Eyelash Extensions

The desire to draw attention to the eyelashes has been going strong since around 4000 BC, when ancient Egyptians used kohl to darken lashes and eye areas. Fast-forward thousands of years later, and the mascara industry brings in over an astonishing one billion dollars a year. That's not even including other eyelash-enhancing products such as extensions, false eyelashes, and now Latisse, an eyelash-growth drug approved by the FDA last December. Take a look at my chart below to compare products available on the market now. How much would you pay for long and full lashes?

PRODUCT	PROS	CONS
Mascara	Easy to find and come in a wide variety of styles from vibrating, scented, colored, thickening, and lengthening. Cheap — ranging in price from $5 to $10 at the drugstore. Assuming you keep your mascara around three months, it's mere pennies per use.	Can run and smudge, doesn't always look natural, and very temporary.
False Eyelashes	Very accessible, easy to apply (see my attempt here), and relatively cheap, ranging in price from inexpensive like E.L.F. False Eyelashes ($1 to $3) to moderate/slightly expensive such as Shu Uemura ($16 for accent lashes to $95 for fantasy lashes). Also, they're just plain fun — bedazzled lashes, anyone?	Can fall off easily, don't last very long, can't always be reused, and can look, well, fake!
Eyelash Extensions	Natural looking, long lasting (around two to three months), and doesn't take very long to apply by a spa professional (around 80 minutes or so). Check out my experience with eyelash extensions here.	Expensive, averaging around $200 to $600.
Latisse	Effective, easy to apply — similar to putting on eyeliner, treats hypotrichosis (sparse eyelashes), long-lasting (several weeks to months), and looks very natural because it's your own hair growing out.	Available by prescription only, expensive ($120 for 30-day supply), needs to be applied daily, and side effects can include skin darkening, irritation, dryness, and redness of the eyelids.

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A reader shared this beauty blooper with me, and I just had to pass it along. So in case you're thinking of getting eyelash extensions, read this first!

My now-husband and I decided to elope. I still wanted to get all gussied up for the event, so I decided to treat myself to eyelash extensions. I was excited about them because I thought they would look really natural and fabulous in all of our wedding and honeymoon photographs. I took my time and did extensive research on spas and salons, and decided on a new salon in my area that offered the treatment.

What happened was a complete disaster! I ended up with lashes that were all the same length. I call them doll lashes since they happened to also be ridiculously long. In a feeble attempt to improve the look of my lashes, I cut them with manicure scissors. It helped a little bit (or so I thought), but when I took an objective look at them in the mirror the next day, I realized they were still too long, and now they were also uneven.

I did the unthinkable and began to pry them off with tweezers. When that didn't work, I tried using an oil to remove the glue, but the salon had used so much adhesive that I wound up pulling out many of my own lashes as well. The burning and the pain was intense but once I started I couldn't dare stop! For the next two months, I had to live with sparse eyelashes until they began to regrow. Why did I allow this to happen right before my wedding?

Lesson learned: Ask to see photos of a salon or spa's work before you have a semi-permanent treatment done. If it doesn't go well, have your eyelash extensions removed by a professional. Furthermore, if you are ever feeling pain from a beauty treatment, please seek out immediate care from a physician or an expert.

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If you think false eyelashes are glamorous, wait until you see eyelash extensions. Just as their name implies, they're a lot like hair extensions—but for the eyes, natch. At first, I thought the concept was a little goofy, and that mascara was doing a perfectly good job of making me look doe-eyed and lovely. But then I was offered the chance to try a set for free, and, well, now I feel naked without them. For a step-by-step account of the in-spa procedure, read more

Eyelash extensions are all the rage. Everyone in Hollywood is getting them, and NYC's most fabulous socialites swear by them. They take the fuss out of applying false eyelash with messy glue, and they save tons of time getting ready if you're a fabulous gal with a busy schedule. With so many brands advertised on the market now, here's some helpful information to read up on before you invest in a pair of your own.

Eyelash extensions are applied to your natural eyelashes with a bonding agent, such as an adhesive or permanent glue. Having a full set applied takes about two hours. They are safe to wear with contact lenses; you can sleep, swim, and spa in them; and they're not so long that you'll be batting into your sunglasses every time you blink. You don't have to wear mascara with them, and they last for about two months. Also, the glue doesn't touch your skin, so you won't have any weird remnants when you're finished. Eyelash extensions come in a myriad of colors and lengths. To learn about the different types of extensions, read more