“I think it’s ridiculous when a character wakes up in the morning with lipstick and foundation and contour and fake eyelashes and hair done”
Riley Keough
We are all the main people in our own lives, right? Can’t help waking up with makeup yet, but have great ways to have fabulous lashes 24/7. You already know it’s lash perms and lash lifts.
So all the makeup freaks out there, stuck in the vicious cycle of – “sleep, lash and repeat”, this article on lash perms and lash lifts would be worth reading.
JUMP AHEAD TO
WHAT IS AN EYELASH PERM?
Eyelash perms involve a cosmetologist giving a semi-permanent curl to your lashes using chemicals, much like when you perm your hair.
EYELASH PERM BEFORE & AFTER PICTURE
HOW DOES AN EYELASH PERM WORK?
A lash perm process can change the shape of lashes and their color, depending on whether you want to tint them. As this process includes cosmetologists, the ingredient list is too long to ensure safety and comfort. This may include different shapes of rods, lash perm glue and glue remover, perming solution, neutralizer, collagen conditioner, and glue remover.
And a tint kit usually has an activating solution, color cream, and eye pads. For aftercare and safety measurements, saline solution, eye drops, sterilized gauze pads, barrier films, vaseline, etc., are kept handy.
WHAT CHEMICALS ARE USED IN EYELASH PERMING?
Many of the chemicals used in lash lifts are the same as those used in lash-perming solutions. In fact, most people don’t name it lash perm; probably just a way to dissociate themselves from those chemicals used for hair perming. Even the smell of a perming solution is so harsh that you’ll know it will be harsh.
Organic Compound Thioglycolic acid is what most perming solutions claim to have. Now we talk about ‘organic’ as being healthful and close to nature. Still, in organic chemistry, it means there’s carbon in it. Most of the chemicals and thioglycolic itself have carbon in them. So organic doesn’t necessarily mean close-to-nature.
So what this specific chemical does is it breaks the disulfide bonds of your hair, then rearranges the keratin particles and again creates a new disulfide bond in the shape of the curl you want, just like hair perming.
HOW LONG DOES AN EYELASH PERM LAST?
Eyelash Perms last 4 to 8 weeks, depending on the growth of your eyelashes.
Usually, eyelash perms last the same amount of time it takes for your eyelashes to regrow. So in four to eight weeks, you will feel the Perm leaving your eyelashes because you will lose eyelashes in that time.
90 days or 12 weeks is what takes a perm to completely fade away because that’s when our lashes complete a growth cycle, and we are left with a new batch of lashes. So if you want to re-perm, you better get it done after waiting for 4-8weeks.
HOW OFTEN CAN YOU PERM YOUR EYELASHES?
You need to give at least a 4-6 week break before getting your lashes permed again. Torturing yourself frequently with the same chemicals makes the lashes brittle and frizzy. If all the chemicals break the natural curls, too, then even a manual curler with mascara won’t be able to give curls.
EYELASH PERM COST
The cost of Eyelash Perming depends on numerous factors, for example, the country you’re living in, salon rent, lash perming expert’s expertise, the tools being used, etc.
However, regardless of these factors, average eyelash perming costs between 65 USD and 85 USD.
IS AN EYELASH PERM WORTH IT?
If you have lengthy lashes, to begin with, this will give an eye-changing result. But, apart from the harsh chemicals and adverse side effects, this procedure is an excellent way to make the appearance of eyes larger, open up, and youthful.
Those who don’t like dramatic lashes but still are into extensions won’t be able to distinguish between a perm and an extension most of the time. So, If you have a ” get it, forget it ” attitude, this is undoubtedly your thing to be at peace. These procedures are low maintenance too.
DO EYELASH PERMS DAMAGE LASHES?
YES! frequent eyelash perms damage lashes to the point that they stay wonky and crisscrossed no matter how much you manually curl them or apply mascara to make them straight again.
So, Knowing the damage, many lash technicians admit that lash extensions are a better option than eyelash perms. It’s because you get exactly what you pay for the eyelash extension.
IS IT SAFE TO DO EYELASH PERMING AT HOME?
No!! Lash perming always needs to be done by a cosmetologist.
Eyelash perming is an 80s thing. Back then, only professionals were qualified enough to handle harsh chemicals around the eyes. Even now, you should not do this at home because handling a rod in your eyelid and curling the lashes both at the same time is something that a professional must deal with.
ARE THERE ANY RISKS/SIDE EFFECTS OF EYELASH PERMING?
Several kinds of research were done to analyze the effect of eyelash perm using before and after photos. However, evaluating after day 1 and day 7 of permed lash wear made this study even more effective.
