| Product: |
i-Lash Designer Extensions |
| Date: |
11/07/08 (331 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Look good for a few days, not as expensive as other brands
Disadvantages: Only last 2 weeks, after a few days look obvious, weigh your lashes down and loosen at the bonds
I am going to talk about these eyelash extensions from two points of view, the therapist and the customer as I do eyelash extensions and also have them done. I have used both these and Hollywood Lash Extensions, you will see throughout this review that I favour Hollywood Lashes and you will read why.
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About i~lash Designer Eyelash Extensions
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i-lash Designer Eyelash Extensions are one of the most well known brands of semi-permenant eyelash extensions, that are mainly available in the UK. The eyelashes are made of individual polyester strands that are supposed to be shaped to fit the natural lash. As with all semi-permenant eyelash extensions, they are individually attached to each lash. i-lash Designer Eyelash Extensions boast lasting up to 2 months, with regular maintenances. Individual lash extensions provide you with a fuller, thicker and longer look.
Individual Lash Extensions originated in Asia and since the introduction of the treatment to the UK, its popularity has escalated as more and more salons offer the treatment.
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Training
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i-lash Designer provide a comprehensive one day training programme for fully qualified beauty therapists with an NVQ Level 2. The course is slightly longer than others and runs from 10am until 6pm so is a fairly intense day. In the course you are taught all that you need to know including the procedure, problems that could occur, contra-indications, health and safety and the maintenance routine. They can come out to the salon, for an additional cost or you can attend one of their workshops at one of their training venues. Their current training venues are London and Leeds and they usually have one course running a month. With the training you will also recieve a manual explaining the procedure, this is very useful when you are first getting used to the treatment. Another difference between this course and others is that you must bring your own model for half of the day to do treatments on, I always find this difficult to get someone who is able to do this. Each class only holds 4 students, which is great as you get more attention from the tutor and it is easier to learn in a smaller group. The course will cost you about £495 (+VAT) including a kit and if you want to train more than one person, you get a discount, and only have to pay £100 per additional student, so if you are training a whole salon this does save you quite a lot. If you are looking for the training to be done in your salon you are looking to pay £585 (+VAT) plus including the kit. i-lash Designer Eyelash Extensions
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Products
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Most i-lash Designer eyelash extension products are assembled in the UK, but some are selected from overseas manufacturers. i-lash Designer offer a wide variety of sizes and colours of eyelashes. You can get the lashes in Black, Dark Brown, Green, Red, Blue, Purple, Pink, Orange, White, Red-Wine and Blonde but black is by the far the most popular. You can purchase pots of different sized lashes, lash remover and adhesive. All the products are priced competively and aren't unreasonbable.
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Your Natural Lashes
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Just a quick bit of information about your natural eyelashes, so you can understand how long they last and why, and also why you can only attach a certain amount of extensions.
The human eyelash growns between 7-9mm in length and they are located in distinct rows on the eyelid. There are 90-160 eyelashes on the upper eyelid whilst the lower eyelid has only 75-80 eyelashes. The eyelashes on the upper eyelid are coarser and longer than the eyelashes on the lower lid. The eyelash grows for approximately 30 days and then rests for the rest of its life. An average life span of the eyelash is approximately 3 months, this is why Hollywood Lashes can last no longer than this, as it is attached to your own lash. For applying the extensions, the eyelashes are split into 3 categories:
Mature - These are the longest eyelashes that are fully grow and could be prone to falling out at any time.
Premature - The premature eyelash is relatively new growth and has appeared through the eyelid by pushing out a mature eyelash. These eyelashes are very short and weak and not yet strong enough to carry an eyelash extension.
Healthy - The healthy eyelash has been growing for 2-4 weeks and is now strong enough to carry an eyelash extension throughout its life. It is these eyelashes that an extension is applied to.
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Applying the lashes
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I know only use Hollywood Lashes in my salon, as I don't find these as good, but the application is the same. Before you have the full treatment, a patch test should be carried out on you, this is to ensure you are not allergic to any of the products. You should go into the salon 24 hours before the treatment and have 1 or 2 lashes applied to the outer corner of your lashes, most people don't have a problem but if you feel any irritation or swelling, you should contact your salon immediately and you shouldn't go ahead with the treatment.
