Therapist reacting to eyelash glue when applying extensions

[steph329042]

I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one and I’m hoping someone can help me...... I’ve been doing lash extension for around 2 months now and I thought I was suffering from an on/off cold but after a week on holiday and the ‘cold’ disappearing straight away, then coming home, doing a set of lashes and the cold symptoms coming back I’ve discovered that I’m actually allergic to the glue!
The last set I did I wore a mask to prevent the fumes from affecting me but I was actually a lot worse, wheezing, coughing, sneezing, eyes watering, ears itching and it all kicked in within 5 minutes of finishing the lashes.
Does anyone else suffer like this?? If so, did you change glue? What chemicals is it that needs to be avoided?
The funny thing is, I’ve been having my lashes done for years with no problem but now I’m doing them and patch test everyone I’m actually then one who it affects.
I hope someone can help as I think it’ll be a treatment I enjoy doing but it’s actually putting me off at the moment and making me miserable.
Glue I’m using is from Beautiful Brows

 

[FabuLAsh London]

Have you tried using a sensitive clear glue? I found the black glues contain carbon which would often make me sneeze. X

 

[lauraschofield]

maybe a silly question so sorry if it is, but have you tried changing the glue you're using? I'm only recently qualified so I don't know how much the ingredients differ from brand to brand but it might be worth a try? must be a nightmare for you! and such a shame if its the only thig you're struggling with xx

 

[steph329042]

Have you tried using a sensitive clear glue? I found the black glues contain carbon which would often make me sneeze. X

I have purchased a new glue which I’m going to try tomorrow but the glue I’ve been using doesn’t state the chemicals in the product, neither does the website which I thinks a little strange.
The sensitive and odourless glue I’ve been led to believe doesn’t bond as well with the lashes and the website states it only lasts 7-10 days.
That’s good to know about the black glue, maybe I’ll try the clear glue, I’m willing to give anything a try. Thank you xxx

 

[steph329042]

maybe a silly question so sorry if it is, but have you tried changing the glue you're using? I'm only recently qualified so I don't know how much the ingredients differ from brand to brand but it might be worth a try? must be a nightmare for you! and such a shame if its the only thig you're struggling with xx

I have purchased another glue that I’ll be trying tomorrow so fingers crossed.
It’s awful and really does knock me back a day or 2 because the side effect are so severe but I don’t want to give up.
I know a few people who do lashes and they’ve not heard of another therapist having the same issue so I thought I’d ask on here.
How are you getting on with the lashes? Xxxx

 

[lauraschofield]

I have purchased another glue that I’ll be trying tomorrow so fingers crossed.
It’s awful and really does knock me back a day or 2 because the side effect are so severe but I don’t want to give up.
I know a few people who do lashes and they’ve not heard of another therapist having the same issue so I thought I’d ask on here.
How are you getting on with the lashes? Xxxx

Ok great, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you! I'm honestly struggling, I'm practicing on my mannequin head every night and I'm sure everyone feels the same at some point but I'm just worried I'm not very good at it! The practice lashes I have that came with my kit cross over at the bottom of each lash though if that makes sense so I'm hoping that's what's making it harder as natural lashes don't seem as though they do it so severely. Trying not to get defeated so soon! I'm also recently qualified in hair extensions though too so I have a lot going on at the moment. xxx

 

[steph329042]

Ok great, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you! I'm honestly struggling, I'm practicing on my mannequin head every night and I'm sure everyone feels the same at some point but I'm just worried I'm not very good at it! The practice lashes I have that came with my kit cross over at the bottom of each lash though if that makes sense so I'm hoping that's what's making it harder as natural lashes don't seem as though they do it so severely. Trying not to get defeated so soon! I'm also recently qualified in hair extensions though too so I have a lot going on at the moment. xxx

Don’t give up and don’t let it get you down. I get super frustrated with myself (I don’t show this to my customers) when doing lashes because I’m too critical of myself but once the eyes are open I’m impressed with the results and so are my clients.
My lash lady is great and gives me tips and encouragement which helps loads. She almost gave up when she first started now she’s the lash queen so that’s my aim. Her advice was to take the time you need. Don’t try and stick to a timeframe when you first start, get the technique and placement right first then worry about speed and time.
Are you just practicing on your practice head or are you practicing on actual people as well? Everyone’s lashes are different, my niece has soooo many lashes and took me 4 hours to do. They did look amazing after though.
Keep going and don’t let it beat you xxxx

 

[lauraschofield]

