Glue is one of the most important materials in lash extensions. The choice of glue decides how long the extensions are worn, how fast the artist works, how the client's body reacts and whether the artist builds up an allergy to its components. But sometimes even the most trusted, favorite glue starts to work badly, the procedure becomes hard and tiring, and clients begin to complain that their lashes are falling out early.
When the glue stops working
Usually this happens in summer or before the holidays, when conditions in the room become unstable and artists, in a hurry, start making certain mistakes. Below we go through the different cases when and why the glue does not work, and what fast fallout of extensions depends on.
To start with, check the expiration date. Lash extension glue usually has a shelf life of about six months, and once opened, only about two months. All the storage rules also have to be followed.
- Keep it in a dark, cool, dry place. Never put it next to a radiator or other heating equipment. Make sure the cabinet or cart with your materials does not stand near a heater.
- Keep it out of direct sunlight.
- Storing glue in the refrigerator is not recommended, because sharp temperature changes can affect its quality (with temperature swings, condensation forms inside the bottle).
If the glue is within date and was stored correctly, but the drop spreads, the bond is slow, or the lash slides and does not stick, it means the glue has started to act up. Then you look at the room.
Lash glue, humidity and the air in the room
Check the humidity and temperature in the room. Good conditions for the glue are a humidity of 40–60% and a temperature of 18–24 °C (roughly 64–75 °F). You can check them with a special device, a hygrometer. The readings should be stable. Even if the swings stay inside the allowed range, the glue can stop working.
Readings are normal, and the glue still does not want to work? Lash glue is also sensitive to how clean the air is in the room where the artist works. Artists who work in a salon without a separate room run into this most often. Different scents and particles from hair and nail products, fumes from a wax heater, street dust and the like can all get in the way of the glue.
| What you see | Where to look first | What to try |
|---|---|---|
| The drop spreads, the lash slides off | Humidity and temperature, their stability | Check the hygrometer; keep the room steady |
| The bond is slow | Glue too slow for your speed, dry air | A faster glue or a glue activator |
| Glue dries before it touches the lash | Glue too fast for you, too little glue picked up | A slower glue, a fuller pickup from the drop |
| Everything fine, but the bond is weak | Air quality, an old working drop | A separate room, a fresh drop |
Do not forget to change the drop on the stone, crystal or palette on time. A working drop lasts roughly 30–50 minutes. Each time you refresh the working drop, shake the glue bottle well. Thickened glue on the work surface can also lead to a poor bond and fast fallout.
Once the drop has set, it has to be neutralized, because a drop that has not fully cured keeps releasing fumes that provoke a cumulative allergy in artists. Never put a new drop on top of the old one. The new drop will dry faster, and the fumes only get stronger.
Look at your own work
What if everything is fine with the glue, the working conditions are the best they can be, and clients still complain about short wear? In that case you should look closer at your own work. Maybe you skipped some step or rushed somewhere, trying to fit into a short time slot.
Not enough degreasing before the procedure. Everything is useless if the lashes are poorly degreased. For a more reliable bond, use a lash primer. Primer goes on after the degreasing step. It opens the cuticle scales of the lash, so the glue gets into the structure of the hair better.
A glue that is too fast for the artist can also prevent long wear. That is, while you are placing the lash on the natural one, the glue dries, and the bond comes out weak. With a small pickup of glue from the drop, the chance of overdrying is also high. And the other way around: if the glue cures too slowly, this also affects the quality of the work. In that case switch to a faster one or use a glue activator. The activator speeds up curing and makes up for low humidity in the room by attracting water molecules. It is applied to the base of the extensions on the strip and to the client's natural lashes.
Do
- Degrease every set, then use a primer for a stronger bond.
- Pick up enough glue so it spreads over the whole bonding zone.
- Make sure the base lies fully against the natural lash.
- Use a thinner diameter on weak lashes and shorter lengths on short growing ones.
Do not
- Pull the lash out of the drop with a sharp jerk.
- Keep working with a thickened drop.
- Leave the base hanging off the natural lash.
- Put heavy, long extensions on weak natural lashes.
A small contact zone between the extension and the natural lash. If the lash is pulled out of the drop sharply, there may not be enough glue on it to spread over the bonding zone.
A peeling base of the extension. If the base does not lie tightly enough against the natural lash, the wear will be short, and the set itself will bother the client, because the base will hang and poke the eye when blinking. Watch that the base lies fully along the natural lash.
Wrongly chosen thickness and length. On weaker lashes, use a smaller diameter than in the main zone, and on short lashes in the anagen (growth) phase, use shorter ones. With the right combination of diameters and lengths, the work looks neat even three to four weeks after the procedure, because weak lashes will not hang under the weight and bother the client.
