Lashes is not just for the twenty-somethings who mostly look for bolder, bigger lashes for bachelorette trips to Vegas. It can be, but it can provide so much meaningful value beyond that for a market that is often underserved.

Our 40+ clients are thinking about the fine lines, changes in skin and hair... not to mention weight and mood. This could all be linked, but one thing for sure, our bodies are transitioning and some of the hormonal changes take place also cause our lashes to look, well.... dull.

Even with eyelash extensions, the porosity of our natural lashes could result in needing a thinner lash choice for lighter weight. Some clients who are used to not wearing makeup, find that a diminishing lash line changes their appearance and the fine lines, crows feet, droopy eyes are far more noticeable. Lashes can camoflage a lot that too.

A note to my younger self would have been drink more water, use sunscreen and stop messing with your lashes! All the products and crimping and pulling with strips and adhesives or not washing your face well after a night out... all that takes a toll.

So where does that leave us now... 40+, 50+ and how can lashes help us? Lash extensions for this age group needs to be styled differently and product choices as well as after care needs to be intentional. We need to use serums that condition our lashes and keep them as strong and healthy as possible for as long as possible. Biotin and the right vitamins can also help with lashes. I'm not a huge fan of Latisse, unless you are a glaucoma patient who needs a prescription, I generally like to stay away from prescription strength anything.

Whatever you decide, start with a lash consultation by me! Looking forward to hear about your lashes and the stage of life you are in!

XOX) Judy, 
​owner

Has this happened to you?

1.
Show up at the salon and they tell you your lashes are less than half in-tact, and now you need to pay for a new set. BONUS, there's also not enough time to do it but both you and the artist are there... so what now? Reschedule a new set and have to come back so both yours and the artist time is wasted? (Wouldn't you just cancel and never go back?) Or, pay for the new set and get a rushed appointment and leave with a mediocre set? (Like that will make for happy clients!)
= DUMB POLICY.  NO ONE WINS HERE.

2.
Didn't show up for a confirmed appointment because of an emergency, and now you are paying full price for a service you couldn't go to, because you were already dealing with one emergency and now you are dealing with another. (Wouldn't you just call a different salon?)
= ADDS INSURT TO INJURY AND NOW YOU WON'T WANT TO GO BACK.

3.
Lashes experiencing more shed than usual? Sure, there are a lot of reasons for this. And yes, you are the one that knows your lashes best and should schedule an appointment before they are mostly gone. BUT, what is 40% or 50% look like? So you show up at the appointment anyway and learn that there is not enough time or you need to pay more or both.
=SEE DUMB POLICY #1 + ADD TO THAT, YOU WON'T WANT TO GO BACK!

Lash Salon Policies Need a Makeover!
This is what LASH LAB believes.

Time is money. The more time we spend, the more money we should be paid. More shed = more time and more money but the right amount of time should be booked so the right service and pay can be completed. If you are experiencing more than half of your lashes gone or shedding at a faster pace, call us so we can assess what needs to happen and if extra time is needed, we can add it. If it is, we will charge at $1/min in 15minute increments. You will not need to book a new set. If you arrive with no lashes on or 5-10 straggler lashes that you can count, that would be needing a new set, but we aren't charging you that way! We will charge the fill price + add on the extra time needed to do that full set. It will not be a new set price. We build in extra time as a back up for this scenario or if upgrades are requested.

And what if you are late? Luckily we had a little extra time right?! We should be ok within 15minutes. At most, we are a little rushed but not so bad that we would want to send you home and slap you with a penalty! AGAIN, WE WANT YOUR BUSINESS.

We also won't be chasing you down for any penalties. You pay a required 25% deposit to book the appointment (this IS our 1 non negotiable, in order to protect our bottom line). Your deposit helps us confirm an artist for you. You have 48 hours before your appointment to make any changes up to and including cancellation without losing that deposit. If anything happens, the deposit that was already paid will go toward some of our expenses to make sure your artist gets something. We want you to rebook as soon as you have worked through whatever it was that kept you from making your appointment.

If you are someone who is busy (like ALL of our clients and anyone who decided lashes was a good idea to begin with), then you may like the idea of a NO BOUNDARIES FILL MEMBERSHIP. The idea is if you maintain lashes on a regular basis, then you won't need as much time at each visit. That said, 2 hours is put on the books every month for you to use in any denomination you like. You can even book it online! (It even includes 15min fixits for little issues that may come up before special events). There is no limit on what type of lashing and no upgrade costs. You book a time, and we do what we need to in that time. Healthy expectations is still required. If you have no lashes, don't book 30 minutes and expect a full set. But you can book the whole 2 hours or whatever is left to get a new set even if you have lost all your lashes... If we are short on time, again the $1/minute in 15minute increments applies. Still much less than being charged a new set!

