THE RISE OF DIY KITS

A lot of us took on the challenge of DIY beauty treatments during the pandemic when our favourite beauty businesses were forced to shut down. I remember posting about "Facial Fridays" and giving myself and my husband haircuts at home during that time. Desperate times call for desperate measures and I fully understand that it can be tempting and more cost effective! With saying that, I want to share what I have learned over the last 7 years as a pro beauty treatment provider because I care so deeply about lash and brow health and the growth in regulation and standardized education.

Consumer vs Professional Products

The most important thing to note is that there are varying levels of quality when it comes to lash and brow products. There are so many products on the market with differing ingredients and a wide range of prices, it can be overwhelming and very hard to find something that will work for you. There is also a huge difference between consumer level products and professional level products which I will go into more detail below. Lash and other beauty services will differ from one professional to the next depending on level of education or certifications and level of experience so it is always recommended that you do plenty of research and patch testing before trying any DIY or professional beauty treatments.

Professional level products and services come with detailed guidelines or training courses that vary from one product to the next. You need to have some basic knowledge of ingredients, chemistry and recommended procedures in order to achieve good results. In Canada, we have very strict regulations as far as beauty products and ingredients go and through a lot of hands on experience, we have learned how certain products or ingredients affect the hair shaft, growth cycle and general condition of the hair. Knowing the science behind beauty products and services is so important!

DIY Lash Extensions

Cluster lashes are basically strip lashes that are cut into little chunks or clusters. They are great for creating custom lash styles, filling in gaps, adding volume, they're more comfortable and look more natural than a full strip lash! When applying cluster or strip lashes, you place them over or under a section of your own natural lashes. This is where we start to get concerned about lash health especially with long term wear!

When your natural lashes are glued together, this can feel a bit uncomfortable but more importantly, it does not create the best environment for your lashes to grow. If the natural lashes or the hair follicle gets blocked for long periods of time, it can result in discomfort, irritation and infection because you are not able to thoroughly clean in between your natural lashes. This will ultimately jeopardize, interrupt or delay your natural hair growth cycle which can lead to permanent hair loss. False strip lashes and cluster lashes should never be applied with professional eyelash extension glue (medical grade). These types of false lashes are okay for short term use and must be applied using a water soluble adhesive only.

Pro Lash Extensions

Professional lash extensions are applied to a single natural eyelash at a time by a trained pro. When done properly with lash health in mind, they should be very light weight, have thin bases and applied to isolated natural lashes (one at a time) that continue to grow with individual lash extension attached.

With professional eyelash extensions, you get the same look and feel as your own natural lashes but BETTER. We apply lash extensions using regulated medical grade adhesives and we heavily encourage and promote hygienic and infection control practices both in salon and at home.

DIY Lash Lift Kits

We saw a rise in trendiness for lash lift and brow lamination kits over the last few years and I'm sure by now we have all seen the targeted ads online. There are even some products sold on shelves at Walmart for example! As a professional beauty service provider, this deeply concerns me and not because I am worried about the competition. If I'm being completely candid, there is just no comparison or competing with professional level products and services. My concern is for your health and safety. These kits are marketed as "easy to use" but come with vague instructions and there is little to no information about contraindications, allergies, sensitivities and patch testing on the packaging.

Harsh ingredients, incorrect processing or incorrect application of lash and brow lift products may result in dry, kinky lashes and brows, misshaped or over curled lashes like in the image above, lash and brow hair appearing shorter or broken, singed, fried, split ends and sometimes hair loss. There is also a potential of chemical burns if the product comes into contact with skin for a prolonged period. If you haven't taken an in depth course with a combination of theory and hands on training then you wouldn't have all of the accurate information to safely perform the treatment on yourself. Yes, you can watch a YouTube video or follow the directions provided by the product manufacturer but until you have done at least 10-20 treatments on others, learned how to work with different types of hair, perfected your product placement and processing times, you may be putting yourself at risk.

The $30-$50 kits you see online that you can purchase as a customer without certification are not pro level and these kits usually contain harsher and cheaper ingredients. They are usually coming from or manufactured outside of Canada so they are also not as regulated and therefore not as safe. In the last few years, we've had many requests to fix a bad lash lift or brow lamination job and most of the time it has been from a DIY at home kit so we have first hand experience on how badly these things can go. With a lot of trial and error, we have also learned that there is no quick fix or safe solution at this time. You simply have to wait until your lashes are fully back to their normal state before attempting to treat again because that will only make matters worse and cause further damage. This process can take anywhere from 6-8 weeks (sometimes longer) which is the average hair growth cycle for most people.

Pro Lash Lift Kits

Most professional level products will not be sold B2C (business to consumer). Professional level products are mostly sold in large amounts or wholesale B2B (business to business) and usually have some guidelines such as needing to create a profile with the company and submitting your license or certification before you are able to purchase. There are some professional level products that can be found on Amazon and other consumer based websites so if you cannot purchase wholesale, need quick delivery or to purchase individual items only, buy directly from the manufacturer, not from a third party reseller and always check the reviews. This blog post is by no means trying to scare anyone! I understand that we all go through times where we need to resort to these DIY beauty treatments at home. My main goal is to educate, advocate for and encourage the use of professional products and professional service providers because when it comes to my eyes, lashes and brows, I don't like to take any chances and I don't think you should either!

Contact

Beauty by Lirie is my very own passion project backed by my business education and love of self care. Explore my site and all that I have to offer—perhaps my blog will spark some inspiration in your life too!

We are always looking to work with and to grow our network of passionate entrepreneurs and talented beauty industry professionals. Let's connect! beautybylirie@hotmail.com