This study showed how the meibomian gland dysfunction occurred and caused flakes in eyelashes. Also, the subjects faced dry eye syndrome, which eventually decreased after 7 days.
HOW TO PREPARE YOURSELF FOR EYELASH PERMING?
To begin with, your beautician would clean up the eye area and ensure no makeup. So you can take the self-preparation by not wearing any eye makeup to the appointment. And if you usually wear contact lenses, you should wear glasses for now.
EXPERT TIPS FOR MAINTAINING EYELASH PERMS
I always go back to that scene from Legally Blonde (The American media franchise )–
“Well isn’t it the first cardinal rule of perm maintenance that you are forbidden to get your hair wet for at least twenty-four hours?”
Eyelash Perm is basically the same thing. Your perm lifeline is dependent mainly on the first 24 hours. After that, you must protect your lashes from every type of moisture. Then you don’t have to worry about your eyelashes anymore.
You can give them extra nutrition if you have already exposed your lashes to highly intense chemicals. A lash serum or essential oils will be great. Lash procedures like this dehydrate the natural lashes. So taking some time out and extra care would lessen all the possible dangers of lash perming.
WHAT IS AN EYELASH LIFT?
Eyelash Lift is basically a revamped version of lash perm.
Lash perms have been around for quite a long time now. An old-school technique with a strong-smelling perm solution and small sticky rods to attach the lashes. Lash lift is a new term instead of lash perm with slight changes. Instead of rods, silicon moulds are used to give the expected curls.
EYELASH LIFT BEFORE & AFTER PICTURE
HOW DOES EYELASH LIFT WORK?
This is less complicated and can be done at home, too, as long as you’re careful. Basically, a silicone mould is adhered to your eyelid. Then all the lashes are brushed straight up on the top of the silicon surface, basically moving the lashes outside the ocular space, and glue is used to keep them in place. Then follows the perm and fixation solutions to give the lashes a long-lasting curl.
WHAT CHEMICALS ARE USED IN EYELASH LIFTS?
The DIY lash lift kits which come with: lash glue, cleanser, nutrition, perm solution, and fixation may generally contain the following ingredients–
- Cleanser – Methylparaben, purified water.
- Lash Glue – Polyacrylate, emulsifier agents, deionized water, ammonium sulfate.
- Nutrition – Propylene glycol.
- Fixation – Purified water, Polyacrylamide, methylparaben, propylene glycol,
- Perm – Propylene glycol, Polyacrylamide, Purified water, Thioglycolic acid.
HOW LONG DOES AN EYELASH LIFT LAST?
Eyelash Lift lasts the same as an eyelash perm: 4-8 weeks lasting time and 12 weeks to completely fade away.
The chemicals used in eyelash lift permanently reshape the lash hairs. However, still, it’s called semi-permanent because the effect stays as long as your lash stays. The new lashes won’t be permed or lifted anymore. So now, if you have stick-straight lashes, your beautician may suggest you get them done again after 6 weeks.
HOW OFTEN CAN YOU LIFT YOUR EYELASHES?
After getting a lash lift, you must wait at least one month. If you got a lash lift but were unsatisfied with the outcome, you cannot do this twice!
Just like lash perm, lash lift has similar harsh chemicals too. A professional can get you your desired lash, but at home, you may not be able to get that. That doesn’t mean you’d do the same process repeatedly on the same day or week. Or else you’ll have to wander around with flat lashes for a month or two cause they’ll be so weak and lose their natural curls.
But some beauticians think the more consistent you are with a lash lift, the longer the lashes will stay curled. So, the longer you use lash lifts, the more you will likely benefit from them. It may be conditioning your lashes and training them to stay in that curled state. So they suggest getting a lift redone after 6-8 weeks.
EYELASH LIFT COST
Eyelash perming and lifting prices fluctuate for similar reasons: where you live, the cost of renting a salon, the skill and experience of the lash perming specialist, the quality of the equipment used, etc.
However, regardless of these factors, average eyelash perming costs between 100 USD to 150 USD.
IS AN EYELASH LIFT WORTH IT?
The way eyelash lifts are hyped up these days proves its worth. This never fails to astonish people after seeing how voluminous their lashes can be. Different silicon moulds can give different shapes to the lashes, so you can try them out no matter what type of lashes you have.
The DIY lash lift claims to work for one month every time, and you can use them fifteen times. So one purchase can last up to 15 months which is pretty low maintenance.
Besides the cons, getting a lift is totally up to you. Here’s what people from the internet have to say about lash lifts–
DO EYELASH LIFTS DAMAGE YOUR LASHES?
