Lash Lift Dos and Don'ts From Three Professionals

Posted on Jul 22, 2026

Watch the episode:

What Happens When Three Lash Professionals Sit Down and Talk Lifts

Episode 24 of Behind the Brilliance is different. Ashtyn is performing a live lash lift on Hillary -- a Garnet Lash artist who specializes in lash lifts and brows, and who also brings a cosmetology background to the table -- while all three discuss the questions that come up most about lash lift technique, products, and professional standards.

What follows is a walkthrough of the main points from the episode.

Choosing the Right Shield

Not every client gets the same shield. The choice depends on the body of the natural lash -- specifically how much shaft is available to create a shape on.

A client with shorter, finer lashes often does better with a hybrid or flat shield, which creates more of a lift than a dramatic curl. A round or larger shield works well when the lash has enough body to hold a more pronounced shape. The goal is to work with what the lash can physically do, not to force a shape onto hair that doesn't have the length or structure to hold it.

Why a Lift Can Fall Flat Two Weeks Later (and It's Not Your Technique)

The most common underdiagnosed cause: product shelf life.

Hillary learned this early. A client reported that her lift fell flat shortly after the appointment. Hillary reviewed her order date, her open date, and realized the product was at the end of its usable window. The lift itself was done correctly. The product was the variable.

Lash lift chemicals are sensitive formulations. Even in pump bottles, there is some air exposure over time, which changes how the product performs. The working window after opening is typically around three months -- short for something that might feel like a stable supply.

This is part of why Danielle appreciates the single-use packet format of Brilliant Lash Pro's lash lift products. Each packet is used for two to three applications, meaning you're never working from a bottle that's been open for months. The trade-off, as she notes, is that it can feel wasteful if you're not doing a high volume of lifts. But fresh product is the baseline for consistent results.

Balm vs. Adhesive: What Goes Under the Lashes

Both balm and adhesive are used to adhere lashes to the shield during a lift. The choice comes down to working preference and processing knowledge.

Balm is thicker, more forgiving, and easier to reposition. It's less messy and allows you to re-comb and adjust lashes after they're down. The consideration: some balm formulas coat the hair in a way that slows down how the processing solution reaches the lash's internal structure, which means you may need to add time to your step one. Whether you need to adjust depends entirely on the brand -- some specifically formulate their balm to require no additional processing time, and others require a 20% addition. Know which applies to yours before you use it.

Adhesive gives more initial hold with less room for repositioning. Hillary has used both and prefers balm for its flexibility, though she uses adhesive when she needs a stronger initial grip.

Correcting an Over-Curled Lift

It can be corrected without a full redo -- but only if the lash is healthy enough.

The technique: use step one to soften the hair, sandwiching it between two applicators (lip gloss applicators work) to relax and straighten the curl back out without re-processing the full lash. Apply step one, work the hair until it looks right, wipe clean, then apply neutralizer the same way. It takes a few minutes and is done by eye.

The caveat is always hair health. If the hair is already compromised, adding another processing step, even a corrective one, can cause more damage. Check the lash before deciding.

Korean Lash Lifts: The Logic and the Concerns

The application concept of Korean lash lifts is clever -- working from a different angle to get a specific shape. But there's a technique concern: the method typically processes step one all the way through the tip of the hair.

Tips are the most fragile part of the hair shaft. If someone is getting regular lash lifts, the area that was previously the base will become the tip by the next appointment -- meaning the part you're processing on the tip has already been worked on before. Processing the tip repeatedly, especially when it's not necessary for the result, is a compounding damage risk.

Some artists doing Korean-style lifts also skip the shield entirely and place lashes directly on tape applied to the eyelid, then work a pre-shield and post-shield system. The mechanics are interesting, but Danielle and Hillary note they're still learning the specifics of that two-shield method.

DIY Lash Lift Kits: Don't

"Don't ever do it. It's so stupid."

That's Hillary's answer, and it's the right one.

The chemicals used in lash lifts are strong. They need to structurally change the hair from the inside out. Doing that near the eyes -- with one eye open, without professional training in how to read timing and lash condition -- is a genuine safety risk.

There's also the Amazon factor. Products bought through third-party sellers can be tampered with before they ship. You're applying an unknown formulation near your eyes, without knowing what's actually in it, trying to hold your own lashes to your own eyelid. Hillary has had clients come in after DIY lifts needing correction, and in some cases, their lashes were already compromised enough that she couldn't even help them right away.

