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How Long Do Eyelash Extensions Last?

Eyelash Extensions, Featured

Posted by Jennifer Ngo at February 27th, 2020

Eyelash extensions can last indefinitely with regular re-lashes. After your initial full set, it’s recommended that you come back within two weeks in order to gauge fallout and maintenance needs for your specific set of lashes. Each person is unique, therefore the re-lash recommendation ranges between 2-4 weeks. There are a few different factors that play into how long extensions last. The factors can be divided into artist job and environmental factors. We will start with the artist job. The artist job accounts for part of the retention rate. During the process of placing on eyelash extensions, an artist will place an extension on an individual natural lash, making sure to isolate and separate the natural lash to avoid sticking or clumping to neighboring lashes. For most glues, 2-3 beads of glue are on the extension prior to being placed on the natural lash. This amount of glue allows for a safe bond between the extension and the natural lash without clumping. This amount of glue will allow for the extension to safely come off or grow out with the natural lash. The extension should be placed 1-2 millimeters away from the baseline of your eyelid. The important thing to know about the artist job is that even if the artist does a perfect job on your extensions, there are still so many other factors that could cause the lashes to fall out sooner. Some may argue to use more glue to make the extensions last longer. However, there is a gray area where using too much glue can become harmful and dangerous to your natural extensions. Using too much glue will cause the lashes to clump together, increase chances of irritation, and not allow the lashes to grow out at their natural rate. When lashes are clumped together with glue, the extensions may last longer, however as the lashes grow out, they are bonded to neighboring lashes. This causes the lashes to pull at the glue, turn the extensions and at times, cause premature loss of a natural lash. On top of all this, it is much more difficult to brush through and clean extensions when too much glue is used. This will cause buildup and lead to infection. You should always be able to brush through your lashes with a mascara wand. Now onto environmental factors. Eyelash extension longevity varies and depends on the products you use during your skincare routine, weather, temperature, humidity, heat, sweat, sauna exposure, friction, oils, glycols, and other agents that could break down the glue. Outside of an air-conditioned building, we cannot control the weather, temperature, and humidity levels. This can become a problem in areas with high precipitation and humidity. High precipitation and humidity will not allow the glue to cure or dry properly. Because the glue has a difficult time drying in these conditions, premature extension loss can be inevitable. On top of this, excess sweat using any products around your eyes that can break down the glue and sleeping on your face can cause premature extension loss. For these reasons, it is recommended that a re-lash be performed every 2-4 weeks depending on your lash cycle and maintenance needs. Eyelash extensions can last indefinitely if taken care of properly. It may sound a little high maintenance and tedious but once you learn the rules and get a hang of it, extensions can make your beauty routine so much easier. Most clients don’t even put on makeup after getting extensions done.