Healthier Lashes At Home

Now that your lash lift has fully grown out or that last lash extension has drifted softly into the sink, like the leaves on a tree in Autumn, what do you do with your naked lashes?  Well hopefully they are healthy; if you see gaps or if they are significantly shorter, consider a different style of lash extensions – something more natural and not as thick?  That being said, all lashes go though some wear and tear when they have something semi-permanently attached to them.  But do not worry, here are some EASY do’s and don’t’s to get your lashes in their healthiest shape possible!  As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 

Do!

1. Take flaxseed oil. If we have ever met, I have said this to you.  Use flaxseed oil for lash growth!  But it MUST MUST MUST be the kind with LIGNANS in it.  Barlean’s is my favorite, and don’t forget to shake shake shake that bottle!  The lignans settle to the bottom and that’s the good stuff, the stuff we really want.  Take a tablespoon a day, I like to mix mine into my smoothie every morning.  
2. Moisturize your lashes and your eye area. Use an eyecream, I’m so surprised when I hear someone say they get lash extensions and therefore do not use eyecream.  Girl, always put your skin first.  It doesn’t matter how fluffy your eyelashes are if you have crinkly dried up lids and undereye.  I like the eye serums that come with that cold rollerball, like this one from Clinique. 

3. Get in there and really clean them. If you’re not going to be getting lashes anytime soon, so take this time to get in there and clean your lash line!  That’s the thing my clients love most when they take a break – they can really get into their lash line and rub that cleanser around.  If you are going to be wearing eye makeup and mascara, I cannot recommend an oil cleanser enough!  My favorites are the Korres Rose Oil and the Neutrogena Cleansing Oil.  Use DRY HANDS and DRY FACE, apply the oil all over to remove your makeup, and then focus on the eye area, taking your time to break down that mascara.  Now listen, it takes TIME to break down mascara, it is created to stay on the lash, so please, when you are washing your mascara off, give your oils and cleansers TIME to breakdown the mascara.  I cannot tell you how many clients have come in with supposedly clean lashes and the second I get them on the table, I see mascara that has been sitting on their lash line for days, sometimes a week.  That is not healthy.  

Don't!

4. Don’t put oils on them – it doesn’t really work. A lot of websites claim that using castor oil or olive oil on you lashes will help them grow.  It does not work.  What it DOES do is provide conditioning to your lashes if they are dry, damaged or brittle.  Just like if you use conditioner on your hair.  It will make the hair shaft healthy, but it will not make it grow. 

5. Don’t use waterproof mascara. DO NOT USE WATERPROOF MASCARA.  Do not use waterproof mascara.  Do not use waterproof mascara.  I don’t know how else to say it.  Wait…DO NOT USE WATERPROOF MASCARA.    This product is drying, full of chemicals, and does nothing but damage.  Girl it’s like a bad boyfriend.  Please stop.  The only thing worse than waterproof mascara, is waterproof mascara with…

6. An Eyelash Curler. You’re not a makeup artist, and that’s fine!  I’m not either, but here’s why that matters: you don’t know that you are squeezing TOO TIGHT with your eyelash curler.  Those soft little lash hairs do not need to be squeezed that tight in the curler.  You are causing damage by pulling them out, or breaking them off at the curling point.  Also, everyone has a dominant hand, and I can tell just by looking at someone’s lashes whether they are right-handed or left-handed.  Your dominant side always has a tighter curl.  So one side is curled super tight and one side is not.  Think of it this way, would you try to curl a baby’s lashes if they were straight?  I understand your frustration if you have stick-straight lashes.  In my post on “How to Make Your Lashes Look Longer” if will give you an alternative to using a traditional eyelash curler. 

In conclusion, less is more ladies!  The less we do to those little shafts of hair, and the better care we take of them, the longer and more lush they will be.  So for now, let them be!