At Home Lash Kits and Lash Health: A Definitive Guide

 

Looks simple, doesn't it?

A lash kit that promises salon quality lash extensions at home for a fraction of the price sounds tempting, especially if you've considered lash extensions but aren't quite ready for the commitment or you're an avid beauty DIY'er. The average wear time is 1-2 weeks without any sort of maintenance or fuss. The companies that manufacture and sell these kits promise safety and ease of use. The reality, however, is something a little more complex and a quite a bit more dangerous. 

Cluster lashes vs professional lash extensions

The main difference between the at-home kits and professional extensions is the size of the lash and the amount of natural lashes attached to the fan. The at-home kit lashes are attached to either the underside or on top of the lash line. This means the extension is secured to multiple lashes. Professionally applied lash extensions are secured to a single lash, one fan or extension to one natural lash. The base is pointed and the natural lashes are carefully isolated so the fan is secured permanently. With DIY lash extensions applied like this we encounter a few problems when worn for more than 2 days. Unfortunately, the appeal of these kits is the amount of time they can be worn without maintenance. To be worn safely, without risking eye infections and permanent natural lash loss these extensions must be removed, thoroughly cleaned, and repositioned every 2 days. Professional extensions can be worn for extended periods of time because they can be cleansed easily and are attached in such a way that they don't pull or damage natural lashes. Let's start with cleansing...

DIY lash extensions at 3 days.

If you look closely at these lashes you'll see that because of the size of the base and the way they're attached it's impossible to thoroughly cleanse in between them. The natural lashes are damaged and there's build up at the lash line. Eye secretions dry and stick in between the clusters, natural lashes, and lash line. The only way to reach it is by removing the lashes and then cleansing. Using a brush will remove visible crust, but even aggressive cleansing will still leave build up because it's impossible to reach it all without removal of the clusters. Forcefully cleansing lashes will ultimately lead to stress on the natural lash, ripping it out and damaging the follicle. When lashes are pulled and not naturally shed the follicle will become damaged and eventually quit growing lashes. The tight spaces allow bacteria and lash mites to thrive. Yes, lash mites. An overgrowth of bacteria and mites can cause not only infections, but also conditions like blepharitis and worse-case scenario, blindness. 

Professional lash extension attachment at 3 weeks.

This picture was taken at a client's three week fill. This fan was removed, as it had grown out and was ready to have a new extension applied. Notice how clean it is and how the natural lash isn't damaged? The professionally applied lash extension fan is tapered at the base so that gentle cleansing can wash away bacteria and debris easily. This makes the lash extension able to shed with the natural lash growth cycle. One extension to one natural lash.

The lash growth cycle

You typically lose between 3-7 natural lashes a day when they complete their growth cycle. The last stage of the cycle, the telogen phase, ends when a new lash pushes the old lash out of the follicle and takes it's place. Then, the anagen phase begins and it all happens again. Ideally, a lash isn't pulled out early while it's attached in the follicle, so the cycle can continue uninterrupted with a lash always growing and detaching when ready. All of your lashes are in different phases of the growth cycle at all times. We get a completely new set of natural lashes every 6-8 weeks. With between 90-150+ lashes per eye that's a lot of shedding and growth. 

DIY lash kits attach a cluster to multiple natural lashes. This means the first day you have multiple natural lashes supporting the extensions and evenly distributing the weight. With every passing day you've shed enough lashes that the full weight of the extension is supported by fewer and fewer lashes, pulling out and putting stress on the remaining lashes, all of which are all growing at different rates. You have a finite amount of lashes that will grow out of a follicle. When a lash is pulled out it damages the interior of that follicle and it loses the ability to grow healthy lashes. These clusters are incredibly heavy, much heavier than a professionally attached lash extension. Even if the clusters were carefully applied to a single lash it would be much too heavy and the lash would be pulled out and follicle damaged. Wider clusters attach to more lashes and do exceptional amounts of damage. Unless it's a 1:1 ratio and a proper weight, it's not if it will do damage, but how much damage it will ultimately do.

Damage from less than one year of at home lash kits

These photos were taken during a consultation with a potential lash extension client. She explained that she had been doing her own lashes from a kit and wanted to know if I could disguise the damage with lash extensions. At this point the damage was so extensive that I couldn't do anything for her except send her home with a tube of lash serum and have her come in if/when her lashes grew back. You can see where the heaviest lashes were on the outer corner. This is common, as a lot of people want a cat-eye effect and have the thickest and longest length applied here. The bald spots on her eyelid will likely never grow back. You can see a few anagen hairs popping up, but there should be 10 times as many. The follicles have been permanently damaged. She also had buildup and crust at the lash line. I'd like it if I never saw anyone with damage like this again. The sad truth is, this isn't an isolated incident. Most of the time people don't realize the extent of the damage being done because they're replacing the lashes as often as they fall off. It's when there aren't any lashes left for the clusters to hold on to or obvious gaps that they finally inquire about professional extensions. 

So, can at-home lash kits that promise up to 14 days of wear be used safely?

In short, no. At least not in the way that makes these kits appealing. They can be worn safely for a maximum of two days. At that point they need to be fully removed, cleansed, and repositioned. I've seen some of the better kits (the ones you see influencers and YouTubers review and promote) that cost roughly the same as a full set of professional lash extensions, with refills and new lashes being the average price of a lash extension fill. If you're removing and cleansing these in a safe way these clusters will only last a few weeks maximum, the average time between lash extension fills. There are cheaper ones available, but these tend to look spidery and well, cheap. Similar to a Wish wig for your eyeballs.

How can companies sell these if they're doing damage?

In all honesty, they don't care. At the end of the day they don't have to look you in the face. These companies and manufacturers aren't concerned if your eyelashes get torn out. They're banking on you continuing to purchase their product because you'll need to buy more when your lashes are damaged. If you wear their kits for any amount of time you probably won't notice your lashes getting sparse because they're covered up and when you do finally remove the lashes it's such a stark contrast you wonder if your lashes always looked like that. 

Don't professional lash extensions do damage too?

No, they absolutely don't have to. When properly applied and maintained (daily cleansing, no tugging or pulling on them), lash extensions will not damage your natural lashes. Find a lash artist who is professionally trained and licensed. When the fans or individual lashes are applied to a single lash in a reasonable weight your lashes can thrive under extensions. 

The picture on the bottom right was taken right after a removal on a client who was getting a fresh set. 

Natural lashes after a year of professional volume lash extensions

Lash and eye health is gorgeous. It's more important than cheap lashes. I often see the unfortunate consequences too late when the damage has been done. If you have any questions feel free to comment below.

-Beauty Geek