FAQ about lash & brow lift

Overprocessing = some, most, or all of the disulfide bonds inside the lashes have been destroyed. Since disulfide bridges give lashes their shape, killing them makes lashes appear damaged and wonky or even break off. This can happen either if: 

• The chemical formulation of the curling lotion is too aggressive 
• Curling lotion with an aggressive formulation is kept on the lashes for too long

Over-curled lashes = lashes are still healthy; their shape is too curly. This can happen if: 

• The silicone shield is too small  
• The curling lotion has been applied too high up on the silicone 
• Curling lotion with a gentle formulation is kept on the lashes for too long 

With Ruthie Belle products, you can do another lash lift to straighten the lashes after 3 - 4 days. Reduce the timing of the curling lotion a bit since the lashes are already curly before the treatment. 

Over-processing can only happen with aggressive lash lift brands, so you never have to worry about it when working with the Ruthie Belle Lash Lift system

If you do get a customer whose lashes have been burnt with other products, treat them with Shine Repair to restore some of the broken disulfide bridges and close the lash cuticles. To do that, wash lashes with lash foam, rinse, cover lashes with Shine Repair at full length, and remove residue after 6mins with a damp cotton pad.

Then leave at least one week before you try fixing them to give them time to restore. During that time, the customer should use a lash food product to nourish, hydrate and revitalize lashes as much as possible. They should avoid using mascara as that dehydrates lashes even further. 

NB! Using a regular lash serum will not revitalize damaged lashes and should be avoided during that time.

The best products for corrective lash lifting are cysteamine-based, as they also boost the health of lashes instead of dehydrating them further.

Never forget that you are working with lashes that have endured severe stress – it’s the essential part while fixing them! The corrective lift may not come out ideally, even when the lashes are damaged.

Communicating that to your customer before the treatment to manage expectations is essential. That being said, lashes will be in a better shape and form after the corrective treatment, so don’t be afraid to do it and recommend it to customers whose lashes have been burnt and look wonky.

Proceed with cysteamine lifting as you usually would. It’s best to reduce the timing of the lifting lotion by a few minutes (I would personally take off about 3mins, but timing can vary, depending on your technique and the amount of lotion you use). Keep timing for the other steps the same length as you usually would.

Et voilà! You’ve rescued someone’s lashes just like that and probably got a new loyal customer! 

• Wash the customer’s lashes thoroughly with alkaline lash foam
• Open lash cuticles with a primer
• If required, tint the lashes with a chemical dye 
• Apply Shine Repair and leave on for 6 minutes and remove product residues with a damp cotton pad 

Usually, newly trained lash lift artists and artists converting from old-school aggressive lash lift brands to gentle brands need some practice to get their lifts to look fabulous. Aggressive and gentle lotions work very differently, so my first recommendation is to read the step-by-step guide on using our lotions.

My second recommendation is to do lifts for the first three complementary models before charging customers, so there is no stress if the outcome differs from what you expected. Take pictures of all the following stages of the treatment so that you can analyze and troubleshoot later, if necessary:

• Before the treatment
• The treatment stage is when lashes have been brushed up on the silicone and separated
• Treatment stage when you have applied perming lotion
• Result

Make sure to write down the size of the silicone you used and the processing times for curling & fixing lotions. Then, if you need help from my team, these are the things we will ask you to assist you in the best way:

• The most common reason why lifting fails to take is incorrect timing for curling lotion.
• The more aggressive the lotions are, the more precise timings must be. With the most aggressive lotions, even 1 minute shorter processing may result in the lift not taking, and 1 minute too long can over-process lashes. Gentle lotions are more forgiving and allow lash artists to test different timings without the fear of overprocessing. If you do a lift with our products and realize that you would have liked a firmer curl, add another 2 minutes to curling lotion processing.
• Curling fails to take if you use too much glue and too little time to process lotions. A thicker glue layer means it takes more time to penetrate it. This applies more to gentle brands, as aggressive products can go through pretty much anything without problems. If you notice that your glue layer is thick with Ruthie Belle lotions, add 2 minutes to the exposure times.
• The positioning of the curling and fixing lotions on lashes plays a vital role in the outcome. Most aggressive lotions must be applied only as a thin layer on the base of lashes to prevent excessive damage and give a strong curl. Gentle lotions should be applied from the silicone’s edge to the middle of the lashes. The higher up you go with the lotions, the stronger the curl that they create. Remember – with our lotions. You can go up to the tips of the lashes without burning them off!
• The lotion layers are too thin. This is another thing that’s very different between aggressive and gentle lotions – aggressive lotions need the tiniest bit to do their job because of their very strong formulation. Gentle lotions need a thick layer so that the lashes underneath cannot be seen.
• The silicone shield should be placed near the lash line to achieve proper curling. When the shield is in place, check that no skin is visible between the edge of the eyelid and the lashes. If you see any skin, remove the shield and position it again.
• Suppose the lashes are combed too loosely onto the silicone shield. In that case, the curling effect will be significantly weaker than it should be, so comb the lashes firmly against the silicone shield but ensure that the customer feels no discomfort.
• NB! Don’t comb the lashes so vigorously that it turns the waterline out.
• Hormones may affect the ‘behavior’ of lashes to a surprising degree. If the customer is pregnant, has given birth recently, has breastfed, or uses some specific medications, the possibility that the lash lift may not take as well as it should or drops down within a few days should be considered. For this reason, we always recommend having pregnant/breastfeeding customers sign a waiver before the treatment so that they are aware of that risk.
• Curling fails to take if the products have expired or are stored incorrectly. E.g., the curling lotion is extremely sensitive to oxygen, so the air in the packaging deteriorates its effect, which leads to curling failure. Another example is when the glue is kept in direct sunlight, it becomes thick very quickly, making it challenging to easily adhere lashes to the shield.
• The outcome of the lifting is also affected by the size of the silicone shield. Depending on the customer’s lash length, eye shape, eyelid shape, and desired outcome, you may use silicone shields in different sizes to create a beautiful curl. A large shield allows for achieving a softer and more natural curl, while a smaller shield produces a more dramatic curl.

