We all know that prep plays a very important part when lashing a client. If the lashes aren’t clean and clear of oil/makeup and dirt before we start applying, retention can be very poor and, lashes will have trouble grabbing onto the NLs which can result in them slipping/falling off as soon as they have been placed! #frustrating
Some of the products that can be used for prep include:
protein pads
lash cleansers
primers
saline
witch hazel
Everyone will have their own way of prepping and what works for one person might not necessarily work for someone else.
Chrissanthie Eyelid Cleanser is great to use with a cleanser brush before doing a full set. Just make sure that you rinse well after use as any remnants left will cause bad retention.
Protein pads I’m not a great lover of, especially when using them for infills – I find the pads can get caught on the EEs leaving fine bits of lint around the bases!
Primers are good although they do have a shelf-life (which I only discovered myself a few weeks back!). I’d been having trouble with my volume fans either closing up or slipping off of the NL and, I couldn’t for the life of me work out why it was! I tried everything…changed my tweezers, changed my glue, changed the tension I was putting on my tweezers, even changed the lashes! Little did I know that the primer I was using which I opened 4 months ago had had its day! I stopped using it and, volia! No more problems! Back to perfect fanning and placement :)
Saline is the main thing I hear a lot of lash techs use for their prep. Some will add witch hazel as it opens up the cuticles but, as long as your client has clean, makeup free lashes then saline on its own should be sufficient. This is now all I use for my prep (unless they are particularly dirty or my client suffers with poor retention, in which case I will use a primer and then saline).
Something important to note: the use of ALCOHOL based primers/products should NOT be used. These actually close up the cuticles and dry the natural lashes out, hence why saline/warm saline is the best option. For the natural lashes to grab the adhesive correctly they should be ever so slightly moist. This will enable an almost instant grab with the proper adhesion.
One thing we should NOT be doing when the client arrives is removing their make-up for them. They should come ready prepared with all traces of makeup removed prior to their arrival. Obviously, if you can see a few small traces then you can remove yourself however, if they arrive and their eye makeup is visible even before they have laid on your couch, send them to the bathroom with some cleanser and a cleaning brush and ask them to remove it! Show them how to use the cleaning brush properly and get them to give their lash line a good scrub! This is not what we are there to do! It will eat into the time we have to apply a full set/infill what they have (which of course is entirely their own fault!) but I for one could not let a client leave with a half set of lashes because they came caked in makeup. Better still, charge for removal! I know a few lash techs who charge an extra £5 or £10 for makeup removal! This will soon stop them from turning up with a face full!