How long does a lash lift last, and the first 48 hours

How long does a lash lift last: six to eight weeks, which is roughly one lash growth cycle. The curl does not fall out; the lifted lashes shed as they always do and the new ones grow in straight, so the effect fades gradually rather than all at once. The first 48 hours decide how well it holds, and that is what most of this page is about.

What is a lash lift?

A lash lift curls your own natural lashes from the root upwards, so they look longer, more open and more visible without anything added. Your therapist places a soft silicone shield on your closed eyelid, brushes your lashes up onto it, and applies two solutions in turn: the first softens the structure of the hair so it can take the curve, the second sets it. A nourishing balm usually follows. Nothing is glued on and nothing is left behind.

A tint is normally done in the same appointment. It darkens the lashes to the tip, which makes the lift more visible, especially on fair or fine lashes, and can replace mascara for a few weeks. With us the two come together as a lash lift and tint; the glossary also describes a lash tint on its own.

A lash lift is not lash extensions, which glue individual fibres onto your lashes. Our page on lash lift or lash extensions compares the two.

How long does a lash lift take?

About an hour for a lift and tint with us. You lie back on a pillow with your eyes closed from start to finish, and most women find it restful. You cannot see, so have anything you need within reach before it starts, and take contact lenses out beforehand.

How long does a lash lift and tint last?

Six to eight weeks for the lift. The tint usually softens a little sooner, over three to five weeks, because the colour sits on hair that is being washed daily. Both fade as the lashes shed and are replaced. How long yours lasts depends on your growth cycle, how well the first two days go, and what touches your lashes afterwards: oil-based products, heavy mascara and rubbing all shorten it.

Do not have a lift more often than every six to eight weeks. Repeating it on lashes that are still processed is what leaves them dry and brittle.

The first 48 hours

The setting continues for a day or two after you leave the chair. For 24 hours, and ideally 48:

• No water on the lashes. Shower with your face out of the stream, and wash your face around the eyes with a cloth. No steam, sauna, hammam or swimming.
• No mascara, and no eye makeup remover on the lashes.
• No rubbing or touching. Nothing to do but leave them alone.
• No oil-based products near the eyes: cleansing balms, oils, rich eye creams.
• Sleep on your back if you can. A face pressed into a pillow bends the set.
• No eyelash curler, now or later; the lift is the curl.

After 48 hours, normal life. Brush the lashes upwards with a clean, dry spoolie in the morning, keep oils away from the lash line, and use a water-based mascara if you want one, though most women find they do not.

How soon can I shower after a lash lift?

Wait 24 hours before water touches the lashes, and 48 to be safe. You can shower in that time; keep your face out of the water and the steam short.

Is a lash lift safe?

Done properly, on healthy lashes, with a patch test and at the right interval, a lash lift is a routine treatment. The solutions are designed for hair, not for the eye, so the whole skill is keeping them on the lashes and off the skin and out of the eye: the shield, the lower-lash pads and the timing are what your therapist is watching for the whole hour.

The things that go wrong are avoidable. Solution left on too long, or a lift repeated too soon, over-processes the hair and leaves lashes frizzy or brittle. Product reaching the eye stings and needs rinsing at once. Skin around the eye can react to the solutions or the tint, which is what the patch test is for.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology's guidance on cosmetics around the eyes says that if you experience any discomfort, you should see an ophthalmologist right away, and that if you react easily, you should introduce only one new eye product at a time. Both apply here: do not book a lift and a new eye cream in the same week, and if your eyes are sore, red or swollen after a treatment, see an eye doctor rather than waiting.

This is general information, not medical advice. If you have an eye condition, very sensitive skin, or you are pregnant and unsure whether to have the treatment, ask your doctor first.

The patch test

A patch test is a small amount of the solutions and tint applied behind the ear or on the inner arm, 24 to 48 hours before the treatment, to check that your skin does not react. If you have not had a lift and tint with us before, we do it at a short visit beforehand, or at the end of another booking. It is not optional the first time.

Is a lash lift bad for your lashes?

Not when the interval is respected. Your lashes go through the same cycle they always did; the lift changes the shape of the hairs that are there and does nothing to the follicle. Lashes that are already dry, sparse or recovering from extensions are better left to recover first, and your therapist will say so if she thinks yours are not ready.

What you can book

Hamd Beauty offers a lash lift and tint at home in Dubai, by a woman therapist, with a fresh silicone shield and micro brushes for every client. If it is your first time, we arrange a patch test before the appointment. Book a lash lift and tint, and let us know if you wear contact lenses or have had extensions recently.