Lash lift looks the best when lashes have been lifted evenly across one eye, and both eyes look evenly lifted. There are a few factors that make the result uneven, though:

• Lashes are not cleaned properly before the treatment. Makeup residue can make it difficult for lotions to penetrate, so make sure lashes are squeaky clean before the treatment.
• Lashes have different growth directions. Often, lashes in the outer corner grow more downwards than lashes in the inner corner, so they don’t lift as well. To overcome this problem, use Easy Lift ONLY in the outer corner.
• Silicone shield placement. If the silicone is placed further from the lash line on one eye, this eye will get a weaker lift. Check the distance before pulling lashes onto the shield and adjust the silicone if necessary.
• Curling lotion processing is longer on one eye than the other. We recommend using a stopwatch or timer to ensure lotions are kept on the same amount of time for both eyes to ensure lashes lift the same on both eyes. If you have an iPhone, you can use the timer on one eye and the stopwatch on the other.
• Lashes on one eye are longer than on the other. To overcome this, use a larger shield on the eye with longer lashes.

When customers have very downward-growing lashes, lifting them before applying extensions is helpful. Also, if they have very curly lashes, it’s beneficial to straighten them (reverse lash lift) before applying extensions to make the application more accessible and to extend retention. 

When you finish the lifting treatment, it’s typically required to leave at least a 24-hour gap before applying extensions to let the cuticles fully close. This is because when eyelash cuticles fully close and pH is neutralized after lash lamination, lashes are no longer sensitive to the outside environment. 

When you finish the lifting treatment with Shine Repair, extensions may be applied immediately after lifting them: 

• Perform lash lift as you usually would but choose only between the largest curls for silicone shields. The smaller curls like S or M can create an L-shaped lift, making it challenging to apply extensions. Larger curls like M2 and L create a soft round curl that makes it easy to apply extensions. 
• Make sure to finish the treatment with Shine Repair.
• Wash lashes with an alkaline lash foam to start opening cuticles again. 
• Prime lashes with Superdry to gently fully open cuticles again without dehydrating natural lashes. 

Doing both lifting and extensions means putting a lot of chemicals around the eye area in one day, so it’s essential to use products that are as safe and gentle as possible to minimize any chance of a reaction. 

Lash lift may and can be performed on all lashes, regardless of length or strength. In addition, you can always recommend a serum or a lash food after the treatment to help your client keep their lashes nourished.

Allergy is always possible because people can be allergic to anything except water and oxygen. The risk is minimized, though, because lash lift products do not come into contact with the skin during the treatment (except for the glue and the silicone shield).

The glue is water-soluble, unlike a potent allergen like cyanoacrylate used for eyelash extensions. This means that individuals allergic to lash extensions can still try lash lifting. It’s a great idea to recommend lash lamination to customers who have had to give up eyelash extensions due to becoming allergic to the glue.

Before lash lifting, ask your customers about peroxide allergy because fixing lotion contains peroxide. Peroxide is used for tinting, too, so women are usually aware of their allergy if they’ve had their lashes tinted before. This allergy is uncommon, but double-checking is always a good idea.

Yes, your customers can use a serum as soon as lash cuticles are fully closed after the treatment. If you finish lamination with Shine Repair, your customers can apply serum immediately. If you don’t use Shine Repair, they should wait 24 hours before using serums. 

Immediately after the treatment, soak the silicone shields in soapy water to loosen the glue and the lash tint; then rinse the shields and place them in the disinfection bath. After disinfecting, rinse the shields again with running water. You may use shields up to four times; then, you must discard them.

Read more about sanitizing silicones.

The answer depends on how strong the chemicals are being used. For example, the Ruthie Belle lash & brow lift product series contains mild chemicals with a minimum drying effect.

Lashes are similar to hair – they get dehydrated from the daily use of mascara and start looking dull because of the dehydration and damaged cuticles, so they require support to look their best. Most women don’t do anything to reduce that dryness or to nourish lashes, though, so lashes remain dehydrated.