To apply the natural look it will take you approximately 1 hour - 1 1/2 hours and for the glamour look it will take you approximately 1 1/2 hours - 2 hours. For a natural look approximately 25 eyelash extensions are applied per eye and for the glamour look approximately 35 eyelash extensions are applied per eye. The usual look you will give your client, is shorter lashes on the inside of your eye and longer on the outer corner, but this will always depend on the clients wishes. The application is simple, it is quite fidely but you get used to this. You have to cleanse the lashes, it is always best if the client doesn't wear eye make up prior to the treatment. Then you individually apply each lash, to do this, which one pair of the tweezers, you section out the eyelash you want to apply the extension to, then you select the correct sized extension, swipe it through the glue and then 'drop' onto the lash 1/3 of the way down. Rub it up and down on the sides and ensure the extension is attached. You then have to wait a few minutes for the glue to dry to ensure you don't get the other lashes stuck to it. You carry on doing this for the whole treatment, and as it takes a few minutes to do each eyelash, this is why the treatment takes so long. Making sure you apply the extension to the 'healthy' lash will ensure longer lasting extensions. Mature lashes will tend to fall out first and will not have a very long life span and premature lashes will not have enough strength to hold up the extension. Eyelash Extensions are only applied to your upper lashes and never your bottom lashes, although a client told me the other day when they were on holiday this was offered, but it is just not practical!
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How they feel & look
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I have had these done myself as well having done them to clients, so I can also tell you how they feel and look from a client's point of view. You must be lying down to have the treatment done, the therapist will tape your lower lashes down with a tape similar to micropore to ensure no glue gets onto these, sticking them together. The therapist will then tape the top layer of your upper lashes up in the same way, this is so they can apply the lashes to the underneath layer first to ensure you get as many in there as you can. They always say doctors are the worst patients, well I think beauty therapists must be the worst clients. I know I am a nightmare when I get these done, for some reason I just can't stop blinking when someone touches my eye, this does cause a bit of a problem, it makes it more difficult for the therapist to apply the lashes, but it can be overcome with a bit of patience, so if you're a blinker, warn the therapist before you start. Throughout the treatment, you don't feel anything, it's quite relaxing really, lying down and having your eyes closed for 1 hr and 1/2, just be careful not to fall asleep!
Applying the lashes, or the glue doesn't sting or irritate your lashes, it is comfortable throughout, I know alot of people worry that it may be painful but it really isn't. If you have ever had your eyelashes tinted, you may have experienced some discomfort or stinging, you won't feel any of that with this treatment. You may get a bit bored, especially as you can't read a magazine, but you will probably have a friendly therapist who will talk to you, or you could always take an Ipod to listen to some music. Even though you are lying there for 1 hr and 1/2, it really doesn't seem that long, it feels more like 1/2 hour. Once the treatment is complete, you will have to wait for a few minutes with your eyes closed, just to make sure all the glue is dry. You will then have to slowly open your eyes. The therapist will then remove the tape from under your eyes, now this is the only painful bit in the treatment, its just like removing a plaster, but it only lasts a second.
When you have opened you eyes, your lashes do immediately appear longer, fuller and thicker, they look really good. The lashes look really natural, even though they are obviously a lot longer than your own lashes they never look fake. As they are individual, they just look like your own lashes, but much longer. They really do make a difference to your face. Your whole eye is opened up and looks fuller and brighter without looking over the top and the best thing is they look so natural. I think eye make up is one of the biggest things to keep you looking awake, and these are great, you can just get up, quickly apply a bit of foundation and go, as your eyes will already look awake and beautiful.
With i-lash Designer eyelash extensions you cannot wear any mascara, which I don't like. Although your lashes don't really need it, I like to apply a little when I'm going out for that extra full look with you cannot wear it with these unlike other eyelash extensions which is a shame.
The one thing I must say, is that the therapist can't work miracles, if you have hardly and lashes, you can't have that many extensions, you can only have them attached to what's there so you must be realisitic with your expectations. Also, if your eyelashes aren't perfectly curled and in a perfectly neat line, then the extensions won't be, to be though this makes them look more natural, no one has perfect lines of lashes.
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How they last
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After just a few days the bonds on these begin to loosen and they start looking very obvious. The bottoms of the lashes start to clump together and they start to weigh your own lashes down. I think the lashes are made slightly too thick for the natural lashes, making them appear more obvious.
After about 1 week, they look terrible, I was literally trying to pull them out of my lashes, which is how you damage them but that one last bit of glue was hanging on. Alot of the lashes had loosened at the root and had turned themselves round and were sticking into my eyes, this was very uncomfortable. After about 2 weeks, they had pretty much all come off, so much for lasting for 2 months.
