5 summer tips against losing false lashes

Lovely warm weather, holidays by the sea, barbecues with friends, but on the other hand, eyelashes falling out and lasting less. This is what some of your clients may imagine summer to mean. Give them special summer tips in addition to the basics on how to take care of their thick and long lashes. Thanks to these, their holidays will no longer have a bittersweet taste. They'll enjoy it 100 percent and love coming back to you for quality lashes!

As I'm sure you know from experience, eyelash extensions are no fun in the summer. That's why last summer I wrote down a few tips to help you get the job done even on hot days.

In this article, we will focus on tips for your clients. If they are suffering from premature eyelash loss, they may be doing something wrong. Therefore, pass on the following tips to them:

Eyelash extensions are not friends with oils. Whether it's with oil-based makeup products, tanning oils or oil-based creams. The latter soaks into the natural lashes and can disrupt the adhesive bonds. This then leads to poor lash longevity and earlier lash loss.  

But sunscreen is very important in summer. So if your clients want to protect their skin and complexion from the sun, they need to be instructed to handle the cream carefully so that it doesn't get on the false eyelashes. They should avoid the eye area altogether.

Ideally, though, your clients should at least buy a cream that contains no oils at all. I know this won't be a completely easy task, but it really will be the best thing for their lashes.

I understand that it's tempting to refresh with a cool mist of facial tonic or moisturizing spray, but it's going to be torture for your lashes. Just as it's important to apply sunscreen very carefully around the eyes, other liquids should be applied carefully with your fingers and never sprayed directly onto your face.

Advise clients to first squirt the facial tonic or any other product into the palm of their hand and then gently rub it into their face. Even if they don't aim the spray directly at the area around their eyes, small droplets of liquid can still bounce off and get caught on their eyelashes. Now comes the same story as with the cream - apart from the oils, all the other chemicals in the products have a negative effect on the glue.

Who wouldn't like to swim on a hot summer day? Although it's nice to cool off by jumping in the water, the salt water and chlorine can wreak havoc on your lashes.

That's why rinsing your face and eyelashes with clean water is a must after every swim. Afterwards, it is still a good idea to gently dry the excess water from the eyelashes with a soft towel or napkin. Warn clients that they must be very careful while doing this. Aggressively rubbing the lashes with any material or even fingers or hands can pull on the extensions and damage them or, in the case of a rough towel, leave small fibers on the lashes. If clients are unsure if they have washed off all the salt and chlorine, they can apply a cleansing foam to the lashes after bathing. This will gently remove any unwanted debris.

Clients may also find that their lashes cross unnaturally in the water. In these cases, it is always a good idea to have a brush with you to bring the lashes back into position.

Not only water, but also extreme heat can hurt your lashes. It can cause the curvature of the lashes to loosen and, for example, the artificial D-type lashes can become C-type lashes, which is definitely not what clients want. In very extreme temperatures, the ends of the eyelash extensions can get tanned and become less fluffy and harder to comb. Once cooled, they may appear to be glued together and in extreme cases, this can lead to damage to the natural lashes.

But what do extreme temperatures mean? Warn clients to be careful with things like barbecues, night campfires, blow-drying their hair, as well as in direct sunlight. If they leave the grilling of meat on the fire to the men, preferring to prepare something sweet for a family gathering instead, they also need to watch out for the hot air that can unexpectedly billow out when the oven is opened.

If clients need to refill their lashes more often during the summer months, even though they're taking good care of them, reassure them that this is perfectly normal. We just naturally sweat more and produce more oils in the summer, and as we've known for a long time, this causes a more frequent need for eyelash extensions to be refilled. You can already shorten the interval in advance for your client from say 3 weeks to 2 or 2.5 weeks, it will depend on her own experience. You will see that she will be grateful to you, as she will be able to boast rich and long eyelashes all summer long.

I have had great experience with the UV system in the summer months! Not only is it easier to work with as I don't have to control the temperature or humidity in the salon, my clients come back with full sets even after holidays by the sea. The lashes I extend with UV glue and UV lamp have a longer retention than lashes glued with traditional glue. Even the use of sunscreen, salt water or sweat won't damage them. The perfect choice for the summer months!

You might also be interested in:

•     UV Lash System - has the eyelash extension revolution arrived?
•     Work with the UV lamp like a pro
•     Taping and tape work as a way to perfect results
•     Lash trends at the turn of the millennium

Although it seems that we really have to watch out for a lot of things in the summer, it's really not so bad after all. We just need to keep these tips in mind and be more careful with our lashes. The last piece of advice is to enjoy the summer to the fullest, as it will soon be over and we will still fondly remember the hot days!