Don’t give up and don’t let it get you down. I get super frustrated with myself (I don’t show this to my customers) when doing lashes because I’m too critical of myself but once the eyes are open I’m impressed with the results and so are my clients.
My lash lady is great and gives me tips and encouragement which helps loads. She almost gave up when she first started now she’s the lash queen so that’s my aim. Her advice was to take the time you need. Don’t try and stick to a timeframe when you first start, get the technique and placement right first then worry about speed and time.
Are you just practicing on your practice head or are you practicing on actual people as well? Everyone’s lashes are different, my niece has soooo many lashes and took me 4 hours to do. They did look amazing after though.
Keep going and don’t let it beat you xxxx

Ah that’s so lovely thanks so much. I’m only practising on the head so far. I haven’t had the confidence to apply to a person but I’m trying on my mum this week so hopefully that goes well and gives me a much needed confidence boost! So sorry your thread asking a completely different question has turned into you coaching me haha but it’s very much appreciated. Sometimes when we’re frustrated and low in confidence you just need some kind words from someone (who’s not your mum haha). Good luck with the glue, hope you get it sorted! Xxx

 

[Beautiful-you]

Ah that’s so lovely thanks so much. I’m only practising on the head so far. I haven’t had the confidence to apply to a person but I’m trying on my mum this week so hopefully that goes well and gives me a much needed confidence boost! So sorry your thread asking a completely different question has turned into you coaching me haha but it’s very much appreciated. Sometimes when we’re frustrated and low in confidence you just need some kind words from someone (who’s not your mum haha). Good luck with the glue, hope you get it sorted! Xxx

Don't worry, I think there are lots of new lash techs that feel exactly the same in the early months. I'm not personally trained in lash extensions but my daughter trained 2 years ago in college and got so frustrated and disheartened she actually stopped offering them for a few months. She tried again and still felt the same so she started to do as much extra research as she could and made some adjustments and then gradually it started to click and her clients started coming back for infills after 2-3 weeks which made her feel so much happier as it proved they were happy with her work and also she could actually see how well they'd lasted.

I don't think her training was as thorough as it could have been and she's still not 100% confident so she has actually booked on to a 1-2-1 workshop with a Lashbase educator in a couple of weeks to hopefully fine-tune her technique even more. Judging by the comments I've read on here, it usually takes everybody quite a while to master the technique so don't be put off.

You mentioned that the lashes in your kit don't seem quite right. That's exactly what my daughter felt about hers. It turned out they were really thick, which probably explained why they weren't lasting very long as they were too heavy. It looks like they put cheaper lashes in the training kit, and maybe because thicker lashes are easier to train with? Could that be the case with thevlashes you have?

 

[wowbb]

There is a few things you can do:
Are you lashing from a glue ring or jade stone?
If you are using a glue ring, try changing to a jade stone. The glue ring tends to be right under your nose when you are lashing so any fumes will naturally be drawn to your nose and eyes (fumes are attracted by moisture)..

Secondly try wearing a mask as that will help in the long term too. If you are already noticing a sensitivity it will only get worse so its best to take precaution and protect yourself. You want to look for a mask with min ffp3.

As the others said you can try a different adhesive. Whilst they are all based on cyanoacrylate they will different grades. The more they are distilled the milder they are to work with (this doesnt affect the strength) but it makes them purer so it might be worth trying a different one to see if that will help you x

 

[steph329042]

Evening everyone, tried my new glue today from The Lash Emporium and everything has gone well, no sign of any reactions so I’m very happy. Another client tomorrow so hopefully I’ll be fine after that too (fingers crossed). I don’t want to have to give it up.

I did try using the ring and a mask which is actually when I had a really bad reaction so today I went back to my jade stone.
I will get a mask with a min of ffp3 as you have suggested WOWBB thank you.

 

[steph329042]

Ah that’s so lovely thanks so much. I’m only practising on the head so far. I haven’t had the confidence to apply to a person but I’m trying on my mum this week so hopefully that goes well and gives me a much needed confidence boost! So sorry your thread asking a completely different question has turned into you coaching me haha but it’s very much appreciated. Sometimes when we’re frustrated and low in confidence you just need some kind words from someone (who’s not your mum haha). Good luck with the glue, hope you get it sorted! Xxx

Hey don’t worry, I feel there’s not enough support out there so if we can support each other on here then that’s great. If it wasn’t for my lash lady then I think I would have quit a while ago.
Good luck with your mums lashes, don’t doubt yourself and act confident even if inside your crying. Come back and let me know how it goes xxxxx

 

[abbieshuttleworth]

