Hey y’all!

So to start off, its actually been a while since I got my first lash lift — I actually wrote this post in late November, however, I had all my next few posts already planned out until January so I decided to save it for a little later on. No worries, though — I wrote this just hours after may appointment so it was all still fresh in my mind! So, if you’ve been curious about lash lifts in the past, hopefully this answers a few of your questions!

Research First!

Something that’s important to consider before any serious beauty appointment is to look into the best, safest places to get your procedure done. This goes for all kinds of related things; such as microblading, injections, lash extensions, facials, etc. It might seem a little excessive, but since lash lifting deals with your (very sensitive) eye area, you really want a pro doing it. Better safe than sorry, am I right?

After looking into it a little, I found a nearby aesthetician who came highly rated and really only specialized in lash lifting (which was reassuring to me, since it meant she would be highly skilled and well-practiced). If you live in Vancouver, you can find her at Yumi Studios and if you’re thinking of trying this procedure out, I couldn’t recommend her more. She was extremely professional and gentle, and my lashes turned out WAY better than lash lifts usually look in photos.

The Lash Lift

The day of, I showed up sans-makeup and contacts, as recommended. If you’re getting this done, I’d also definitely suggest washing your hair and face beforehand, as you aren’t supposed to wet your lashes for the following 24-48 hours.

When I showed up at Yumi Studios (which was run out of the aesthetician’s apartment) I took in my surroundings and was impressed by the cleanliness and professional vibes from the space — which is really important to me before I trust someone with my lashes. She had me lie down and get comfortable on a bed complete with support pillows and a heating pad — which was super nice considering she told me to expect the appointment would be about two hours long.

If you’ve never heard about lash lifts before, they’re essentially little perms for your lashes with tinting to follow. They essentially make it appear as if you have the worlds longest, most healthiest lashes (and eliminate the need for mascara!). They don’t give quite as dramatic an effect as lash extensions do, but unlike lash extensions, they’re fairly low maintenance, less damaging, and they don’t look so obvious as they fall out. (Plus, I’m waaaaay too in love with false lashes to ever give up on them).

The procedure starts off with placing little rubber covers over your eyelids, and brushing your lashes up onto them. From there, several layers of different products are applied to help curl and tint your lashes. Majority of the reason it takes so long to complete is that there’s a lot of sitting around waiting for products to work their magic — as well as the time and care my aesthetician spent brushing my lashes perfectly into place.

My two biggest fears going into this were being allergic to the products, and it being uncomfortable having someone touch my eyes. However, I can safely say now I had nothing to be worried about. I do have a tendency to be really sensitive to products, so when the perm chemicals were applied to my lashes caused my lash line to tingle a little, I started to freak out a bit internally. However, this feeling was little more than a tingle (it really didn’t hurt at all), and went away after a couple of minutes. By the time I was done, my eyes were not the least bit sore, red, or swollen — I figured they would be at least a little irritated, but that was not the case. If you’re considering this for yourself, be sure to do a little research on the products your aesthetician uses beforehand if you’re sensitive/allergic to certain chemicals and materials. All the products used on my eyes today were 100% natural and vegan — however, some places use a lot harsher and unnatural chemicals to create the permed curl. However, as long as it’s a safe, clean environment and you don’t have any specific sensitivities, you should be just fine.

As for the whole part where someone had their hands around my eyes for two hours — it really wasn’t uncomfortable at all! In fact, I actually found it pretty relaxing. My aesthetician was so incredibly gentle, I never once felt any discomfort. I know people say lash lifts and extensions are no where near as uncomfortable as you’d expect — but you don’t really realize how true that is until you take the leap for yourself.

The Benefits

So, why lash lifts? They’re still a pretty new and uncommon procedure, especially compared to lash extensions or tinting. However, I have a couple reasons for choosing this specific procedure.

First off, compared to lash tinting — lash lifts have all the benefits of this procedure and more. As someone who has rather long, blond, straight lashes, a lash tint would probably help my lashes appear a little more full, but wouldn’t do much for me otherwise. Seriously, without an eyelash curler my lashes are straight as a pole — if I apply mascara without curling them first, they still hardly even appear. If you have naturally beautiful and curled lashes, tinting would likely work a lot better for you overall. I, on the other hand, never realized how long my lashes actually were until today — but I’m loving their new look!

Second of all, why not extensions? I have a few reasons for that, honestly. First of all, lash extensions are SO high maintenance. While you only have to go in for touch ups on a lash lift every 2-3 months, lash extensions more a less have to be touched up every couple weeks. As well, there’s so much extra care involved — you have to constantly brush out your lashes, avoid getting them wet, and you can’t even sleep on your stomach — which I’m incapable of not doing. Lash lifts, on the other hand, require much less maintenance — you’re supposed to brush them out occasionally over the first 48 hours, and avoid wetting them, but after that you’re good to go. It’s recommended you add serum or castor oil to your nightly routine as well — but I already did that, so its nothing additional to my current day-to-day.

Lash extensions can also be incredibly damaging to your natural lashes, unlike lifting. Basically everyone I know has or had lash extensions, but I’ve had so many friends complain or had to stop over damage to their lashes. The extensions falling out can often cause your real lashes to fall out — and potentially damage the hair follicle below. Once your lash lift is complete, your lashes will continue to fall out in their regular cycle — meaning there should be no damage done afterwards.

Finally, and to me, most importantly — you’re really not supposed to wear makeup with lash extensions. Excess water or scrubbing can cause them to fall off, which means you have to be SUPER careful if you’re removing makeup, or even washing your face. While I could maybe forgo eye makeup on a regular day with extensions, I really wouldn’t want to give up doing my eyeshadow and liner on occasion. With lash lifts, after 24 hours you’re good to go live life and apply makeup as normal — which is a huge plus for me. Does all this mean I’m never going to try lash extensions? Maybe, maybe not. But for right now, getting a lift makes to most sense for my own personal lifestyle. That being said, if you have lash extensions or are thinking of trying them, by all means go for it! However, if you’re looking for something a little lower maintenance, maybe lash lifting is exactly what you need.

The Results

Honestly, I was blown away when I looked at myself in the mirror following my procedure. I honestly couldn’t stop staring at my new lashes, as self-absorbed as that may seem. Not only did they look fantastic, they looked incredibly natural — my lashes actually appeared longer than they do with just mascara, plus there’s no clumping whatsoever. While it does lack the added volume of mascara, you can always apply it on top anyway — but the tint and spread of my lashes makes them look fuller than they ever have naturally. Overall, I was just completely blown away — I already know I’m going to go back the second my natural lashes start to grow back in.

The best part about writing this post so far in advance is that I also get to share with you how my lift lasted with time! So now lets jump ahead to the future — it’s now been a few months since my first lift, and I’m officially sold for life. Even though it doesn’t give as intense an effect as lash extensions (especially since my normal lashes are a little sparse) it definitely helps with avoiding daily makeup and just overall makes my lashes look curled and beautiful and makes me look fresh and awake. I absolutely love this treatment and I’m absolutely sure I’m going to be getting them for a loooooong time to come.

And there you have it! If you’ve been curious about lash lifting, or didn’t even know what it was previously, I hope you learned a lot from this post! (As well, if you’re located in Vancouver, be sure to check out my lash tech, Jag Sangara-Gill, she really was the best!). If you’ve been considering getting this procedure done and have more questions for me about my experience, be sure to drop a comment, message, or reach me on twitter at @lifewmeredith.

I hope you guys all had a lovely week, and have had a great start to the new year! Stay tuned for my next Favourites post coming this Thursday.

Xo,

Meredith