Yes, they do. I’ve seen lash technicians claim that the chemicals used in perming solution and fixations are very low and mainly purified water-based. But still, you can’t excuse the fact that the natural lashes become thinner for the rest of the time until they fall out.
For example, bleached hair stays rough and brittle if you don’t cut it. The more you are into lash lifting, the more the damage is. Your lash is 100% getting damaged if you don’t take any initiative to nourish them, like using serum or oils.
IS IT SAFE TO DO EYELASH LIFTING AT HOME?
With lash lift kits, you can do lash lifts on your own.
According to the ingredient list mentioned above for the lash lift kits, it can be very harmful if it goes inside your eye. But being cautious will give you a fabulous lash lift effect. Trying to do lash lifts by yourself is challenging at times. Thereby, you should have to be very careful.
ARE THERE ANY RISKS/SIDE EFFECTS OF EYELASH LIFTING?
According to certified ophthalmologist Dr. Rupa Wong, the potential complications could be getting chemicals in your eyes. Considering how the silicon pads are placed, the perming or neutralizer solution can easily sip in.
Also, the eyelid skin is the thinnest in your body, making it susceptible to allergic reactions like red, blistered skin. Lastly, you could get perforation of the cornea, possibly even blindness. Now that is not common at all but a potential complication only.
HOW TO PREPARE YOURSELF FOR EYELASH LIFTING?
The same of eyelash perming goes with lash lifting too. You have to start with a clean eye surface. Or you can ask for a cleanser/makeup remover from your beautician and do the cleaning yourself. Don’t wear contacts for the time being.
EXPERT TIPS FOR MAINTAINING EYELASH LIFTS
The biggest expert tip a lash professional wants you to remember is not to get your lashes wet for 24 hours. So that means no swimming, sweating, makeup, trying not to shower, etc. You can wipe your face but be careful.
At first, you should be aware of not rubbing the eyes or sleeping on the side, as these will make the lashes look wonky. Then, you can use serums or conditioners afterward; the best thing you can do.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EYELASH PERMS & EYELASH LIFTS
| EYELASH PERMS | CRITERION | EYELASH LIFTS |
| Not FDA approved. | FDA APPROVAL | FDA approved. |
| An old way of curling lashes only focuses on reshaping the structure of eyelashes. | TREND | New trend and preferably less complicated. Known to fuse the lashes with vitamins, and nourishing agents too. |
| Requires a cosmetologist. | REQUIREMENT | Can be done by a beautician or DIYed at home. |
| A cylinder-shaped rod is used and this needs proper handling even if glue is used to attach it to the lids. | MAIN INGREDIENTS | A silicone-shaped mould, similar to the eyelid, is used which comes in three different shapes depending on what curve you want. |
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN KERATIN EYELASH LIFT & REGULAR EYELASH LIFT
| KERATIN LASH LIFTS | CRITERION | REGULAR LASH LIFTS |
| Keratin lash lift is the treatment itself. | TREATMENT? | Not a treatment, done for aesthetic purposes. |
| Claims to be non-toxic, formalin, paraben, formaldehyde, and cruelty-free. | TOXICITY | Has most of these harsh chemicals. |
| This treatment is known to give length, and density, boost natural lashes and improve cilia. | PURPOSE | Gives a good lift to the lashes but the wrong application process ruins the eyelashes and makes them brittle to the point that they can’t even hold curls. |
FINAL THOUGHTS
That’s all you need to know about perming and lifting your eyelashes before you get it done.
Though the cons are on the bigger side than the pros, that’s how these procedures are. It’s totally up to you if you want to give it a try.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
CAN I WEAR MASCARA ON MY PERMED EYELASHES?
ANSWER: Yes, you can, but not before 24 hours.
Any moisture before 24 hours would damage the lash perm, so you can’t wear mascara. Also, you may want to wait up to 48 hours for full aftercare. Mascara needs a good cleaning, so applying mascara right after will only increase the hustle.
CAN I WEAR EYELINER ON MY PERMED EYELASHES?
ANSWER: Yes, you sure can but after 24 hours of perming. An eyelash perm with tint gives off a tightening effect, so avoid eyeliner for the time being.
CAN I WEAR MASCARA ON MY LIFTED EYELASHES?
ANSWER: Of course! But you have to wait up to 24 hours to 48 hours.
CAN I WEAR EYELINER ON MY LIFTED EYELASHES?
ANSWER: Sure, you can, but not right after getting a lash lift. So instead, give your lash lift 24 hours, then proceed with whatever makeup you want.
