What Are Lash Extensions?
Eyelash extensions are temporary hair that are attached to your natural eyelashes to make your lashes look lengthier, thicker, and darker. Individual extensions are glued to each of your individual natural eyelashes by a temporary glue. The material differs from salon to salon, but lash extensions can be made of false, mink, faux mink, or silk fibers. Most salons offer a lot of extension lengths, curl patterns, and colors so clients can fully choose their look.
Types of Eyelash Extensions
Lash artists use three different kinds of eyelash extension materials: mink, silk, and synthetic. Some salons also carry “faux mink” extensions, which are basically just synthetic extensions that look just like mink extensions. Most lash salons have their preference for the type of lash extension they use and won’t always ask you if you have a specific choice. So if you’re vegan or allergic to certain animals, be sure to exclusively request that mink lash extensions are not used on you. No lash extension type lasts longer than the other, but mink and silk lashes tend to have a more natural appearance, while synthetic lashes can be thicker and darker, which is better for those who want a more outgoing and intense look.
Within these three categories (mink, silk, and synthetic), there are different degrees of length and perm to customize from. Usually your lash artist will use multiple lengths and curl strengths to create a wide-eyed effect, with longer lashes being glued towards the outer corners of the eyes and shorter lashes placed on the inner corners.
What are Volume Lash Extensions
Volume eyelash extensions vary from a natural look which give some length and volume, to a very bold and dense look. The lashes go from 2D-6D and anything over a 4D is going to look that your client is wearing a strip instead of a natural look that classic and hybrid extensions would give. This method can be done with pre-made fans or the fans can be made by hand using a particular tweezer. The fans are adhered to natural lashes but they come in .03, .05, .07 which are lighter than classic extensions. It usually takes 2-4 hours varying on whether or not the cosmetician uses pre-made fans.
What are hybrid lashes? Hybrid lashes are a 70-30 blend of both classic lashes and volume lashes. Opting for hybrid extensions gives your clients the best of both types. The look is gained by mixing classic lashes and volume lashes adhered carefully to capture the eyes. Hybrid extensions give a variety of texture and more volume, but without the rare fake look of volume lashes. For the customers that want a lash line with a bit more density but not quite as full as volume extensions, then this is the way to go.
Pick hybrid lashes if:
- You want more texture and density than classic lashes but less than volume lashes
- You want a fresh everyday look for work or home
- You want a denser look than classic lashes to fill in empty sparse places
- If you want a less patterned, more natural look than volume lashes
Pick volume lashes if:
- You want a intense look for a wedding, a date, a music festival, or a night out
- You want more thickness lashes
- You have lashes that are very few in number or thin since birth