I Tried Lash Perming/Lifting, and Here are my Thoughts

Eyelash extensions are all the rage these days because they are a simple way to boost your appearance sans surgical intervention. I thought about trying eyelash extensions for the longest time, and made and canceled appointments at least 5 or 6 times. 

I didn’t end up going through with it for a bunch of reasons. First, the cost. To get eyelash extensions costs a pretty penny. You can go to a cheaper place, but trust me, you don’t want to risk something as sensitive as your eyelashes. So then the only options is to go to a reputable eyelash-applier-person (what are they called? asking for a friend) and they cost at least an arm and a leg, maybe a toe, who knows? Not only does it cost a ton to actually apply the extensions, but then you have to keep refilling them every few weeks, and that isn’t cheap either. So instead of selling my soul for a nice, fun look, I decided to pass on the extensions.

Another reason I decided to forego this experience was because I had heard not one, not two, but many horror stories of people’s real lashes falling out after they got extensions and I just wasn’t ready to take my chances. A few months ago, at school, I was getting lunch with my friend and she looked different. Her eyelashes were literally so beautiful, long, and curled, I was at a loss for words. I asked her where she got her extensions and she said, believe it or not, they were her real eyelashes. (Wow, this really sounds like a Y2k cheesy commercial, but whatever.) 

She told me she bought this $25 kit off of Amazon that’s called a “Lash Perm” or “Lash Lift.” I was super into the idea, until she told me she would have to explain the application process to me because the directions were in a foreign language. Lots of red flags. The product was cheap, foreign, and relatively unknown. But, I mean, my friend’s eyelashes looked amazing and she didn’t go blind, so what was the harm? My package arrived in the mail and I immediately invited my friend over for our lash extravaganza. We opened the package and it literally looked like a little Play-Do kit for 5-year-olds.

She explained the process, which involved glueing this piece of rubber to your eyelids and then using the same glue to lift your eyelashes to the piece of rubber on your eyelids. Then you use a bunch of serums to actually “perm” your lashes. I know this sounds crazy, and, truthfully, it is. However, it totally worked. Warning: do not be in the presence of others while completing the perm process, because you will look like some sort of psychopath-Yzma-from-The-Emperor’s-New-Groove-looking creature. So my lashes looked amazing and I was really happy about them. I literally felt like I was on the cover of a Maybelline ad. They lasted beautifully lifted for about 6 weeks.

I tried this process again about a month and a half later and sadly it didn’t work as well. I also got all the serum in my eye and it was overall not a great experience. So I decided to think about eyelash extensions again. It’s like that boy who you know is no good for you, yet you just keep going back. I started surfing the web and checking out different eyelash parlors, and surprisingly I found that almost all of them had recently started to offer a lash lift/ perm. I was so excited because I now could get it done by someone legit! 

The bad thing was that everywhere I looked up charged about $85-$100 for a treatment. Unfortunately, I am a broke student, so the odds were not in my favor. However, I came across a salon near me that did a lift for $50. I decided I could cut back on two weeks of happy hour and spring for a treatment. My mom was so not about me going to get my lashes permed, warning me that it was not her fault when I came back blind. She has the tendency to overreact, though.

So I got to the salon and it was the same exact kit that I used from Amazon. But the girl treating my lashes actually knew what she was doing. It was annoying that I had to sit for 15 minutes with the first serum on and 20 minutes with the second serum on. And it’s not like you can scroll through Instagram or send a text when your eyelashes are glued to your eyelids.

So I sat in a salon chair, looking like a freak, counting sheep in my head. Boring is an understatement. When the waiting was over, I was so excited to see what my lashes looked like because with this treatment there is no downtime. When the lady cleaned all the glue off my eyes and I had the big reveal moment, I have to say I was, well, kind of disappointed. It was a little different, but not any drastic my-life-is going-to-change-I-am-going-to-find-a-boyfriend look.

So was it worth the $50? Ehh, not really, in my opinion. I would honestly invest in a $5 eyelash curler and call it a day. But if you’re down to try it, why not, you only got one life so you might as well lift those lashes.

Happy perming!  

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