Whether you’re fed up with clumpy mascaras or struggling to stick on fake eyelashes with tricky glue, eyelash extensions are for you. The ultimate time saving beauty hack, eyelash extensions save you precious minutes in your daily makeup routine, giving you a faultless look with minimal effort.
But what actually happens during an eyelash extensions treatment? Does it hurt? How long do they last? How do I care for them? Fear not, I have answered all of your eyelash extension questions as I explain my eyelash extensions experience…
How do I prepare for my eyelash extensions treatment?
So, ironically before you decide to get eyelash extensions, you need to ensure you have lashes…this sounds a little obvious but you do need a fairly healthy amount of lashes to do this procedure, as it involves gluing false eyelashes to your real ones. However, in terms of on-the-day prep, after speaking to PureSun Health and Beauty (where I had my treatment), they told me that I needed to arrive at my appointment with no eye makeup on — and that it would be best if I avoided any oil-based moisturising of my eye area that day. Following their advice, I arrived at the salon bare faced.
On the day
If you don’t usually wear make up on a day-to-day basis, you should arrive that way to the appointment. This will ensure your beautician can give you lashes that will go with your everyday face and you’ll get the most natural look as possible.
Choosing your lashes
Depending on your desired look, there are a variety of eyelash extension styles to choose at different salons, ranging from classic extensions to full glamour sets. PureSun Health and beauty designs range from a completely natural (although enhanced) look to the ultimate glamorous look. Whichever look is decided upon, they assured me that the lashes would add fullness and really open up my eyes making an incredible difference to my appearance and how I feel about myself. After my consultation with the friendly beautician, I decided to go with a glamorous but natural look.
How are they applied?
I knew from talking to the staff at PureSun that my treatment was going to take around an hour and 30 minutes so I blocked out my morning to ensure I could relax. I walked into the salon and was welcomed by the salon owner, Marcin, who asked me to fill in a health and safety form before my beautician showed me into my treatment room. It looked a lot like a massage treatment room, so that put me at ease, but unlike a massage there was no dim lighting as this treatment takes a lot of concentration for the therapist. The beautician asked me what I was after with this treatment, and what results I was hoping for. She confirmed that the lengths I asked for were the ones for me, and away we went!
I laid down on the bed and closed my eyes and excitedly awaited my new lashes. Firstly, my eye lids were cleaned by the beautician, then she placed a slightly damp pad on my bottom lashes, to make sure they wouldn’t be getting in the way, and a gauze sticker on my top lid to turn my lash line up slightly so it was at the perfect angle to add some new lashes. (For those of you who have an irrational fear of things coming towards their eyes — don’t panic, because your eyes are closed for the whole treatment.) She then got under way with the extensions, using tweezers to pick up the individual falsie, dip the end in glue and stick it to one of my real lashes. In between adding lashes, she would occasionally brush my eyelashes with a little bristle brush (just like on a mascara) to keep them neat and tidy.
During the treatment
The whole procedure lasted just over an hour, and it was super relaxing — so much so that I actually dozed off and had a little sleep during it…thankfully I managed to avoid snoring.
The result
Once the treatment was complete my therapist passed me a mirror and I was ecstatic with the results. I had the glamorous but natural result I was after. The beautician then explained the after care and how to ensure I maintained the best possible look.
What is it like having eyelash extensions
If you’ve never had it before, it does feel slightly strange. There is definitely a feeling that there is more on your eyelids than usual, but it’s the same sensation that you have wearing mascara: You know something’s there, but it doesn’t bother you. Lifestyle-wise, everything is pretty much the same. The only thing different is that you don’t have to put on mascara and that it’s best to avoid oil-based products around your eyelashes while you have the extensions in, so you don’t break down the glue and the lashes fall out quicker.
How Long Will Semi Permanent Lashes Last?
My beautician explained that it is normal to lose a few individual false eyelashes in the first 24 hours whilst the adhesive is setting, and care should be taken during this period. She said that my own lashes shed naturally and new ones continue to grow in a replenishing cycle. We naturally shed 2 – 4 lashes from each eye in a day so the lash extensions will last as long as the cycle of your natural lash. The beautician recommended touching up my lashes after 3 – 4 weeks depending on your individual needs (you must still have over 30% of your eyelashes remaining for it to be counted as a touch up).
Are eyelash extensions worth it
In my opinion, yes. They are a slight extravagance at £59 per treatment, however , they have a huge impact on the way you look. With the extensions I feel confident enough to go make up free – something I would never normally do.
More about PureSun
The PureSun Hair & Beauty is a professional fully certified and insured beauty salon. They use 100% natural Organic Series brand for their treatments which enables the best in skincare. They pride themselves in offering a wide range and unique high quality treatments for affordable prices with friendly experienced therapist and stylists. The beauty centre is located at 63 Elm Grove Southsea.
Find out more here
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