is simply how the human body works.
- How long have I had these extensions? If it’s been three or more weeks since the extensions were applied, the adhesive will have weakened so this is completely normal.
- Have you kept to the recommended refill/ full set cycle? We recommend you have refills applied within three weeks of your full set and only one refill between sets for best results.
Read up on how to keep your lashes looking perfect – Irene’s Beauty Diary
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