Lash Extensions

My lashes are extra fine, short and there's not a lot of it.  Since eyelash extensions are so popular now and readily available for reasonable price, I thought I would try it to see if it truly makes a difference.  A friend shared her eyelash extension contact and off I went in early October in search of a lash makeover.

The eyelash extension lady works out of her house and has a number of Asian customers.  She purchases her extensions from Japan/Taiwan and they seem to be of great quality.  The first appointment for full extensions took over an hour.  The glue sting my eye and although it was not unbearable, it was not comfortable either.  It was a full hour of someone poking and attaching foreign eyelashes to each eye.  Since I was inexperienced, I did not know what fullness or shape I wanted.  Thus, she recommended natural and average length.

After the hour, my extensions were done!!  The lashes were perfectly curled and it did look quite natural even though it was super long.   I didn't realize that you can't wet the lashes for over 24 hours.

The new set of lashes felt awkward and uncomfortable at first.  I had to adjust the way I wash my face to avoid splashing water to the lashes.   I used a face sponge to get water onto my face and wipe face cleanser off.  I also could not put eye cream or any cream on the eyelids to avoid lashes from falling.   

In addition, I also had to adjust the way I shower.  Instead of using the rain shower, I only used the hand held shower to avoid getting water to the lash.  I also changed the way I sleep to try to sleep on my back instead of on my sides to avoid lashes from rubbing on the pillow.  The key was to avoid lashes from falling!  It was such a change that I even had dreams around falling lashes!  

For my first refill, I asked for more volume so that I didn't have to worry about falling lashes (and weird lash gap) all the time.  The volume and length was truly incredible and although it looked a bit more fake, it caused less emotional concern around falling lashes.

There are pros and cons to getting lash extensions.  They are:

Benefits: 

• Look awake and presentable without makeup - natural look is truly possible
• Don't have to curl and put on mascara
• Extensions last 4 weeks

Cons:

• Changes to skincare and shower to avoid falling lashes
• Gaps to lash line during the 4 weeks
• Require refills every 4 weeks
• Refill appointment takes at least an hour (high maintenance)
• Lashes feel fake at times
• Normal lashes are weaker and sparse

After the first refill, I decided to remove the lashes due to all the cons listed above.   And good thing I did because my natural lashes felt weak, shorter than normal, and sparse.   Now I'm working on getting my normal lashes by to normal and stronger.