I’ve never hated my eyelashes – they’re fine? Normal length, I guess? But I’ve forever been intrigued by lash extensions. What must it be like to not have to curl your lashes and add bulk mascara every day, I wondered.
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After years of considering it but not committing, I finally headed to Lady Lash in Newtown, Sydney. They were the top rated lash extension joint on Google, so I felt like I could trust them with my eyes.
The main reason I’d been so hesitant about lash extensions was images like these:
No shade at all against anyone who vibes the full-on lash look, but it’s not my style and I knew if I wound up with weeks of wearing a dramatic set of extensions, I’d look quite literally batshit. But during my research I learned that, while the above is a really popular look, it’s not all lash extension places offer. You CAN get natural-looking extensions.
I let my lash consultant decide what was right for me, after terrifying her with my desperate please for “natural looking lashes, no drama”. I think I said that sentence 40 times. I saw her eyes slowly glaze over. Her soul was dying c/o my projected stress.
We decided on Standard Hybrid – a mix of small fans of lashes and individual ones. This lines up with Lady Lash owner Charlotte Creasey, who told me the best bet for a newbie is something natural-looking.
Classic lashes (that’s the 1:1 method, one extension on one lash, so not as dense and dramatic as volume, which is fans of 3+ lashes per natural lash). Usually I would also recommend a ‘natural’ shape which follows roughly the length/shape of your natural lashes but a couple of mm longer.
The finished product still looked a *little* dramatic for my liking on the example photos but I am nothing if not non-confrontational so I just smiled and died a little inside. Sure. Let’s try this trusting-professionals thing.
I lay down on a comfy bed and was told to close my eyes, my technician warning me I’d have my eyes closed for a while. 1.5 hours, to be specific. PSA – if you’re claustrophobic you *need* to tell your technician straight up, because it’s quite an uncomfortable experience lying still with your eyes closed for that long, even for someone who doesn’t get claustrophobic. But, as Charlotte says:
The one thing to remember is that you aren’t actually ‘trapped’ with your eyes closed – if you are feeling you really need to open them, let you lash stylist know and they can fan your eyes off so you can open them. You aren’t supposed to open your eyes during the treatment (it can sting a little as the adhesive takes a few seconds to set) but if you need to, we can work around it!
Finally, they were done. I was a bit shocked at first. But a few days in, I’d gotten used to the style and embraced it.
As you can see, it ended up pretty natural – like I had a light set of falsies on at all times, but way comfier. As in, I forgot they were there most of the day.
Here’s half my face with them and a little gift of my colleague Matty in the background.
My lash extensions lasted at this level for around 3 weeks, before starting to look more sparse as they do today:
Basically, because the extensions are attached to your natural lashes, as they fall out so do parts of the extensions. It’s easy to make them look normal though – you just start using mascara to add definition to the patchy bits.
So along the way I’ve learnt some things. A lot of things, actually. See – lash extensions, I have found, are not something to do willy-nilly. You need to be prepared. Here’s what I believe you need to know.
1. Hoo Boy, The Maintenance
I am an eye-rubber, a sleep-on-my-stomacher and a wash-face-by-rubbing-cleansing-oil-everywhere…er. Basically, I am not nice to my eyes, even though I am aged and need to care for them, probably.
All of the above things are fundamentally banned when you have lash extensions. Yep, really. Well, you *could* do whatever you want but you’d be wasting your money, in short.
Things you can’t do with lash extensions, if you want longevity:
- Use cleansing oils.
- Use any cleanser on your eyes that contains oil.
- Use basically any cleanser on the lashes except for approved ones, and those you have to buy.
- Rub your eyes.
- Dry your face roughly.
- Sleep on your stomach or squash them while sleeping on your side.
- Use a sleeping mask.
- Use mascara, except for specialised lash extension ones.
- Use waterproof or gel eyeliner
- Wet them in the first 24 hours
- Get steam on them in the first 24 hours
It’s a LOT. And yes, it’s absolutely worth it if you love the look, but let’s not pretend lash extensions are chill and easy because they aren’t.
2. On That Note, You Have To Brush Them
Generally twice a day is ideal, and this isn’t tricky to incorporate into your daily routine but it is something that, if you don’t do, will leave you with clumpy skewiff looking lashes.
They’ll give you (well, Lady Lash did and a good lash extension place should do the same) a little mascara wand to do this with. I shoved it by my bed so I remembered to do it morning and night.
3. Nothing Hurts
In case all of that sounded neg (it’s not – you just need to be prepared) the great news is none of the process hurts. The technician attaches the lash extensions to your natural lashes, not the skin – I found it all a lot more comfortable than a lash lift, which I tried last year.
The lashes will also naturally fall out, as I said, with your own natural ones – so you don’t ever need to (and actually shouldn’t) pull them off painfully.
4. Back To The Maintenance, Though
Another thing you’ll have to do if you want to keep the look up and not let it naturally fade away c/o falling out lashes is to get infills. It’s recommended you get these done around every 3 weeks, and if you leave them too long you may have to get another full set.
Infills are basically what they sound like – filling in the gaps where lashes have naturally fallen out. At Lady Lash they cost between $95-$165 for hybrid lashes.
5. They Won’t Ruin Your Lashes If You’re Careful
Look after them and go to someone reputable, and you can do the lash extension thing for ages. As Charlotte explains:
If they are applied badly (we often see ‘cluster’ lashes applied as extensions by non-professional lash artists, when they are never intended for anything other than single-day wear!) then of course this can cause damage. But applied safely and taking into consideration the health and thickness of the natural lashes, they can actually be worn indefinitely with no damage.
Just suss the reviews of where you’re intending to go and know your shit – research so someone doesn’t screw you over with those heinous cluster lashes.
6. So, Is It Worth It?
I did find so many benefits to having lash extensions. Firstly, I didn’t use any eye makeup. The lashes were lush enough to be able to forgo liner and shadow – I looked like I was blessed with thick, full lashes and didn’t feel I needed anything else going on besides some mascara on my bottom lashes to match up.
I also found that while the maintenance levels were high, I adapted quickly. I’d say the sleeping issue was the hardest thing to change my ways on, but in terms of rubbing eyes/makeup removal/etc it didn’t phase me.
I had SO many compliments on my lashes. Not that that’s the point, but they added a gently striking element to my makeup and I personally loved the look.
Would I get them again? Absolutely – BUT. The cost is something I can’t factor in regularly. That being said, I never had any issues with my natural eyelashes and I can completely see how the $200-ish a month would be an easy “yes” for anyone who feels their lashes are too short/straight/sparse. It doesn’t work out to be a huge amount out of pocket when you think of the longevity, and I know plenty of people who just feel more themselves with lash extensions.
In short – be aware that you need to look after them. But lash extensions can be a killer way to add definition to your eyes and make you feel great, IMO.
