Do you know the feeling? Your heart is bursting with pride as you look down on a finished set of lashes. They look perfect. So after taking great photos you send the happy client home and settle down to smooth her skin to create a gorgeous IG post.
URGH!!!
Whaaaaat is that? …the inner corners... they look incomplete and a mess! I can't post that gorgeous set on IG now. How did I miss that?
This was me. Perfectionist. Moving from an divine high to a gut-wrenching low within 1 second. If you can relate this article is for you. I’m going to speak about the inner lashes mostly but the same principle applies for the outer corners. Here are a few tips that have saved my relationship with inner lash corners.
Tip #1- PMI start with a Positive Mental Attitude. Calm your nerves and take your time. Your client doesn’t know how long you need to take isolating a single inner lash vs a central lash. If you are anything like I was, I somehow believed that if I take a few seconds longer at isolating one lash than another, my client might think something is wrong. That inner critic is at play. It’s nonsense. Some areas take longer and that’s just a fact.
Tip #2- Less is better. This only applies to bottom lash taping and gel pads of course! All you need to isolate the bottom lashes is 1 lint free gel pad and 2 strips of tape. If you are using more then you're over doing it! When placing a lint-free gel pad under the eye to isolate the bottom lashes, only cover 2/3 of the bottom lashes no high up along the tear line. 2 single strips of tape angled in a wide arrow shape should suffice to keep the pads in place and bottom lashes away. I prefer gel pads that have a flatter curvature. This plays a big role by the outer eye corners. I find a gel pad with too tight of a curve, tends to cut into the outer of the eyes and cause watering and gel thickening. I cut my pads to be more straight. Tape the 2 strips of tape, one on the outer and one on the inner sides. If the bottom lashes pop out during lashing, then just remove the tape and add a new one. Don’t pile up the bottom lash tape like a pile of books and expect there to be space to lash. The build-up of thick gel pads and then more tape and more tape makes it more difficult. If your clients has extremely deep set eyes, and you use thick gel eye pads, consider using thin pads or even only cellophane with micropore tape.
TIP#3- Start lashing at your weakest area first while you are calm and motivated. Don’t allow possible frustration or anxiety to build up because you've left the more difficult areas for last. Resulting with densely lashed areas and sparse inners/outers. A good set has a consistent amount of lashes throughout.
TIP #4- Horizontal not Vertical lid taping. Time to tackle those inners! We want to lift those inners up and out. Cut your transpore or durapore tape in a strip that’s no wider than 5 mm. Fold the top end over so you have a tab at the ends to easily pull off again. Instead of taping the lid up vertically towards the eyebrow, place the tape almost horizontal aligned with the lash line. Pull the thin strip of tape from nose towards the outer of the eyelid. This is the golden tip. The inner corners will pop up from their cozy little inner nest. Lift only enough to expose all the inner lashes. P.S. Ensure you have removed the skin oils off the eyelids at the beginning of your service because it’s frustrating and finicky to get in the tight corners as it is, you don't want the tape to lift off. Once you have completed the inners of both eyes, please remove the top tape and let the lids go back down to its natural placement, so you can continue lashing in the angle you plan to.
TIP #5- Use a shorter Length & Softer Curl- My favourite length for inner corners is a 7 mm or 8 mm. Anything longer tends to be heavy especially when creating volume. The natural lashes here are weaker and a floppy heavy inner extension is a tell-tale sign of inexperience. The inner corners also deserve a lesser tight curl. If you are mixing up your curls, then use the lesser curl on the inner. This doesn’t apply to the outer corners. Personally with most sets, I use B or C curls for my inner. Very seldom do I use L, CC or D for inners.
Keep practicing my friend, and don’t be afraid of even lifting the inners, placing, waiting to dry and putting down again. There is no hard and fast rule except less exposure of the eye membrane to the adhesive the better. I hope these hints help. Please let me know if my tricks work for you.
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