Best False Eyelashes: When to Throw Them Away & How to Apply Like a Pro
What turns your eyes from plain-girl peepers to Hollywood bombshell?
Two words:
False eyelashes.
To know when to keep, throw away or apply your fake fringe, you’ll need the best false eyelashes and expert tips to help you pamper, pump-up and protect your peepers.
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Types of False Eyelashes
The falsies you buy at the drugstore or your favorite beauty counters are not one-size-fits-all.
In fact, lash styles range from strip, cluster and flare eyelashes to thin, half-full, single and winged, cat-eye lengths. Typically, lash hairs use synthetic fibers, human hair or the hairs of mink to create the fake fringe.
The two most common types of false eyelashes are band or strip lashes and individual lashes.
False eyelashes and eyelash extensions serve as effective tools for drawing attention to your eyes. But if your fake lashes are dirty or broken, you risk the chance of infection or eye injury.
How?
Fake lashes may irritate your peepers by trapping dirt and bacteria near the eye and result in fungal and bacterial infection.
The dangers of wearing false lashes include infections of the eyelid and cornea temporary or permanent loss of the lashes and swelling of the eyelid.
To prevent these beauty-based ailments from occurring, test the eyelash glue and the glue-removing solvent on the back of your hand for 24 hours to observe any unusual swelling or instances of contact dermatitis; have a licensed aesthetician place the eyelashes on your natural hairs and avoid using eyelash glue that contains formaldehyde.
How to Trim & Fit Your Fake Falsies to Your Eyes
To make the strip or flare lashes fit to your lash line perfectly, you’ll need to fit them to your natural lash hairs the first time you wear them.
- Beginning at the inner corner of the eye, place the lash firmly across your upper lash line.
- Mark the point where the lashes hang over the lash line with a white eyeliner pencil. Remove the falsies from your eyes.
- Trim any lashes beyond the white pencil mark with cuticle scissors.
How to Apply False Eyelashes for Beginners
- Curl your natural lashes. Open up the eye area with your favorite eyelash curler. Beginning at the base of your own lashes, press the eyelash curler up from the root to the tip.
- Apply the false eyelashes to your real ones. Dot your fake fringe with white eyelash glue. Using a pair of tweezers, place the false lash at the base of your lashes. Hold the lashes in place for 5 to 10 seconds.
- Swipe two or three coats of mascara on your fake lashes. The mascara will bind your real and false eyelashes together.
- Use eyeliner as glue cover-up. Apply one coat of liquid eyeliner in (navy or black) to your upper lash line to cover any white dry glue residue. Or better, use black eyelash glue to coat your strands. Comb your new and improved lashes with a lash comb to separate any mascara clumps and complete your new eye look.
Removing Your Fake Lashes Carefully
At the end of the evening, don’t rip off your strip lashes quickly — you might pull out a few of your own natural lash hairs.
First, swipe away your eyeshadow using makeup-remover pads.
Then gently press a remover-soaked pad or damp cotton swab against your eyelash to dissolve the lash glue.
Slide down the falsies from your eyes with the pads or your fingertips to gently remove the fringe.
Cleaning and Storing Your False Eyelashes
If you are reusing your lashes, it is essential that you clean them thoroughly to remove any dirt and glue.
To clean your lashes, you’ll need a cotton swab, liquid eye-makeup remover, and a towel.
- Place the eyelashes glue-side up on the towel.
- Dip the edge of the swab into the remover.
- Gently graze the tip of the swab over the surface of the fake lashes to remove the clumps of glue, dirt and or mascara residue. Let your lashes dry overnight.
- Place your lashes in a small plastic or glass jar with a top or in the tiny plastic case sold with most false lashes. If you clean and store your lashes carefully, you can reuse and reapply your favorite pair of false eyelashes for a minimum of six months to a year.
The Best Time to Discard Your Lashes
Unless you are wearing individual lashes daily, you don’t have to throw out your falsies after one or two wearings. For beauties dependent on the come-hither eye look that falsies give, you can recycle your fake fringe easily.
Once one or two hairs start falling out of your fake lashes, your eye becomes infected, the eyelid swells or the edge of the fringe is bent out of shape, it’s time to throw your lashes away.
Make sure to discard your single lashes after an evening of partying or a photo shoot.
The Best False Eyelashes For Beginners; Recommended Tools, Glue & Tweezers
Ardell False Lashes, Naked Lashes 424 with Invisiband– The band on this strip is so thin it almost appears to be invisible. You'll need to apply black eyeliner over the strip before placing on the lashes. You can buy a 4-pack of these lashes for cheap here.
KISS i Envy Eyelash Adhesive Super Strong Hold-This lash glue is sticky and simple to use. Apply to the strip of lashes before you place on your fringe.
Do's and Don'ts for Natural-Looking Lashes
- Individual lashes, applied with a pair of tweezers, are very fragile and difficult to reapply to your lashes after one use.
- Makeup artists or do-it-yourself beauties typically apply the lashes to the natural lash line with glue.
- Professional makeup artists, spa technicians or estheticians apply individual lashes to the lash line with tweezers and adhesives.
- Wearing your lashes for long periods of time may also damage the follicle and cause permanent hair loss.In fact, the weight of the lashes on your own natural hairs may cause traction alopecia, a medical condition where lashes break and fall out due to “the excessive tension placed on the hair shaft.”
- Also, the adhesive that binds the fake lashes to your natural ones may cause eye irritation if you sleep in your lashes overnight or do not get rid of the lash glue entirely.
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