ENJOY. Hope that helps you decide which salon is best for you!
Our services can be booked here.

XO, Judy

So here is the tea on lashes. There's good ol' mascara and curlers (which have been damaging our lashes for ages, but its cheap and it can work in a jiffy. It does run, it can smudge and then all the options could drive a girl mad before you find the right consistency... oh yah, and it will always look like mascara.

If you want a darker fuller lush lash line without the look of makeup on them, then consider services like lash lift, lash tints and of course creme de la creme, semi-permanent eyelash extensions. 

Lash extensions are applied to your natural lashes using a micro-droplet of cyanoacrylate which is the main ingredient in every lash extensions adhesive. There is no such thing as "sensitive" glue despite what the label says. It may have different levels of certain ingredients but if you are someone that is allergic to any of those ingredients, you will always see some sort of reaction. 

More to come... stay tuned.

Getting lash extensions is truly the start of a marriage... to your artist. Its an open relationship in that you can see other people if your schedule needs it, but in general you come back to the same person who has a history of the pattern your lashes grow in, the cycle and speed in which it sheds and the quirky behavior of your natural lashes. Like in every relationship there is give and take and everyone plays a role.

That means you are not off the hook!

After care is our job to teach, but its our clients responsibility to follow those in order to achieve the best retention. In general if lashes are shedding excessively within the first 3 days, something has come in between the natural lash and the extension at some point either during the application process or immediately after.

Lash glue is finicky. New artists can make rookie mistakes... but the top reason lashes don't stay is poor cleansing. You don't want to wear lash extensions with any products that contain oils in its list of ingredients. Pretty safe to say, all the products at Sephora & over the counter have oil products in it. If it doesn't, it usually says oil-free. Look for that!

Oils break down the bond of the adhesive and its everywhere including our own fingers. If you can't stop touching your lashes, or if you wear makeup with these oily ingredients, you can expect your new lash extensions to not last. You would spend more money on fills if you can't get with the rules. If you do need to break the rules here and there, make sure you invest in a good lash cleanser that is formulated for cleaning the lashes. Get a good lash cleansing brush so the soft bristles can get in between like floss, and keep those lashes cavity free for your next fill. If you don't your artist will know! We can see all the leftover stuff in between your extensions and in some cases, it can harden and prevent us from getting in and completing a great fill (when we remove grown out lashes and replace with new extensions.

So in a nutshell, please do your part. Invest in a good lash cleanser, a tool for cleaning in between lashes and I also highly recommend Avenova for keeping bacteria away from your eyes! Another blog coming on that soon. 

Ta ta for now.
​Judy

Are you new to lashes and doing some research? Great that you are doing your due diligence to understand if lash extensions is the right service for you! In fact, not only is there things about extensions that may or may not suit you, it is also possible that you come across a different service that is more what you were looking for - like a lash lift, or top and bottom lash tint! Those services are a lot quicker and can give you some freedom from mascara, but it can't give you a custom designed look that extensions give.

The application process is a little lengthy on the initial lash extension full set appointment because a lot goes into planning and creating a blueprint for your unique eyes. Your eyes-shape, the space between your brows and lashes, your features and everything down to if you can lay down for an extended period of time and if you can visit monthly for a touch up (fills) is all info you need to take into consideration. BUT, the results is where the true value is. 

After the initial consultation and your artist has a plan for what she will do, next is to prep the lashes. Like painting a wall, you need a clean canvas ready for paint otherwise it won't stay. Same with lashes. Expect a deep clean for your natural lashes in order to have squeaky clean lashes so that the adhesive that connects the lash extension to the natural lash can stick. Then comes the prep work so that your artist can see all the fine hairs that need to be properly isolated for attaching an extension. Most of the products are now all latex free, but depending what facility it is manufactured in, its not impossible that trace amounts of latex could come into contact with our skin by way of tape, undereye gel pad or other sticky materials used in securing lower lashes out of our way while lashing. Unless you have a sever allergy, you should be ok. If you are concerned, you can always book a patch test 48 hours prior to your appointment and see if a reaction occurs.

Onward.

