WAIT! ✋🏼 Before giving up on your lash glue, READ THIS! Trouble Shooting Adhesive

Hey, lash artist! 💜

Whether you've found us from a Google search or you were directed by our customer support, we just want you to know that we appreciate you being here and taking the time to read the article. This is a staple trouble-shooting document for ALL lash artists who need the info. So feel free to send this to a lash friend, or simply hold onto it for a rainy day when you are having trouble with your adhesive.

Are you wanting to RETURN your glue or get a REFUND? Is your lash adhesive simply not sticking to your client's lashes? Was your humidity and temp correct but you can't quite figure out why your client's lash extensions won't last? You MUST check out this Glue Trouble Shooting Guide!

Trouble-Shooting the Adhesive

If your client’s lashes are not lasting after changing to a new adhesive, keep in mind that there are a few factors that could affect retention from a fundamental theory of education regarding all lash adhesives.

At their core, lash adhesives are usually made with the exact same ingredients from brand to brand. The only major difference from one to the next is: their ratio of ingredients that subsequently changes the composition slightly. Due to these variations, the drying time can change and will require different room conditions (humidity & temp) in order to accommodate the adhesive.

Let’s identify which of these is how your client’s lashes are falling:

Congrats! This is exactly what we want to see! This is what perfect retention looks like because we should only be seeing our lash extension with the natural lash attached after it has shed naturally, as biologically intended. 

This is a fan with no natural lash attached. This is indicative that your fan was not properly attached to the natural lash.

If you or your client is seeing excessive fallout - our rule of thumb for clients is *no more than 5 lashes per day* is completely normal. It’s when the client is reporting massive amounts of lash extension loss that can be frightening because you know it’s only a matter of hours or days that they’ll have nothing left… Sound familiar? If this is something you are experiencing, then please keep reading! I don’t want you to give up on the glue just yet! Let’s see where the issue lies by troubleshooting.

How Humidity and Temp Affect Glue

All lash extension glues contain cyanoacrylate, which is the main ingredient of any lash glue. This ingredient ensures the lash glue dries quickly which in turn plasticizes to bond with natural lashes. Lash glue relies on moisture in the air to cure. Once the glue is dispensed, it is attracting moisture from it's surroundings and will eventually solidify.

Manufacturers regulate the drying speed of the lash extension glue by fine-tuning the amount of cyanoacrylate and a few other hardening agents in the mix, depending on how fast or slow they want the drying speed of their glue to be.

How to Raise Humidity Levels

• Use a Humidifier

How to Lower Humidity Levels:

• Use a Dehumidifier
• Ventilate Your Room

High Humidity (Above 60%+):

• Glue may dry too fast for proper bond of lashes
• Client may experience fast fallout after appointment
• Glue drop will dry extremely fast

Low Humidity (Under 45%):

• Handmade fans may collapse / Not stay open during application
• Lashes may stick together more frequently causing "stickies"
• Will cause you to work slower or do double the work to make up for fans not staying in place or sticking

How Temperature Affects Lash Glue

High Temp (Above 79°) = Glue Thins
Drying Time Gets Shorter
 
Low Temp (Under 71°) = Glues Thickens
Drying Time Gets Longer

“Is my glue just a bad batch?”

There are universally no "bad batches" of glue due to the simplistic formulas (2-3 ingredients), using synthetic ingredients that are consistently made in controlled environments. However, in the rare case that a “bad batch” occurs, we would be able to support and verify the claim with the additional customer response, as we normally sell hundreds of adhesives every month from the same batch. If this were to happen, we are happy to refund customers that are affected.

A single customer that claims that their glue was a bad batch may just be the glue changing consistency in transit (i.e. extreme changes in temperature, sitting outside in a hot mailbox, sitting in an un-airconditioned USPS truck, etc). We can and will check from batch numbers, customers who ordered at that time, and report it back with a manufacturer to verify. 

Once the glue is produced, the shelf life recommended by manufacturers is normally 1-2 years (depending on the adhesive), not necessarily months. We only recommend having an unopened adhesive sit in your drawer no more than 6 months just as a precaution. The chemical process of ingredients means that: unless the adhesive bottle is opened and exposed to moisture multiple times, then the glue should remain the same.

“All my client’s lashes fell out within three days.”

1. Most commonly, lash extensions that fall out before a service is complete or the first 36 hours after a client leaves - are extensions that did not have a proper bond through artist application. 
2. Natural lashes must be fully prepped and dry before glue application.
3. Super oily skin clients will have low pH balance natural lashes and will have extremely low porosity, causing a bond of the glue to be nearly impossible. 
4. Always cleanse or double cleanse oily clients as needed. We also recommend to use a primer on these clients to bring the pH back to nuetral and attempt to open the cuticle as much as possible to it can accept the glue.
5. We recommend a pH balancing prep OR a lash wash with full rinse OR a correct primer to raise the pH of a client whose lashes are not bonding with the adhesive.
6. The second most common reason that lash extensions are not receiving a proper bond is because there is not enough adhesive being used on the extension.

 Glue Dipping

1. For classic and premade fans, we always recommend a minimum of 3mm glue dip before applying to the natural lash.
2. For handmade volume, use as much as your base will allow (2-3mm). Anything less than this amount will result in an unsupported bond. The less total surface area that the adhesive touches of the natural lash, the faster it will fall out due to everyday mechanical abrasions.
3. Fully immerse the entire base (classic or volume) into the center of the glue dot, NOT just the under-side of the false lash. 
4. We recommend the horizontal dip vs the vertical for complete immersion and not touching bottom of glue dot that's touching the surface of your tile/tape.
   
   
   
   
   
5. Swiping the false lash of excess glue after you dip and then applying to the natural lash will also lessen your bond or they may not be a bond at all.
6. It takes time to learn how a new glue feels and works in your natural room conditions. Always adjust your room conditions to manipulate the drying time of your glue so that it works better for you, the artist.

Tips for Working with Premades

1. Know what type of base the premade is and shape of NL (flat, bundled, or vertical)
2. Check where the glue is wicking on the premade.
3. Crystallize (texturize) as you would a normal fan to gain fresh glue and a grippy surface on the premade, then dip your normal glue amount (2-3mm).
4. Focus on flushing base to NL as much as possible - check from all sides to see if you have a raised edge. There should be no raised edge, otherwise the premade can be lifted mechanically later by the client when they brush.

Conclusion

If you feel you have done all of the above and your glue is not working on multiple clients, or you are experiencing a different dynamic than what you're used to using the same glue over time, please do not hesitate to reach out to us regarding your glue. We want to make sure our customers are always taken care of. 

Want help with your Lash Reality order? Send us an email and expect a response within 48 hours (during working business days M-F): help@lashreality.com