There is a line-up of irritation in lash extensions: swollen eyelids, red eyes, burning eyelids, itching, skin redness. These symptoms may look alike and relate to one root, but the truth is, they all ring different bells. E.g. swollen eyelids and skin redness are very likely to be the signs of allergy and individual sensitivity and to fix this problem it’s vital to get your client medical assistance ASAP.
But in a lot of cases, the reaction is caused by the lash materials misuse, which means you can prevent it by understanding its roots and, of course, exactly the material to blame!
We know your first thought was the eyelash adhesive. Ours would be too. Big fuss over bad evil Cyanoacrylate hasn’t come out of nothing, after all. However, despite the fact that the role of the main antagonist is attached to the adhesive, all heroes of this plot can turn out to be “anti” if mistreated. In fact, half of the reaction issues occur because other materials sort of mislead the lash adhesive making it do some terrible things…But the criminals are detected! Under eye patches, eyelash extensions and, drum roll, the glue ring - hands up, please.
Patches
If the patches for lash extensions are placed too close to the border of the bottom eyelid, they will move even higher as soon as your client closes her eyes. If so, patches prevent eyes from being tightly closed hence letting the toxic fumes in. And more specifically in this case, the eye pads placed too close to the lash line end up poking into your client’s eyes and scratching the eyeball.
You can recognise the reaction to the patches misplacement by the fact that redness is visible only on the bottom of the eyeball. In case of Cyanoacrylate intoxication the redness affects the whole eye, as a rule.
How to avoid?
Covering the lower lids with eye pads properly - stretching it evenly from the inner to outer corners - may be a tricky process. Here are few recommendations to make it zero-
- start applying the pads at the inner corners
- delicately pull aside your client’s skin on the inner side
- let one of your fingers keep the inner corner of the eye in place
- stretch the patch to the outer corner
Remember to place an eye pad so that you can clearly see the base of the lower lashes when lifting up your customer’s closed upper eyelid.
Read about irritations caused by the glue ring and lash extensions misuse in the 2d part. Have a happy lashing and to be continued!