We use Shine Repair to:

• Repair damaged and broken lashes/brow hairs
• Add an intense shine
• Make lashes/brows appear darker
• Add volume
• Fully close (99-99.9%) lash cuticles after lash or brow lift

Below is a before/after picture after just ONE 4-minute treatment with Shine Repair:

So, lashes look more nourished and healthier after a Ruthie Belle lash lift.

However, this is different when the lash lift is done with aggressive lotions. The harsher the chemicals being used are, the more damage they cause. Usually, after such a treatment, it is paramount that customers use a nourishing product at home to prevent lashes from becoming very, very dry. Lashes can feel weak and look wonky after treating them with strong chemicals or even breaking off. 

Also, there is always a requirement of how many weeks must be left between treatments to avoid overprocessing lashes. A big difference from being able to do four lash lifts in a row with zero damage!

It’s a good point to explain to customers, too, as lash lamination is still so young that most people still think all lifts are similar in their effect.

Buy a high-quality, fast-drying glue with excellent adhesion. All lash lift glues (and lash extension glues) are not equal in their features. All glues can be used to glue lashes onto the silicone shield, but some require much more time and effort, both getting lashes on and off the shield.

When you open a new bottle of lash lift glue, we recommend following these steps to keep it fresh as long as possible and to use it till the last drop:

• Remove the stopper
• Remove the brush (you won’t be using it anyways for cross-contamination reasons)
• Pour out only the desired amount (because you can always get more if you run out) into your reusable crystal ring, glue ring, or glove if you work with gloves.

Using this trick will keep your glue fresh as long as possible and make it easier to use the glue when it’s very fresh and usually takes a while to dry. This is because when you dispense the glue on your glue ring, the contact with oxygen will make it cure a little bit faster, so you can work faster.

• On average, a lash lift glue can be used for 3-4 weeks only if the glue is used and stored correctly.
• Put the glue cap back on as soon as possible after each use to prevent oxygen from getting into the tube – oxygen dries the glue. It helps during the lash lift but makes the glue viscous before it is used up. Never allow more oxygen into the glue tube than necessary!
• Clean the glue nozzle immediately after the lashes have been glued to the silicone shield. The glue on the tube rim allows the entry of oxygen even while the cap is closed. The tube opening should be just as clean as at the first opening. It is best to clean it with a moistened paper tissue of a stronger material. No chemicals are needed, as all lash lift glues are water-soluble. Water is enough to clean the opening properly.
• Store the glue in a vertical upright position. If the tube is on its side or upside down, the glue will run into the cap due to gravity.
• Refrigerate the glue on the days it is not used. This extends the life of the product.
• Never leave your lash lift glue in the sunlight! Like oxygen, UV light makes the glue viscous. Store the glue in the dark. You don’t need to find a dark cave; a closed box or drawer is enough. 

It usually lasts approximately between 6 and 8 weeks, but this depends on several factors. Hence it’s always a good idea to give your customers a general idea and not promise any specific period.

What impacts how long the effect lasts:

• The most significant factor is the growth direction of natural lashes. If lashes grow more or less straight or curl slightly upward, the effect lasts much longer than with downward-growing lashes. When downward-growing lashes start to grow out, the effect disappears quicker because every millimeter that grows out pulls the lashes toward the floor. So, looking at the lashes from the front, it seems like they have flattened/lost their length because you see less of the lashes. The curl is still there, but you don’t see it from straight ahead. I, Ruthie Belle, have lashes like this – my outer corner lashes grow so much downwards that I can see their top side from the mirror. When I get my lashes lifted, the inner corners look perfect for ~4-5 weeks, but the outer corners look perfect only for ~2 weeks. After that, they have grown out so much that the curl seems to disappear. The curl is clearly visible only when looking from the side; its direction has changed.
• The growth speed of lashes – the faster they grow, the quicker the lift grows out. It’s essential to mention this to people who use lash serums.
• Age – lash growth slows down, so the older we get, the longer our Lifts will last. It’s good to mention this to teenagers because their lashes grow much quicker on average compared to people in their 30s or 40s.
• Technician skills – it’s crucial that silicones are placed correctly, and lashes are nicely separated during the treatment to make them look beautiful for as long as possible.
• Quality of the products used for the treatment – using aggressive fast-processing lotions dehydrates lashes a lot. It’s usually not visible so much immediately after the treatment but over time when the effect of the nourishing lotion starts to wear off. This can leave lashes looking dry and lifeless after just two weeks.
• Lash growth cycle – when many customers’ lashes are in anagen or telogen during the treatment, the effect wears off much faster. This has the most significant impact during seasonal lash sheds. Therefore it’s a good idea to talk to your customers about growth cycles so they know what to expect during lash sheds.
• Home care – brushing lashes daily is vital to keep them looking beautiful. Removing makeup usually messes up the direction of lashes a little, and if lashes are not brushed afterward, they can look a bit wonky the following day.

Lash lift sets within 24 hours after the treatment. During that time, lash cuticles naturally close to their state before the treatment, and all disulfide bonds are restored.

After that time, you can only modify the shape of the lift with high heat (like opening an oven door too close to the face) and with chemicals – it does not drop by itself!

Usually, when people say that their lift has dropped, it merely means that it has grown out and it’s time for a new lift!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.