The example that puts it plainly: Hillary is a lash lift specialist, and she gets her own lifts done by Ashtyn. She doesn't do them herself.

What Separates a $40 Lash Lift from a $150 One

Everything, according to Hillary.

The price difference reflects the sum of every variable in the experience: where you're working (a home setup vs. a professional suite vs. a salon), the products you're using, the surface you're working on, your level of experience, and the standard of the overall service. Every one of those factors is a signal of what someone is walking into when they book with you.

There's also the timing of your price point. If you're just starting, charging $150 is not honest -- and eventually it catches up with you. Ashtyn's point is direct: a beginner lash lifter should not be charging $150 from day one. Earn the price point with the experience that justifies it.

Licensing and Chemical Knowledge

This is an area where lash lifts carry more risk than lash extensions when it comes to performing them without training.

Lash extensions involve adhesive near the eye -- a risk, but a physical one. Lash lifts involve chemical processing solutions that have to penetrate the hair structure to make a structural change. The chemicals are more active, and the margin for error when applied without understanding the chemistry is narrower.

California at one point restricted estheticians from performing lash lifts because of exactly this issue -- the earlier versions of the service were being done with perm rods and full-strength hair perm solution, the same formula used on scalp hair. Too strong for lashes. The lash lift products developed since then are formulated specifically for the eye area, but they still require understanding of processing times, hair health assessment, and chemical behavior. They are not casual add-ons.

Adding Lash Lifts to Your Menu

Hillary's answer: only if you're committed to actually putting the time in.

A lash lift can technically be learned in a day. The technique is not as complex as lash extensions in terms of the skill ceiling. But being confident and meticulous at it -- knowing how to read hair, adjust timing, manage product, handle corrections -- takes practice. You can learn it and start practicing relatively quickly. You cannot shortcut the reps needed to be actually good at it.

Danielle's answer is the one that lands harder. She learned lash lifts. She didn't do enough of them. She doesn't feel confident and comfortable. So she doesn't offer them.

That is the honest version of professional standards: knowing what you can charge for and what you can't yet.

What to Tell a First-Time Client

The single most common expectation to correct before you start: a lash lift is not a mascara replacement.

A lift lengthens the appearance of the lashes (through illusion of the curl), darkens them, and opens the eye. It does not make lashes thicker or fuller in diameter. Clients who come in wanting that mascara-level volume, and who have the natural lashes to support it, are better candidates for extensions than a lift.

The consultation process Hillary uses: assess the lashes in front of you (body, length, current condition), ask what shape they're looking for (natural, more extreme), and gauge where their expectation is before choosing a shield or committing to a look. The same principle applies to extensions -- what someone shows you as a reference photo is sometimes achievable with a lift, and sometimes it's clearly an extension result they're looking at. Call it out early.

Stubborn Lashes and Baby Lashes

Stubborn lashes that won't lay up on the pad: Ashtyn's approach is to get them down first and then work from there. She softens them by applying step one while they're not yet on the shield -- similar to how a Korean lift starts -- just to relax them enough to work with. Once they're soft, she combs and repositions. Balm helps here because it gives more flexibility to go back in and adjust after the lashes have been laid.

Baby lashes should always be left off the shield, and clients should be told why. An immature lash that gets processed will grow out with a small hook at the tip -- because the bend was applied before the hair had the body to hold a clean shape. That outgrowth is noticeable and uncomfortable. Leave baby lashes alone and tell the client you're doing it so they're not surprised when those lashes look different as they come in.

Brilliant Lash Pro Processing Time

The Brilliant Lash Pro lash lift products process in 4 to 8 minutes per step. Ashtyn used 6.5 minutes per step for Hillary during this episode -- calibrated to Hillary's thinner lash texture. For thicker lashes, she would go a little longer. She has never gone the full 8 minutes.

Her reasoning: under-processing is safer than over-processing. Brilliant Lash Pro's formula is forgiving enough that if she felt she needed another minute and a half after reviewing the result, she could go back in. Over-processing doesn't give you that option.

Watch the Full Episode

Episode 24 of Behind the Brilliance is available on YouTube and all podcast platforms.

Shop Brilliant Lash Pro (lash lift packets, lashes, adhesive):

brilliantlashpro.com

Join the Brilliant Insider Community on Skool:

skool.com/brilliant

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Lash Lift Dos and Don'ts From Three Professionals

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