Glue Misbehaving? Blame it on the Summer! Here’s How to Avoid a Total Disaster
We don’t know about you, but we love long walks down the beach and whiling away the long, sweet summer nights with a few friends by a little fire pit. What we love most is doing those things without getting messages from our clients about how their lashes have all fallen out since yesterday - lucky for you, we’ve been in many a pickle before now, so are armed with heaps of tips and tricks to pass on to you, so that you don’t get caught out this summer!
High Heat
This is pretty much a given - with the summer sun comes high temps, which we need to keep an eye on if we want to be sure our glue is up to the challenge. High temperatures will cause our glue to dry more rapidly, generally speaking, so we need to be prepared for that eventuality so that we can either try to cool down our workspace, or find an alternative glue which will be able to to cope with the temperature increase and still give you the retention you want and your clients expect.
There’s little you can really do to reduce your heat save for turning on the aircon - that’s all so well and good but consider that while aircon will make the whole lashing experience way more comfy for you and your clients, it can also reduce your room’s humidity levels, which can and will play havoc with your glue!
Aircon or no aircon, summer does play games with your humidity levels in one of two ways:
High Humidity
When the heat rises, it often takes the humidity levels with it so you need to be aware of where your humidity sits all through the day - does it fluctuate or does it stay at a constant? There’s not a lot you can really do with high humidity levels, so your best bet is to opt for a more gradually drying lash extensions glue so that you have time to place the lash before the humidity cures the glue.
If you have high humidity and a glue that can cope fairly well, just keep an eye on it - you may need to dispense a fresh drop onto your jade stone more frequently to ensure you get the best performance out of it all throughout the treatment.
You can get fairly well-priced dehumidifiers online if you’re really really struggling with keeping your glue at a workable speed in high humidity, just ensure it doesn’t go too far the other way…
Low Humidity
Low humidity means your glue takes longer to cure, making your sets take longer and usually means that they look pretty bad too as the extensions will lean after you’ve placed them, so you’ll get a really gappy final look and will end up being super frustrated, probably with a client who’s unlikely to leave a favourable review. Just to add insult to injury, slowly curing glue will lead to way more stickies so you’ll have to spend longer checking for and separating them. None of that is ideal.
Low humidity also increases the risks of chemical burns for your client and all sorts of respiratory issues for you as it means that the lash glue fumes hang around for longer. Luckily, increasing humidity is way easier than decreasing it! There are a few easy things you can do:
- Get a humidifier and for an extra pleasant experience, add a couple of drops of essential oils to the water inside for a gentle aroma to be emitted. Don’t put these too close to where you’re working, just in the area.
- Apply Booster before and/or during the set to make the lashes more porous, speeding up bonding time (you can do the same with Primer)
- Use a microbrush to place little droplets of water along the eyepatches to increase humidity in your immediate working area
- Choose a glue that dries more rapidly for you in lower humidities
Client Behaviour
Let’s assume you’re on top of your humidity levels and temperature - you may still find that you have your fair share of issue with retention in the summer due to your clients changing their skincare routine or what they’re doing in terms of activities - perhaps they’re visiting the beach more, maybe they’re using different moisturisers/ more sun cream etc. - there’s not a great deal that you can do once they leave the salon aside from encouraging a really good aftercare routine, but there are some things you can do during treatment to help with their retention:
- A solid pretreatment routine will get rid of any makeup residue, skincare, sweat, sea salt, etc. that might be preset on the lashes, giving the glue the perfect area to bond with, which will hugely help your retention times
- Applying Superbonder when you’re finished application and you’ve gotten rid of any stickies will cure the lash glue instantly, meaning that when your client leaves the salon their retention won’t be impacted by showers or the sea, and they’ll have an easier time where outside humidity is concerned too. Just apply a drop to a microbrush and dab it along the glue bonds after you’re done with your stickie check.
Lastly, no matter how tempting it is or how hot your workspace gets, never ever consider putting opened glue in the fridge between uses - fridges are super humid and as soon as you remove the bottle from the fridge to use it, condensation will begin building up on the outside and the inside of the bottle, which will lead to your glue curing inside the bottle. Instead, always make sure your glue is stored in an airtight container (this can literally be tupperware if you’re not in the mood for anything fancy) somewhere cool and dry like a drawer or cupboard away from direct sunlight. For added armour against humidity, throw in some uncooked rice or some silica gel pouches (like the ones that come with your glue) in the airtight container to help your glue stay extra fresh.