Isolation, offset and stuck lashes
Too big an offset from the eyelid. So that the offset does not grow, the artist needs to sit comfortably. The client should lie on the bed with a pillow at a height convenient for you, but the artist should not hang heavily over the client. A rough guide for the right position: the back is straight, the head is tilted slightly forward, the elbows point down, and the hands lie straight when you rest them. In this position you should see each lash well and control the offset in the inner and outer corners.
The offset should not be zero either. A pricking feeling when the client touches the lashes or squeezes the eyes shut says that the required offset of 0.5 mm was not kept. Lashes should be applied with a small offset so that the edge of the extension does not prick the eyelid. Half a millimeter is quite enough not to cause discomfort and still stay invisible.
If the client's eyes constantly itch after the set, most likely the artist left stuck lashes, when several natural lashes are glued together. When a few lashes are glued to each other, the one in the growth stage pulls along the one in the resting stage, and that causes the itching. Stuck lashes are the worst sin of a lash artist, because it is exactly these that lead to lashes falling out.
Drooping lashes say that the size and thickness of the extensions were chosen wrong. If the extensions are too heavy for the client's own, the natural lashes droop, and later fall out together with the extensions. Red eyes after the procedure are either from irritation, when the under-eye pad used to isolate the lower lashes touches the mucous membrane during the procedure, or from glue fumes getting on the eye, which happens if the eyes open slightly during the work. These mistakes are most common among beginner artists, but experienced artists also make them sometimes when they rush. That is why the lash academy course gives isolation and retention their own place in the curriculum, next to classic and volume work.
Why one client wears a set two months, another two weeks
Everything was done perfectly, but some clients wear a set for two months and others for two weeks? Look closer at the client. The porosity of the lashes also affects how long extensions are worn.
If the client's natural lashes are dense, smooth and shiny, it is hard for the glue to get into the structure, which means the bond will be weak and the lashes will fall out fairly fast. In this case a lash primer is a must. It gets into the structure of the hair and opens the scales, making the lash more open to the glue. With good porosity (the scales are slightly open, the cuticle is looser), the glue penetrates much better, and the extensions hold very firmly.
For the same reason it is not recommended to do extensions right after a lash lift, since the result will not last. It takes about three weeks for the lift effect to weaken. The lashes grow out, and the spot where the extension is fixed becomes big enough and comfortable to work on.
Skin type matters too. With very active oil glands, wear is also shorter. Warn the client in advance that pregnancy, the menstrual cycle, taking antibiotics or a hormonal imbalance can affect how long the extensions last. Keep in mind that with such clients the procedure may take longer than usual. With unstable hormones, the skin and the lash cuticle release substances that keep the glue from working steadily.
What to tell the client
If the artist did the procedure well and told the client about all possible effects and the care rules, but the lashes still fall off, the cause is on the client's side. The most common mistake is oil-based products. They get on the eyelids and dissolve the glue, and the extensions come away from the natural lashes. Rubbing with the hands, rough combing, sleeping face down in the pillow, a sauna, a steam room, a pool or swimming in open water, especially in the first days after the set, also shorten wear. So does washing the face or taking off makeup on the first day, and makeup with oily mascara and eye shadow.
Always tell clients the rules of care for their extensions. A short memo is enough, and for the details you can send them to a complete aftercare guide.
- Avoid direct contact with water for the first three hours after the procedure ends.
- Wash with water-based cleansers without oils. After washing, gently blot the eyelids with a towel.
- Touch the eyes less, do not rub them.
- Do not sleep face down in the pillow.
- Alcohol, hormonal medications or antibiotics can shorten the wear.
- A sauna or long time in the sun can also show on the wear.
- A sealant can be used at home to make the set last longer. It is applied with light strokes on the bond.
- Use a nylon spoolie to comb the lashes.
Check the set before the client leaves
Fallout cannot be avoided completely. There is a natural process of renewal of the lashes on the eyelids, and extensions are attached to the natural hair with glue, so they fall out together with a natural lash that has left its follicle. When a lot of extensions shed at once, it looks as if the eyes are going bald. If the set sheds right away, and the client has brittle natural lashes, swelling or burning in the eyelid area, the cause has to be found urgently. It may be low-quality glue that causes allergic reactions and fast peeling, broken technique, the client's natural lashes and eyelids not being taken into account when choosing the type of set, or no care consultation.
A few simple checks at the end of the procedure catch most of these problems while the client is still in the chair.
The first correction visit is usually recommended at about the third week after the procedure. Artists who come to learn from Roselle Park, about seven minutes from the Cranford studio along Westfield Ave, can also ask after the course about retention troubleshooting and products.
