In one of our recent posts “The Best Glue. Is it real?” we have touched upon the “best glue” problem. But how people find one?
Changing things is rooted in human nature and is possibly one of the cornerstones of progress on its eternal quest for better world. Though being a very important part of the professional toolkit, adhesives are no different from other things in this respect. So, sooner or later, for one reason or another, there comes time to try a new glue. And it can get a little tricky. Though very similar in their nature and formulas, different adhesives may have different specifications like setting time, viscosity, temperature and humidity ranges, etc., which can have a crucial importance for retention. So, having new glue perform differently from how it should is not at all uncommon.
Naturally, having client satisfaction as first priority in mind, the last thing one would like to have is retention problems after using a new glue. There are several simple things, which may help to avoid this frustrating situation or at least reduce the chances to a minimum.
- No rush. Make sure that a glue you never used is not your only and/or last minute option when you have no choice but to use it. A glue with perfect reviews won’t necessarily work as great for you in your environment, for your pace and lashing habits. Have some of your old glue handy. Even it doesn’t work wonders, at least you know what to expect of it. Allow some time for trying it safely first to minimize the chances of problems. You will need it to:
- Make a patch test. This will show you how the adhesive actually performs in your environment and conditions, and should the results be not as expected, hardly any client will be upset because of losing a couple of test lashes. In addition, and probably most importantly, this is a good way to check if the client is sensitive to the adhesive without major reaction or allergy.
or at least:
- Use the manikin head or just a strip of training lashes. (It might work as well to check if the glue after long storage a couple of days before use). After all, the manikin won’t get upset and call back to complain about retention or reaction.
These precautionary measures won’t take up much of your time, but can save you a whole bunch of problems dealing with unhappy clients.
- Take notes. Who, when, how. All that sort of things. The client, her specifics, temperature/humidity, curl, glue, etc.
Changing something, like switching glues, one would naturally expect there might be difference. Having the notes will help to trace it. For example, if environment is not controlled, it can change as often as several times during a day. And a difference of couple of points in temperature or humidity readings may weigh a lot for bonding and retention. In any case it’s good idea, which may help to find possible underlying causes of outstanding and mediocre sets, especially if you feel that your results are getting unstable for some reason.
Happy lashing!