Once that is complete, lashing begins. Depending on the set your artist is doing, she may make some markings on the eyepad to blueprint the lengths and placements she plans on. From there, she will lash in layers, eye to eye, section to section. You will likely fall asleep unless something like the tape or eyepad shift and cause tearing or some discomfort. If that happens, let your artist know. Its a quick fix, and back to sleep you go!

We allow some unique customer choices on our website including a silent service or informative service. We want to know how you want your appointment to go. Less talking is always better because your facial muscles won't move and we can lash a little quicker with more precision, but we can generally do a great job while we listen to your day too. Just please no cell phones or meetings while getting lashes. 

If you need more info, book a free consultation with me!

A good lash consultation, is my JAM. I mean it is the peanut butter to my jelly, the  honey to my bee... it is my favorite time to connect to my clients and get to know the results they want. To do so however, is a task in itself. Its the easiest step to rush through and its the first place to miss a lot of key information. 

A common mistake is clients use language that means something to experienced artists, without understanding that some works -classic, volume, full- have double meanings. More questioning needs to happen to truly understand what our guests mean, when they say certain things. I never take words at face value. Its important to see our clients eyeshape, understand what they do during the day (when its not their wedding day, birthday trip or Vegas bach). There's also alot of subtle secondary clues when I speak with a client that will help me make decisons on which lashes to choose (lengths, curl, thickness, shape, effects).

There is so much that goes into a full lash set. Your artist is great and can chat with you or look at any pics you may have, but keep in mind, pictures of celebrities and not of yourself is not a good example. It sets incorrect expectations. I cannot create a celebrities eyes on your eyes. I can create lashes that resemble their lash characteristics, but that could still come out looking very different.

Book a free consultation with me live over zoon so we can discuss all of this and more. (Then tell me about your dog, your man your upcoming event... all the tea. I am thrilled to meet you! Book at the link on our homepage www.lash-lab.com

LASH LAB: Hi this is Judy with Lash Lab

CALLER: Hi, I was wondering about your lash extensions and I'm Asian. I have really straight lashes that don't naturally curl upwards and I don't have a lot of lashes at all... I'm looking to get extensions and I want fullness and length. Can you do that for my eyes?

LASH LAB: Of course! Is this your first time doing lashes?

CALLER: Yes. I'm new to lashes and I was told Asian eyes are really hard to do, and because we don't have a lot of lashes, we can't achieve the fullness we are looking for. The strip lashes look so fake though!

LASH LAB: Haha, yes... for people that want strips, we do have a natural looking collection perfectly designed for someone that is trying to avoid that fake look but for people that really just want that convenience of having a naturally looking, full lashline... we can do that with a new technique called volume lashing. Its a totally different technique and allows us to apply many more lash tips, to create that fullness without any added weight. This way we won't weigh down the natura lash. It does take more time and it's a master artists' advanced technique. The products are different, the technique for pick-up and applicaiton requires much more skilled labor but the fullness you get (even asian lashes, haha) is beautiful. So, its totaly possible!

CALLER: My friends get lashes and they stopped because it was taking out their own lashes. Is it true lash extensions damages your lashes?

LASH LAB: Tell your friends to come to us for lashes next time. We will not require you take a break after a few fills. Had your lashes been applied by inexperienced artists or using a standard synthetic quality lash or glue product... I can understand why lower cost salons would require a removal. Truth is, lash extensions done properly with good products should not effect your new lash growth at all. Its when there is improper glue use or cheap lashes too long or heavy for your natural lashes that you should really take a break. But the next step is DON't GO BACK! Pay a little more up front, knowing you won't have this problem and you will protect your lashline so the baby hairs and new growth actually grow in. This new growth and baby lashes will grow to be long lashes that we can lash at the next visit! If your natural lashes are falling out in clumps, its safe to say... you are doing a disservice to your own natural lashes.

**********************************************************************************************************

(Client booked and voila! Notice the natural lash line, no clumpy glue, no plastic shine, very fluffy and full lash tips that look completely real from the side too!)

VOLUME technique lashes, with a slight flare at the corners to create a natural yet subtle cat shape for accentuating her natural slender cat eyes. We used a curl that is curly enough to reach up and over her hooded lids so that she can appreciate seeing the lash tips reach up and over her eyelids as opposed to being just visible on the side. Needless to say, another very happy client with eyelash extensions from LASH LAB. If you want to chat about your unique request, we can offer advice over the phone too and help you decide whats best for you! Call the main line at 888-406-5274 and let us know you read our blog post!