I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one and I’m hoping someone can help me...... I’ve been doing lash extension for around 2 months now and I thought I was suffering from an on/off cold but after a week on holiday and the ‘cold’ disappearing straight away, then coming home, doing a set of lashes and the cold symptoms coming back I’ve discovered that I’m actually allergic to the glue!
The last set I did I wore a mask to prevent the fumes from affecting me but I was actually a lot worse, wheezing, coughing, sneezing, eyes watering, ears itching and it all kicked in within 5 minutes of finishing the lashes.
Does anyone else suffer like this?? If so, did you change glue? What chemicals is it that needs to be avoided?
The funny thing is, I’ve been having my lashes done for years with no problem but now I’m doing them and patch test everyone I’m actually then one who it affects.
I hope someone can help as I think it’ll be a treatment I enjoy doing but it’s actually putting me off at the moment and making me miserable.
Glue I’m using is from Beautiful Brows

I find that after about half an hour into the treatment I get a very stuffy nose kind of like a cold too! I think it’s just the fumes of the glue, I find it so hard not to sit there and sniff over my clients lol. I currently use lashbase crystal plus glue which is meant to be more suitable for sensitivity but I’m worried about getting a fully sensitive glue for retention and the setting time being much longer. I got told to avoid the chemical that makes the glue black think it’s called carbon colour or something. If you read this description of the glue it might help. https://lashbase.co.uk/product/no-1-crystal-plus-adhesive/

 

[AcidPerm]

Sniffing with cold symptoms is manageable but if it starts to affect your breathing giving you asthma type symptoms, you must stop immediately.

 

[steph329042]

I find that after about half an hour into the treatment I get a very stuffy nose kind of like a cold too! I think it’s just the fumes of the glue, I find it so hard not to sit there and sniff over my clients lol. I currently use lashbase crystal plus glue which is meant to be more suitable for sensitivity but I’m worried about getting a fully sensitive glue for retention and the setting time being much longer. I got told to avoid the chemical that makes the glue black think it’s called carbon colour or something. If you read this description of the glue it might help. https://lashbase.co.uk/product/no-1-crystal-plus-adhesive/

Thank you, I’ve just had a look and it’s worth a try.
It’s affecting my sense of smell and breathing too now, I really could cry right now.
I might just buy the glue from lashbase as one last try and go from there. Thank you so much xxx

 

[steph329042]

Sniffing with cold symptoms is manageable but if it starts to affect your breathing giving you asthma type symptoms, you must stop immediately.

It does effect my breathing too and my sense of smell which I’ve just found out as I couldn’t smell beef monster munch (and we all know how strong they are). I’ve just called The Lash Emporium to see if they can offer anything else and all they can do is offer the sensitive glue which takes longer to dry and only lasts 5-7 days!
I’ve had a mask on and the window open today
And the reactions are really bad again. I really want to cry, just as I feel I’m getting the hang of it and this all starts. Today’s client has gone and shown her lashes to her friend who now wants to book in and I don’t know what to do

 

[AcidPerm]

I had similar symptoms when doing gel nails and my GP referred me for allergy patch testing. The consultant advised that I had to cease doing nails immediately as the symptoms would only worsen and could become very serious indeed.
I had one occasion when I was really struggling to breathe and it felt very scary. I stopped doing nails and I’m careful about my everyday use of chemicals, always wear gloves etc. and I won’t use any acrylate based products, just in case.

 

[lauraschofield]

Hey don’t worry, I feel there’s not enough support out there so if we can support each other on here then that’s great. If it wasn’t for my lash lady then I think I would have quit a while ago.
Good luck with your mums lashes, don’t doubt yourself and act confident even if inside your crying. Come back and let me know how it goes xxxxx

Thank you so much. I will xxx

 

[steph329042]

I had similar symptoms when doing gel nails and my GP referred me for allergy patch testing. The consultant advised that I had to cease doing nails immediately as the symptoms would only worsen and could become very serious indeed.
I had one occasion when I was really struggling to breathe and it felt very scary. I stopped doing nails and I’m careful about my everyday use of chemicals, always wear gloves etc. and I won’t use any acrylate based products, just in case.

Ohh my gosh, this is really interesting to know and must have been very scary for you.
I’ve spoken to lots of other therapist and they have never had any problems and searches don’t really show anything either. I’ve spoken to suppliers, my college tutor and no one can give any advise.
I woke up last night short of breath so I know the reactions are getting worse.
I’ve messaged all my lash clients today and cancelled lashes but I really am so gutted.

 

[lauraschofield]

Thank you so much. I will xxx

Update if you’re still interested [emoji4] I really struggled and it knocked my confidence quite a lot, my mum only wanted a few on the ends to start with, but for some reason I’d isolate the lash, place the extension on and then when I’d look back in a few minutes her other lashes had also stuck to the extension and I don’t know what I did to cause it as it had never happened when I was practicing on my mannequin head [emoji17] she wants some more adding later this week and I’m just worried the same thing will happen again because I don’t know how to stop it. Xx