The Importance Of Cleansing Your Lash Extensions

Why You Should Clean Your Eyelash Extensions

I'm just going to get right down to it. Not to gross you guys out, but this is very important and I want everyone to take this very serious. If you aren't cleansing your lashes regularly, you may attract mites!! Yes, you heard me right, MITES! You may have heard in the news back in 2019, that people were starting to get lash lice from not properly cleansing their lashes. Don't worry though, that was debunked very quick. Although, you may not be getting lice, you still can attract mites. Mites, in small amounts are common. They live on our skin and in our hair follicles. When we don't properly clean our lashes, mites are more attracted to the eye area due to all the dead skin that builds up on the lash line. These types of mites are called Demodex folliculorum and they are most commonly found on our face. They can cause roughness, itchy or scaly skin, redness, sensitivity, and or, a burning sensation. 

Have I scared you enough? Not that that is my intention, although, if it makes you cleanse your lashes regularly, then mission accomplished! Now you are probably asking yourself, "how do I properly clean my lashes?". Well, I'm here to give you some do's and don'ts, to help you stay mite, grime and build-up free.

Use Lash Shampoo to Clean Your Eyelash Extensions

 First, you will need to get a good lash shampoo. You can ask your lash artist if they have one that you can purchase from them, or, if they have a recommendation. If not, my favorite is from Lash Stuff. It's a great price, gentle enough for lash extensions, yet strong enough to remove build -up, make-up and dirt. My personal favorite way to wash my lash extensions, is with a make-up brush. I usually use a concealer brush. Any brush about that size and soft, will work. You want to clean your lash extensions at least 2-3 times per week, if you don’t really wear make-up. If you’re a heavy make- up wearer (nothing wrong with that!) or, you have oily skin, I recommend cleaning them daily. I like to place a pump of my lash shampoo on the back side of my hand, take my brush, get it wet, then dip it in the shampoo and apply directly to my lash line. I go back and forth all along my lash line and then swipe up my extensions. I personally like to do one eye at a time, so that I can see what I am doing. Once you feel they are clean, splash your eyes with clean water and you are done! This will not only keep your lashes clean, but it will help your retention and extend the time of your fills, which will save you money and time. Who doesn’t want that? I will dive more into retention in another post. 

Aside from the proper lash shampoo and how often you should cleanse your lashes, there are a few other things you can do to help making cleansing your lashes easier. You want to avoid waterproof eye makeup, which would make it really difficult to clean your lashes, and you do not want to put an oil based make-up remover on or near your lashes. That includes any products that contain oil in them. This leads me to eye cream. Using a gel alternative will not only help the retention (more on this in another post) it will help decrease build-up of dead skin and dirt around your eyes, keeping them cleaner. Cream based moisturizers next to the eye, will attract all the things you don’t want to have on your extensions. 

Clean Eyelash Extensions Everyday

Just like we would detangle and brush our hair, we want to do the same for our lashes. So use your clean lash wand to detangle those beautiful lashes. No one wants twisted lash extensions, how uncomfortable. I'm hoping your lash artist is informing you of all the proper care for your lashes, but just in case they themselves are still learning about all the do's and don’ts of lash extension care, I hope that this information helps you to better, beautiful, long lasting, eyelash extensions.