Clients have been known to say, “The lash technician glued my eyes shut!” I am sure you’ve heard it. The trouble with the statement is that it’s inaccurate and can be damaging to your reputation, your business, and your self-esteem.
To deal with this challenging industry misconception, you need to know:
What’s really happening when a client says this
How to respond appropriately
How to avoid creating a situation where the client might think their eyes are glued shut
Are the Eyes Glued Shut? What’s Going On?
It’s a lashing inevitability – sometimes adhesive sticks to more than one lash. If the lash it sticks to happens to be a pesky bottom lash, poking through the eye pad, guess what? The client won’t be able to open their eyes when you tell them to. When this happens, the client may be surprised, and think they can’t open their eyes because they are glued shut. Hence, the myth.
However, the actual eyelid doesn’t have any glue on it, and the actual eyelids are NOT glued together.
Respond Appropriately
The last thing you want to do when the client tells you their eyes are glued shut is to respond irrationally. Clients who are used to getting lashes likely won’t be too concerned. They’ll politely let you know some lashes are stuck together. However, newer clients might find the sensation disconcerting and get anxious or panicky. When you react, you’re setting the energy for the rest of the interaction, so be sure to be calm, reassuring, and direct.
For example, try saying in a calm and level voice: “Thank you for letting me know. I want to reassure you that your eyes and eyelids are not glued together. However, a top and bottom lash might be stuck together, preventing you from being able to open your eyes. Let me get that fixed right up for you!”
Avoid the Issue
The best way to deal with the misconception of having glued the eyes shut is to avoid gluing lashes together altogether. Here’s how:
Once you believe your application is complete, go through each lash, using the tweezers, to ensure that there are no lashes stuck together, using tweezers to break apart any stuck lashes. Any that cannot be broken apart may need to be removed and reapplied.
Sometimes, despite the eye pads, and bottom lash or two gets stuck to an extension or some adhesive, or both. To avoid this, before finishing and allowing the client to see their lashes, do the following:
Look carefully for any bottom lashes that may have been glued or stuck to an upper lash, and gently break them apart using the tweezers.
Take a pair of curved tweezers and very gently and very carefully slide them between the top and bottom lashes.
Using your other hand, gently tug upwards on the top lid as you go, breaking any bond between top and bottom lashes.
If all else fails, you may need to use a remover as a last resort to unstick trouble spots.
Always do these steps before you let the client open their eyes. After all, the goal is to have the eyes open, and not remain sealed.
Although we know that we didn’t “glue their eyes shut,” the client may perceive it this way. The fact is that having a client tell others you glued their eyes shut is not good for business. It can be damaging to your reputation, and it can also be hard on your self-esteem. If you find yourself in a situation where despite your best efforts a client believes you glued their eyes shut, know that it’s happened to all lash technicians at one point or another through their career, and they still go on to great success and have tons of loyal customers.
Do you want to learn more about lash application? InfinitiLash can help! We have training that covers this, and so much more!
InfinitiLash – Where Beauty Meets the Eye
Contact us to discuss our training programs, or to ask questions about our products, services, or the InfinitiLash Method. Visit us on the web 247 at infinitilash.com