Theres been alot of talk about cluster lashes / lash extensions te last few weeks, so i thought I would stick a wee tutorial up to help you along if you get stuck!

YOU WILL NEED:

• non oily eye make up remover (the none oily bit is essential)
• Pointy tweezers (be VERY careful!! lol)
• Cluster Lashes in various sizes (I use mostly small and medium)
• Lash adhesive (My preference is Salon Systems individual lash glue, in Black)

This is a really easy treatment once you get the hang of it. Its a little bit fiddly, but once you've found the best way to pick up, hold and apply the lashes it should be alot less fiddly!!

I will run through MY application method. This is the way I personally do it, and not neccesarily how I was originally taught.

I usually like to perform an eye lash tint before applying lashes to give extra intensity / darkness.

It is advisable to perform a skin test for the adhesive as you would with an eye lash tint. As if you have a very sensitive client, they may react. (however none of my clients have to date). I dont mean stick a cluster of lashes behind their ear or anything lol. Just put a little dot of glue there. It will most likely dry and drop off soon enough, the glue not their ear, but the contact should be enough to see if they react!

Complete client record card and consultation, looking at the clients lashes you need to distinguish what length lashes to use. I dont like to go too much longer as I find most clients end up not liking them and asking for them to be trimmed.

Cleanse eye area, make sure it is free from make up, oil and lint. Make sure there is no residue and that the area is dry.

Dispense your adhesive into a (clean!!) small glass tint bowl, only dispense a little bit at a time as it dries and gets a skin. I actually just poke the lash through the skin to get to the wet adhesive when that happens. But you may prefer to keep your glue wet!

Apply the lashes starting from the outer corner.

Ask the client to keep their eyes closed throughout. But after every few lashes gently pull their upper lid open to ensure you havn't stuck the top lashes to the bottom. That would be a disaster!!

Sit the tray of lashes facing away from you (ie bulb closest to you). you will notice that the trays have little 'gaps' underneath the lashes. This is where i poke my tweezers under to pick up the lash. Dont pull on one single 'hair' as this will make the lash go a funny shape. Always pick the lashes up from the side and grab onto the whole cluster.

Keeping hold of the lash wth your tweezers, either dip or drag the bulb through your adhesive. you only need a pin head size ball of adhesive. I like to get the adhesive over the entire bulb, rather than just on the underneath. This is because of the way i apply the lashes... Instead of just placing the cluster on the top of the natural lash line, i like to sandwich it in. I.e I slide the bulb in between the layers of natural lash. This gives much better adherance as the cluster is stuck to more of the natural lash. This will also help to hold the clusters in place for longer, sometimes they can end up going a bit wonky after a few days!

The adhesive takes about a minute to set properly. So dont let the client open their eye before the glue is set as it can doslodge the lashes. (you can ently pull their upper eyelid open slightly to make sure they arent stuck together though!! This is important!)

I always use a longer length (next size up) on the outer corners to give the eyes a really flirty look .Usually about 4 or 5 clusters will do the trick.

Trimming the lashes is tricky, as the ends are staggered. NEVER EVER cut them straight across. Always cut into them. Ideally avoid trimming them at all!!

Spacing the lashes will differ from client to client depending on how much natural lash they already have! Some people will only want a few longer clusters applying on the outer corner to open the eye up. in which case apply approx 5 - 6 clusters 1 - 2 mm apart. (imagine leaving a gap the size of the bulb). I would always blend the longer lashes into the natural lashes with 1 or 2 of the smaller sized lashes.

When applying the lashes all across the lash line you can leave less space in between each cluster if you wanted to. As you will not see the difference in density / thickness from the enhanced lashes to the natural lashes.

you should get a bigger image if you click the pics.

BEFORE:


AFTER:


Enhanced Vs Natural - these pictures are actually larger than life size, so the bonds look more visible!







I think that is everything. I may add application pictures if i can get some. Anything ive missed just let me know. We know im a bit dizzy!

xx