How do eyelash extensions work? Everything you need to know about the A-list's biggest beauty secret
Reporter Claire Hubble headed to Total Body Care in Clapham, London, to find find out how does eyelash extensions, and the A List-approved way to get a flirtatious flutter without the labour of a mascara brush.
The saying goes that the eyes area unit the windows to the soul. If that’s the case then I, a woman of rather underwhelming eyelashes, must live in a shabby shack with old bedclothes in place of curtains.
Like many other women before me, I have always lusted after long, dark lashes. Aged 13 I dragged a Collection 2000 mascara brush across my eyes, at 16 I dabbled in the sticky world of strip lashes and at 19 I went through a weird phase of wearing falsies every day. Yet both false lashes and daily mascara application left me wanting more – a permanent solution to my burning desire for fluttery eyes from morning to night.
Before (left) and after (right) (Claire Hubble/PA)
A solution favoured by the A-list is eyelash extensions, the process of attaching a tiny eyelash-length fibre – either made of mink hair or plastic – to your real eyelash for a beautiful, thick and fuller flutter.
But like most cult beauty treatments, eyelash extensions come with a whole set of rumoured consequences. Several people told me that the lashes would stunt the length of my real beloved eyelashes, or cause my lashes to fall out altogether. Concerned about living with totally bald eyes in the foreseeable future, I bombarded my lovely beautician, Sarah, with a barrage of questions on the fate of my already sparse lashes.
Sarah assured me that the extensions wouldn’t cause my lashes to totally disintegrate or fall off in clumps, but both lash and extension would eventually fall off. That’s because your natural lashes are always falling out – they’re just so tiny that we don’t notice most of the time.
This is the reason that most beauticians will suggest coming for a “refill” session every two to three weeks, although if you keep your lashes in good nick and make sure your aftercare is impeccable, they’ll last even longer than that.
Before (Claire Hubble/PA)
On Sarah’s recommendation, my naturally fair lashes also got a tint treatment, ensuring that they blended in perfectly with the black extensions. Being the eyelash tinting virgin that I was, I didn’t realise how much difference dying my extremely fair lashes alone would make. If you’re already blessed with the long lashes of a goddess, you might be able to ditch the mascara for good and tint your lashes instead.
Once my top and bottom lashes were sufficiently dark, Sarah washed off the dark and set about covering my bottom lashes up with a cotton pad to make it easier to see only my top lashes.
Sarah assured me that the majority of her clients fall asleep at this point. “Most women are snoring on the table,” she quipped, while I internally scoffed at the thought of someone falling asleep while somebody else fiddled around with their eyelids using sharp tools. Within minutes I, like many eyelash enthusiasts before me, had drifted off into the land of nod.
Around an hour later, I awoke as Sarah was applying the finishing touches to my new fluttery lashes.
After (Claire Hubble/PA)
If Sarah hadn’t recommended keeping my eyelashes as dry as possible, I might have teared up with pride. At long last, my eyes were framed with the long, black frames of my dream. I might not have gone for the high-level glam of the Kardashian clan (who have extensions both on their top AND bottom lashes, by the way), but I love the fact that these extensions are subtle enough to look homegrown.
And finally the part you’ve all been scrolling frantically to find out: the cost. A full set of lashes will set you back £45 at Total Body Care, but at other lash, bars can charge up to £90 for the same thing. Infills after your first set range from £20 to £30, which makes these a hefty chunk more expensive than your average tube of mascara. That said, the thought of emerging from the Adriatic Sea without having to fret about streaky mascara abseiling down my face on my holiday jaunt to Croatia in a few weeks time has me already raring to book my top-up appointment.
Reporter Claire Hubble headed to Total Body Care in Clapham, London, to find find out how does eyelash extensions, and the A List-approved way to get a flirtatious flutter without the labour of a mascara brush.
The saying goes that the eyes area unit the windows to the soul. If that’s the case then I, a woman of rather underwhelming eyelashes, must live in a shabby shack with old bedclothes in place of curtains.
Like many other women before me, I have always lusted after long, dark lashes. Aged 13 I dragged a Collection 2000 mascara brush across my eyes, at 16 I dabbled in the sticky world of strip lashes and at 19 I went through a weird phase of wearing falsies every day. Yet both false lashes and daily mascara application left me wanting more – a permanent solution to my burning desire for fluttery eyes from morning to night.
Before (left) and after (right) (Claire Hubble/PA)
A solution favoured by the A-list is eyelash extensions, the process of attaching a tiny eyelash-length fibre – either made of mink hair or plastic – to your real eyelash for a beautiful, thick and fuller flutter.
But like most cult beauty treatments, eyelash extensions come with a whole set of rumoured consequences. Several people told me that the lashes would stunt the length of my real beloved eyelashes, or cause my lashes to fall out altogether. Concerned about living with totally bald eyes in the foreseeable future, I bombarded my lovely beautician, Sarah, with a barrage of questions on the fate of my already sparse lashes.
Sarah assured me that the extensions wouldn’t cause my lashes to totally disintegrate or fall off in clumps, but both lash and extension would eventually fall off. That’s because your natural lashes are always falling out – they’re just so tiny that we don’t notice most of the time.
This is the reason that most beauticians will suggest coming for a “refill” session every two to three weeks, although if you keep your lashes in good nick and make sure your aftercare is impeccable, they’ll last even longer than that.
Before (Claire Hubble/PA)
On Sarah’s recommendation, my naturally fair lashes also got a tint treatment, ensuring that they blended in perfectly with the black extensions. Being the eyelash tinting virgin that I was, I didn’t realise how much difference dying my extremely fair lashes alone would make. If you’re already blessed with the long lashes of a goddess, you might be able to ditch the mascara for good and tint your lashes instead.
Once my top and bottom lashes were sufficiently dark, Sarah washed off the dark and set about covering my bottom lashes up with a cotton pad to make it easier to see only my top lashes.
Sarah assured me that the majority of her clients fall asleep at this point. “Most women are snoring on the table,” she quipped, while I internally scoffed at the thought of someone falling asleep while somebody else fiddled around with their eyelids using sharp tools. Within minutes I, like many eyelash enthusiasts before me, had drifted off into the land of nod.
Around an hour later, I awoke as Sarah was applying the finishing touches to my new fluttery lashes.
After (Claire Hubble/PA)
If Sarah hadn’t recommended keeping my eyelashes as dry as possible, I might have teared up with pride. At long last, my eyes were framed with the long, black frames of my dream. I might not have gone for the high-level glam of the Kardashian clan (who have extensions both on their top AND bottom lashes, by the way), but I love the fact that these extensions are subtle enough to look homegrown.
And finally the part you’ve all been scrolling frantically to find out: the cost. A full set of lashes will set you back £45 at Total Body Care, but at other lash, bars can charge up to £90 for the same thing. Infills after your first set range from £20 to £30, which makes these a hefty chunk more expensive than your average tube of mascara. That said, the thought of emerging from the Adriatic Sea without having to fret about streaky mascara abseiling down my face on my holiday jaunt to Croatia in a few weeks time has me already raring to book my top-up appointment.
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