Eyelash Extensions - tell me all about them ;)

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

I am not blessed in the eyelash department. I've tried a lash serum in the past (one I bought online) and with continual use it did help but of course, eyelashes go through their growth cycle and fall out.

So, I;m contemplating eyelash inserts.

I'd have (I think) only upper lashes (my lower lashes are long, oddly enough) .

So.............
Roughly how long do they last?
Do I need to be careful cleansing?
I think if I had them , I wouldn;t need mascara so I wouldn't need to use heavy duty cleansers.
Do they grow out or fall off? Or do you have them removed?

I'm not the Beauty Salon type IRL, I don't have facials or nails done or my brows. So it's unchartered territory here

[rhodes2015]

hi op
im also not blessed in the eyelash department, fair in colour, fine and not many! but i have had LVL lashes a few times. they dont use false lashes but they lift and tint your own lashes and the results are amazing, i can feel them touching my eyebrow and get so many people commenting on them. they are approx £45 but can last 6 wks and the treatment takes about 45 mins but is very relaxing (i nodded off!) i didnt have falsies as im a picker and i think id meddle with them.

[WeShouldOpenABar]

Do not get them! They're amazing you look great after and then you realise you can't afford to have them all the time.
At least that's what happened to me

[ICanSeeForMiles]

Another one here saying don't get them! I love giving my face a good wash.. and couldn't with lash extensions in. I felt grubby for the full time I had them in because obv water help the glue to break down so you've to avoid it as much as possible.
Ah the relief to give my eyes a proper clean, it was bliss !!

[JackandDiane]

Agree. Don't get them. Mine lasted three weeks. Look great but in the end itch like buggery. Also your lashes ruined by them

[Lookatyourwatchnow]

They do look lovely, but they're really high maintenance. For 2 weeks you have lovely, natural looking long eyelashes. But then they start to look 'gappy' and you need to get them infilled in my experience every 3 weeks, which is a pain in the arse. If you aren't organised enough to have the infill appt booked in (like me), they go too gappy and then the whole set needs to be replaced. Also if you fiddle with them (like me) it ruins your own eyelashes. Speaking from experience as I once ended up with about 3 eyelashes on each eye after fiddling with the loose extensions.

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

Ah, I wouldn't be able to get my face in the shower?


I did think when they started to fall off I'd look like some scruffy animal shedding its winter coat (not the look I'm going for TBH)

Is eyelash perming an option (not sure exactly how they do it) my eyelashes do look better when I use my curlers, but that's only temporary.

I should splurge on a new pair of curlers I reckon.

[ICanSeeForMiles]

Tint and perm is the way to go (although not if you've had a baby in the last year....apparently the hormones can affect the perm and make it go bonkers curly...my SIL had an awful experience)
Heard LVL is amazing.

[MitzyLeFrouf]

LVL is eyelash perming.

[ICanSeeForMiles]

It was a totally different procedure when I had it done Mitzy. In fact, I'm off to book it again based on this thread!

[JapaneseSlipper]

My experience:

• they say they last up to 4 weeks; in reality they last 2.
  
• I found them brilliant for the purpose: going on a group holiday that would involve sharing accommodation, swimming, in a hot place (ie. sweaty). All instances where mascara is not ideal, and when you are sharing it's nice to be able to walk to the bathroom first thing and not terrify everyone with no makeup on.
  
• I wasn't as amazed by the results as I hoped I would be. I have pretty decent lashes as it is, only thing is they are pale. So with makeup, they look pretty good. The extensions, on the other hand, looked very "full" but I thought they sat a bit low over my eyes - they didn't point skyward, my eyes didn't look wide and open. If I wanted a v lashy look for a one-off occasion, I would go for false lashes as I think the result would be better. Extensions are great for a long period though, they make you look a bit made up even when you aren't.
  
• I wasn't bothered by the face washing thing but as I said I was on holiday, so my makeup regime was pretty minimal and I didn't wear any eye makeup. I don't splash my face with water anyway, I use a muslin, so it was easy to keep water away from the lashes.
  
