I have had eyelash extensions on and off since 2016. I blame my sister because when she got married, she first tried out eyelash extensions for her wedding, so naturally I wanted to try them as well. And now seven years late I’m still hooked!
I have had them more than I have not during the last 7 years, so I thought I would share some of my knowledge about them. And specifically how they do with working out and running since I’m often asked on Instagram.
If how long I’ve had them is any indication how well they do with running, then you can probably figure out that they do really well with my daily runs–even in the heat and the freezing cold. I’ve worn eyelash extensions through all seasons from the bone-chilling temps of Alaska to the warm and hot climates of Hawaii.
Applying eyelash extensions is a very tedious process and takes quite some time as the esthetician glues individual lashes or fans (multiple lashes) to almost every one of your real eyelashes. Initially getting a full set of eyelash extensions applied takes about two hours, and then every two to three weeks you have to go in to get a fill where the esthetician applies new eyelashes to the ones that have fallen off. The process of a fill takes about an hour. A lot of people find this to be time-consuming, but it was my time to take a nap. Ha!
Below are pictures of my eyelashes before a fill. You can see areas where I am missing lashes and sparse areas where new lashes need to be added.
This service and materials do come with a pretty hefty price tag. Initially to get all the eyelashes put on, it costs about $200 (sometimes more depending upon you area) and the process takes about two hours. And then for an hour fill, I’ve paid anywhere from $85 – $120. So as you can see, it works out to about $100 an hour for this service. For some people, this is too much; for other people this might be the only beauty service they do, as in they don’t color their hair, get regular manicures/pedicures, get their eyebrows microneedeld or laminated, or Botox/injections.
In the pictures below are my eyelashes after a fill. You can see that they are much fuller and the lashes are evenly spaced.
I have always had barely-there, blonde eyelashes, so not only do I love how long my eyelashes are with extensions, but I also love how dark and full my eyelashes are. I can’t achieve this with mascara! I’ve held off doing anything with my eyebrows because I can fill in my eyebrows and tint them with brow gel and more-or-less make them look the way I like. But those eyelash extensions bring your eyelashes to a new level. And in my opinion, your eyes are one of the first things people notice about you, so the eyelash extensions just make your eyes pop!
Once you have the eyelash extensions, you always look ‘put together.’ You wake up looking put together, so don’t have to worry about applying mascara or makeup if you don’t want to. And these are big reasons a lot of people get extensions. They don’t want to have to deal with makeup (or want to apply minimal makeup) each day. Someone once told me that she is high-maintenance (because she gets eyelash extensions) in order to be low-maintenance on a daily basis, and it is so true. I left the house many times without any other makeup other than my eyelash extensions and felt totally confident in how I looked. I have heard people say they don’t like how extensions look on people, but I think you often notice the extensions that are crazy-full or crazy-long and if someone has really natural-looking extensions, you wouldn’t even know it.
As far as running, I have never had any issues with my extensions. They always held up really well, and I never notice more falling out because of running. They say during the spring and fall it is a natural time of shedding, so many people will often lose more real eyelashes in general during this time, which causes the eyelash extension to go with it. I did notice this a couple times a year, which was definitely annoying, but it didn’t last too long. They eyelash extensions never felt weird while running or were never annoying in any way. I do have many pictures like the one below of my eyelashes collecting a lot of snow/ice from my breath freezing on them during winter runs. And even this didn’t bother me. I saw the frost build up on them, but they never felt heavy to me.
One of my estheticians who has applied my eyelash extensions for me said the glue does get compromised when going from one extreme temperature to another. She said that freezing the adhesive will break the bond and compromised the longevity of the extensions. However, she hadn’t said that, I wouldn’t have noticed.
Caring for the extensions is really easy. You’ll want to brush them at least once–if not twice–a day. It helps them look better and then you avoid them getting tangled on top of one another. I would usually brush them in the morning when getting ready, and then again in the evening when getting ready for bed. I did use a lash shampoo for a bit, which is supposed to clean them of oils and prevent the extensions from falling out as quickly, but I didn’t notice the extensions staying on longer, unfortunately.
Other than that, there was no other maintenance with them. When I washed my face, I am careful to wash around them because I use an oil-based cleaners. But it is okay to get them wet, so I usually get them wet in the shower.
Just like my hair extensions, there are pros and cons to have eyelash extensions, and I hope I covered them all, but if you have any other questions, feel free to comment below!
