Lash extensions or doing it yourself: which one suits you?
At Boozyshop you will not find lash extensions, because that is a salon treatment and not a product you take out of a box at home. What you will find here are the at home versions that come closest: DIY cluster lashes, pre glued lashes and serums for your own lashes.
Below you read how they differ, so you do not book a two hour treatment when a ten minute set does exactly what you are after.
What are lash extensions?
During an extension treatment a stylist attaches one or more synthetic hairs to each of your own lashes, with an adhesive that lasts for weeks. You lie still for one and a half to two hours, and after that you come back every two to three weeks for a refill, because your own lashes shed naturally and take the extension with them.
That staying power is the big advantage. You wake up with lashes and you no longer need mascara. The downside is that you do not decide when they come off, that you have to keep them dry for the first few hours and that you must not tug at them. Removing them yourself almost always goes wrong, so you need the salon for that too.
DIY cluster lashes, the closest thing to extensions
Cluster lashes are small fans of five to ten hairs. You do not place them on your eyelid but underneath your own lash line, which makes them look like extensions rather than a strip. With a little practice a set takes a quarter of an hour, and with the right adhesive it stays put for several days up to a week.
This is the version you go for if you want the effect of extensions without the appointment. You decide per eye how many clusters you use, so you can make the outer corner heavier and leave the inner corner open.
The Lola's Lashes Fluffy Russian DIY set is built for exactly this way of working, with a bonder and a sealer included.
If you want to test the water first, the Kiss Falscara wisps are a gentler way in.
The rest is in cluster lashes.
Pre glued lashes, when it has to be quick
Pre glued lashes already have the adhesive on the band. You take them off the card, press them on and you are done. No tube, no waiting for the glue to turn tacky, no smudges on your eyelid.
They stay on for less time than cluster lashes, usually a day, and that is exactly what they are made for. For a night out or a wedding where you were still at work at five, they are the easiest route to lashes. The full range is in pre glued lashes.
Glue and remover, where it usually goes wrong
Whether cluster lashes stay put depends more on the adhesive than on the lashes. A thin layer that you let dry for ten to fifteen seconds until it is tacky works better than a thick layer you press on straight away. Apply it to the band, not to your eyelid.
Never pull them off at the end of the day. Your own lashes come with them, and that is the main reason people think false lashes damage your lashes. A remover dissolves the adhesive so the clusters come away on their own.
Growing your own lashes
A serum works on a different timescale than everything above. You see nothing on the day itself, but after six to twelve weeks of daily application along the lash line your own lashes are fuller. That is useful if you alternate with false lashes, because then you have something to show on the days without them too.
Combining is fine. A serum on your own lashes does not get in the way of cluster lash adhesive, as long as you use it in the evening and your lashes are clean first. The full range is in lash serum.
The differences at a glance
- How long they stay. Extensions weeks, cluster lashes days up to a week, pre glued a day.
- How long it takes. Extensions one and a half to two hours in the salon, cluster lashes a quarter of an hour at home, pre glued a minute.
- Who does it. Extensions a stylist, the other two you.
- Removal. Extensions in the salon, cluster lashes with a remover, pre glued you peel off carefully.
- Upkeep. Extensions a refill every two to three weeks, the other two none.
How to choose
If you want weeks without thinking about it and a salon visit is no obstacle, extensions are what you are after. If you want the effect but not the appointment, start with cluster lashes and a separate adhesive. If it has to be tonight and you have never applied lashes before, go for pre glued. And if you want to move away from false lashes in the long run, let a serum do its work while you use the rest.
Still torn between separate clusters and a full strip? Have a look at false eyelashes to see what else there is.