• after 2 weeks I got something in one eye, and rubbed at it, and that dislodged some lashes. After that I gave up (we were home by then anway) and pulled all the remainder out. I think if I'd not done that, I could have limped through to 3 weeks, and my own lashes would not have been affected.
  
• Even with me pulling the extensions off, my own lashes remained pretty undamaged.
  

Interested in the eyelash perm thing. Dyeing lashes does very little for me, I need actual mascara to give body and thickness.

[YummyBelicious]

I've had Russian infill lashes on for nearly two years. I have them infilled every 3 weeks.
I bloody love them.

Only trouble I've had was when I caught eye infection off of my son the ointment made them fall out... But once cleared up I just had them put back in.
There seemed to have been no damage to my natural lashes in that time either

I did for a while have individual ones and not Russian, they were spikey and uncomfortable, so defo recommended these over individual ones x

[QueenBing]

How long does the lvl last? What sort of maintenance is required with that?

[booface]

I had had them for about 4 years and absolutely love them. Mind you, I have an excellent technician put them in, so really do your research. I have infills every 3 to 4 weeks and they look fine even just before the infills.

I keep water off my eyes for first 24 hours or so, and then I do get them wet.

I love them as I can go without make up and not look scarily tired and pale as my natural lashes are short and a bit pathetic!

Just be aware, they are a bit habit forming and you might not want to go back and it does get expensive.

Incidentally, some people do swear by Revitalash and those types of liquids that make your lashes grow, but I haven't tried them myself...

[Bkelly1603]

I used to have them and loved them but yes they are high maintenance and do need to be done every 3 weeks at the latest. My problem with them was if I went out in the evenings I used to wear eyeliner and heavier makeup and it was so difficult to remove properly with the lashes on.

[HeyMacWey]

No maintenance whatsoever with lvl.
You can't get them wet for 24 hours after having them done.
It lasts for about 6 weeks.
I have it done and recommend it to anyone with short/straight lashes.

[Ememem84]

I've had eyelash extensions. I went through a phase of being super stressed and pulled mine out. The. It looked wierd. So I had fake ones put in to fill in the gaps.
They lasted pretty much for 6 weeks. I had to be careful with them (but it was either that or no eyelashes...!) so no hard scrubbing of face and no swimming (but I don't go swimming anyway).

[WhisperingLoudly]

Extensions look amazing for about three days then they start to go a bit squiffy - always one pointing out in an odd direction. And the gaps look ridiculous.

I persevered early as I loved the look and used a number of salons but they never last anything like the four weeks claimed.

A woman I work with has hers done - they look great and she obviously has them filled regularly but they clearly irritate her and so she blinks continuously and looks absurd.

[Sleepandchocolate]

I had nouveau lashes put in 4years ago and I love them! Go every 2-3weeks for maintainence. I would say they take a bit of getting used to especially if you are someone who rubs their eyes a lot. I hardly ever wear make up and find this just helps me feel like I've made some effort and I still get people complimenting me on how lovely they look. Agree with booface about being very careful who put them in I had some put in 6 years ago and they looked terrible and didn't last long!

[Bipbopbee]

Another one to recommend eyelash perming. It makes them look super long and is a cheaper option without ruining your lashes and no gaps. I had false lashes put on once but then made the mistake of fiddling with them when they started to fall out, ending up with horrible stubs.

[MrDarcysMa]

I had them for about a year, they looked good but very addictive, expensive, time consuming and no matter what they say, they do mess up your natural lashes underneath, even though I had a great lash tech. I decided to stop having mine done when they weren't lasting -as there were less natural lashes left for them to adhere to.
Took about a year to get mine back to normal after, I was gutted. I really would try a lift/ tint instead.

[soarin]

I'm a big advocate for them! They make such a difference for me, without them I get told I look tired. Then the friggin mascara wores. With lashes on I barely think about makeup, get up and leave house and they make me look half decent.

However they are high maintenance with infills being needed in reality ever 2 weeks.

[soarin]

Aw and yes you can get your face wet! I'm currently away on hols and been in the sea everyday x