Mapping and application

Before anything is placed, the lash line is divided into zones, usually five to seven from the inner to the outer corner, and each zone gets a length, a curl and a thickness. The map is drawn for your eye and your natural lashes, kept on file, and used again at every fill.

The curl is how far the extension bends from its base. J barely lifts; B is soft; C is the everyday curl; CC and D lift strongly; L and M have a flat base and a sharp lift, for hooded eyes, monolids and straight lashes. The right curl follows the angle your lash grows at, so the base bonds along the lash.

Extensions run from about 6 to 15 mm, and a map moves through several lengths. The safe limit is set by the natural lash: an extension much longer than the lash beneath it acts as a lever on the root. Short lashes get moderate lengths and a stronger curl, and length can grow over a few fills.

Thickness is measured in hundredths of a millimetre. Classic fibres are 0.10 to 0.15 mm, volume fans 0.05 to 0.07 mm, mega volume 0.03 to 0.05 mm. Weight rises steeply with thickness, so a fan of three 0.05 mm fibres weighs less than one 0.15 mm classic lash. The natural lash sets the limit, not the look.

Each extension or fan is bonded to a single natural lash, separated from its neighbours under magnification. When two lashes are glued together, a sticky, they can no longer shed on their own schedules: the faster-growing lash pulls on the other, which is uncomfortable and can pull it out early.

The extension lies along the natural lash, starting 0.5 to 1 mm from the skin, never on it, with a small, smooth bond. It points the way the lash grows. Too close irritates and itches; too far and the extension lifts off early.

Volume fans are either made by hand at the bed from loose fine fibres, or bought pre-made and heat-bonded at the base. Handmade fans can be sized to each lash and are light at the base; pre-made fans are consistent and quick, with a firmer, heavier base.

Each natural lash grows, rests and falls on its own cycle, and a few shed every day with their extension. That is why a set thins gradually and needs a fill every two to three weeks. Good retention comes from clean isolation, the right adhesive in a controlled room, and aftercare: a daily oil-free cleanse and no rubbing.

At a fill, grown-out extensions come off, lash health is checked, and the set is rebuilt from the map on file. Fills are priced by how much of the set remains; with less than about 30 % left, it is a new set.

Extensions come off with a cream remover that dissolves the adhesive while the lower lashes are protected, followed by a cleanse and a look at the natural lashes. Picking or pulling extensions off takes natural lashes with them.

Look at your set in daylight, a day or two after the appointment. Good work is quiet: you should not see glue, feel weight, or find lashes stuck together.

Some problems are small and are fixed at the next fill. Others mean the set is harming your lashes and should come off.