Once limited to celebrities and super-models, eyelash extensions have gone mainstream, with everyone from the girl next door to the soccer mom in the bleachers wearing them. Extensions can make eyelashes look longer, fuller and more youthful, not to mention they pretty much eliminate the need for mascara. Who doesn’t want to jump out of bed looking great and ready to take on the day?
But there are a few things you should know before making an appointment with your local aesthetician.
First, get ready for your bank account to take a hit. The average cost for the initial application runs from $150 to $400 or more, with touch-up (recommended every two to three week) will set you back another $75 to $150.
Second, get ready to relax and stay awhile. Unlike applying a strip of false lashes, eyelash extension are painstakingly attached one individual lash at a time. The initial process typically takes around two hours, and touch-up require around an hour.
Third, eyelash extensions are permanent, but then again, they’re not. The process involves gluing the extensions, which could be make of silk, fox, mink, real human hair, or a number of synthetic materials like faux-fox, to your natural lashes. Once attached the extensions are permanently in place. But your natural eyelashes are in a constant cycle of growing in and falling out, and when the eyelash falls out, the extension falls out with it. You typically lose around 20 percent of your eyelashes every month. Hence the need to return to the salon every few weeks for a touch up.