I now do Hollywood Lash Extensions and you don't have any of this, these really do last for 3 months and you can't feel they are there and they wear well throughout the 3 months with non of the problems above. I have even had a client from another salon who had i-lash Designer Extensions, that said they ruined her own eyelashes, I persuaded her to come to have Hollywood Lashes with me and she really noticed a difference and was thankful I restored her faith in eyelash extensions and she has never had any problems with Hollywood Lashes.
It is recommended that you keep then topped up and attend maintenance appointments, about one every 3 weeks, this will replace any missing lashes and will keep your look full. Well mine didn't even last this long and I did give it more than one chance and it happened every single time and clients have reported the same, this is why I changed.
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Contraindications to the treatment
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If you suffer from any of the following, i-lash Designer Eyelash Extensions are not suitable for you:
Dry Eye Syndrome, Keratitis,Conjunctivitis or any other contageous eye disorders.
However, if the contraindication is temporary, you can get the treatment when it has cleared up.
If a client has Glaucoma or Cataracts it does not affect a client's suitability to the treatment, they are still able to have it done.
Other contraindications to the treatment are:
Weak eyelashes, allergies to the adhesive or tape, styes, cuts, abrasions and swelling in the area, blepharitis, recent operations or scar tissue in the area. Contact lenses must be removed prior to the treatment and if you are suffering from particularly bad hayfever and your eyes are watering, the bonds won't stick so you will have to wait till this isn't happening.
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Aftercare
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This is the advise on how to take care of your lash extensions, to make sure they remain looking as good as they did when they were first done:
For the first 2 hours:
Do not allow water to contact the eyelashes.
For the first 2 days:
Do not wash eyes or lashes with hot water or steam the face and avoid swimming, jacuzzi or steam bath/sauna.
Thereafter:
Do not cover the eyelash area as it may cause eyelashes to curl, break or overlap each other.
Do not get your eyelashes tinted or permed whilst the lashes are on, but these can be done before.
Do not wear mascara, as this will loosen the bonds.
Use only oil free eye make up remover.
Use in a downward motion, do not rub side to side as this can loosen the bonds.
Most of all, do not rub the eyes.
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Maintenance
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It is recommended that you book for your first maintenance session 2-3 weeks after the application, where any lashes that have fallen out will be replaced, but I didn't find mine even lasted that long.
To keep up the lashes, you should attend regular maintenance sessions on a 3 week basis to keep the full look. By this time, the premature lashes will have now grown into healthy lashes for you to attach the new extensions to. This cycle will repeat itself month after month so there will always be a constant supply of healthy lashes to apply new extensions to.
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Removal of lashes
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If you no longer want your lashes in, then they can be removed by the therapist that did them, never try and remove them yourself as you could end up damaging your own lashes. It is a simple procedure and will take about 30 minutes. You can also just have one or two lashes removed, but this must still be done in the same way. In the kit you get a 'De-bonder', which you apply to each lash with a cotton bud and gently loosen the bond. The client won't feel any discomfort at all.
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How much they cost to get done
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For a full treatment, these will cost about £45 for a full set and £30 for a maintenance. This is cheap for a full set of semi-permenant eyelash extensions, but now I know they don't last it is actually a rip off! I charge £80 for a full set of Hollywood Lashes, nearly double but when i-lash Designer eyelash extensions only last a maximum of 2 weeks and Hollywood Lashes last about 3 months, Hollywood Lashes definately work out better value.
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How i-lash Designer Eyelash Extensions compare to other lash extensions
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i-lash Designer Eyelash Extensions are definately better than traditional eyelash extensions, the one day ones but they are no where near as good as other semi-permenant eyelash extensions.
They don't last like other semi-permenant eyelash extensions, they start to loosen, look obvious and clump out and only actually last for about 2 weeks. Other semi-permenant eyelash extensions don't do this at all, they last for 3 months and look perfect the whole way through.
As I said however i-lash Designer Eyelash Extensions are better than traditional eyelash extensions, for the few days they look good anyway! For the first few days, they don't look false or obvious, which traditional eyelash extensions do.
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Conclusion
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Semi-permenan t eyelash extensions are fantastic but I wouldn't recommend these particular ones, they don't last and look obvious and weigh your own lashes down after just a few days. If you are thinking of having these done, I would 100% recommend Hollywood Lashes, as there is such a difference.
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