Caring for lashes ♥

Lovers of false lashes would know that lashes need lots of TLC to last longer and retain their functions (♥´౪`♥) When I first started using lashes, I could at most use them a week before they went out of shape and became useless (≧Д≦`) But after re-examining how to properly care for them, I can use the wear a pair daily for 3 months and it still looks decent and in-shape~

Different people would have different routines for caring for their false lashes, these are just some of the things I do. Actually...I don't really do much^^ There are just 3 basic things I take note of when looking after my lashes:

1) Process of removing glue

2) Storage of lashes

3) Never washing lashes with water/soap/oil

♥♥ REMOVING GLUE ♥♥

So first, and the most important I believe, is how you remove the glue. I'd recommend never to use your hands/fingers to pull off the glue, as you could use too much strength or have the pulling and tugging ruin the shape of the lashes or result in strands coming off. Use tweezers, they're your best friend (:

When removing the lashes from your eyes, start with the outer corner. Firmly grip the outer end with your thumb and index finger, pull gently till the corner comes off, then pull the lashes off in a direction towards the inner corner. I usually do this in one swift motion, because when you pull slowly, you risk pulling/stretching the lashes and mis-shaping them.

Diamond Lash Sexy Eye. I admit I'm quite generous with glue, since it dries clear anyway. After all, you don't want your lashes falling off in the middle of the day now do you?

I'm currently using Dolly Wink's Eyelash Fixer, and the thing I really love about it is that you don't have to blow at it or flap it around or wait for it to dry; once you apply the glue you can paste it on.

Anyway, I was wearing brown eyeliner that day, the glue grabbed off some of the eyeliner. Makes it easier for ya'll to see the glue anyway!

So, with one hand you want to hold the lashes between your thumb and index finger, the curl of the lashes curling around your index finger so as to retain the shape.

I don't remove the glue every single time I wear my lashes. I usually only remove it if the build-up of glue seems too thick to me, or I'm using it with a different eyeliner color and the build-up is too much. A little bit of glue leftover can be a good thing, the shape retained is the shape of your eye, so the next time you wear it it'll be quite easy to put on ー( ´∀` )ﾉ☆

Using tweezers, gently pull at a section till the glue separates from the lash.

Dried lash glue is soft and flexible, kind of like soft rubber?

So it actually comes off pretty easily.

Don't just pull at that one section, move the tweezers along the length of the glue parts that has "come off" and gently pull bit by bit along the line.

See the difference in the parts with glue removed and glue still remaining? The glue comes off cleanly and the shape of the lash band is retained.

If the glue breaks while you pull it, just continue by tugging at the remaining sections, bit by bit, with the tweezers.

After all the glue is removed, voila! (♥´౪`♥) Clean lash.

And the "original curve" of the lash band is still there,

the lash is not mis-shapen.

♥♥ STORAGE ♥♥

Storage is important too. I know a lot of people like to just get a case and put the lashes in like:

Which I do for lower lashes only because they're shorter in length and don't really need to maintain a "shape". (I like to cut my lower lashes into sections instead of having them in one full strip)

Liz Lisa upper lashes are incredibly soft and susceptible to being bent, twisted and mis-shapen easily.

So it's best to store lashes against a curved spine if you want them to be long-lasting. They're sold/come like that for a reason^^

The top pair was used daily for 2.5 months. Doesn't look like it right? v(o´౪`o)v

If you like using lash cases (for portability reasons), you can always cut up old backings and put them inside the case, which is what I do.

For example, Dolly Wink lashes come in cases like this.

I cut away the excess plastic to leave just the lash backings.

Paste the lashes you've worn against the backing and put the lashes with the backing into your favorite case (:

But good news for lazy people, now lash cases are even being sold with pre-fit backing (105yen at Can*Do).

However the backing is a tad bulky so the case can only fit a certain number of pairs. In this case, 4 pairs.

If you wanna carry more pairs per box, you can just use the cut-up method and fit up to 8 pairs!

Or more, since the top compartment is actually for tweezers, but my tweezers are too long to fit. You can actually put in another pair in that space or use it for lower lashes^^

It is entirely up to your preferences^^ For lashes like Diamond Lash and EyeLabo which come in 5 pairs per pack and in flat boxes that are easy to store, I usually put the lashes back in their box after using. But for Liz Lisa or lashes that come in 1 or 2 pairs per box or bulky boxes, I like to put them with other pairs in a lash case.

Hahaha and in case you were wondering, this is my longest worn pair of lashes, Dolly Wink mixed with Princess 8. I wore it everyday for ~3 months. The strands are still curled and in shape (: Not a bad feat as Dolly Wink and handmade Taiwan lashes are actually extremely delicate and soft. Remember, my first pair of Dolly Wink barely lasted a week! Though I think its high time I chuck them heh. I'm guessing the Diamond Lash Sexy Eye pair could last me ~6months with daily use, but I'd get bored of the same pair everyday so it's gonna be over a year till I chuck that pair!

♥♥ DO NOT WET LASHES ♥♥

Pretty self-explanatory? Do not wash lashes under running water or use makeup remover/cleansing oil/soap to remove the glue. There are people who do this, but for me at least, I find that it ruins my lashes and greatly shortens the number of times I can wear them.

When lashes get wet, they soften and the strands can get mis-shapen. And if not stored properly, they'll dry in that mis-shapen form, which is hard to "re-shape" when the lash is dry.

Cleansing oil/bi-phase makeup removers/soap can "melt" some lash glues, making them sticky and resulting in a messy clean-up process, strands sticking to each other from the wet glue running etc.

Anyway, for people who use mascara to blend their real lashes with the false lashes, I can't really advise on that as I don't use mascara on my false lashes^^ It greatly shortens the lifespan of your lashes. The mascara "re-shapes" the strands/curl of the false lashes, causes hardening of the false lashes, clumping, straightening and all sorts of unwanted stuff.

Mascara also affects the set strand separation of the lash. For example some lashes have a fixed lash strands separation design whereby they're evenly spaced out, or the separation is increasing/decreasing towards a corner, or lashes are bunched together at intervals to form a spike etc. When you use mascara, you disrupt this design and make it harder for the lash to return to its original state.

Whew, very wordy! Anyway, there's no definite best routine for caring for your false lashes, it really depends on your habits and preferences when wearing lashes. But how long you can wear a pair really depends on how well you take care of your lashes. These are just the things that I've done which have really worked for me (: I wear false lashes almost everyday, or at least whenever I go out of the house...which is almost everyday. Since I started "properly" caring for my lashes, I have yet to throw out any pairs! ♥