A Beginner's Guide To Understanding Lash Tray Terminology
Ready to start your journey as a lash extension technician? Choosing the right lash trays can be a little daunting, especially with various lengths, curls, and diameters. Luckily, we've made an easy-to-follow guide to help you understand lash tray terminology and their differences.
Lash Extensions Handmade vs Premade Fans
To start, you'll probably know the type of lash artist you want to be and which lash technique you want to offer your clients. If you wish to use individual lashes to create your lash fans or premade fans that are already pre-fanned for you, hence the name "premade". Either way, you can create beautiful lash extensions.
Lash Extension Materials
The Lash Store HQ specialises in Premade Lash extension Fans. Lashes are made from Korean PBT (polybutylene terephthalate), a thermoplastic polymer, and one of the highest quality materials, similar to polyester, making lash extensions light and soft yet strong enough to hold their curl and dark in pigment.
There are many other materials. Some are made from animals, like mink and silk, which won't hold the curl long enough due to the natural protein found in the strands. As PBT is the most durable material, we recommend only using PBT for all your lash sets.
Lash Extension Volumes
Although thickness and volume sound similar, there's a big difference when it comes to lash extensions. Volume refers to the number of strands to a lash fan, which is applied to the natural lash, while thickness is the diameter of each lash strand. To create the perfect look for your client, you'll want to choose the right volume, diameter, curl and lengths.
Classic lash extensions were the first type used in the beauty market. One lash strand attached to one natural lash creates a subtle yet enhanced look.
Over time, the volume of lashes increased with two lash strands attached to one natural lash, creating a 2D volume set. Three lash strands in a lash fan are attached to one natural lash for a 3D set, and it goes up to 10D, which is the highest volume of premade lash fans using our premium PBT material.
The more lash strands in your fans, the more volume as each added strand adds definition and thickness to volume lashes. But while choosing the highest volumes of lash fans can be tempting, the lengths and thicknesses play a significant role in what you can safely attach to a single natural lash without causing damage.
Lash Extension Lengths
Like choosing lash extension volume, opting for the longest, most dramatic lengths can be easy. Still, it's essential to consider your client's natural lashes and what they can realistically hold. When choosing lash length, you'll want to keep the fan volume and thickness in mind, as each can affect the weight of the lashes.
Lash extension lengths are measured in millimetres, with sizes starting at 8mm and going up to 17mm. Depending on your client's desired look, you'll want to choose a length that fits their natural lash type, eye shape and occupation.
For example, suppose a client has delicate, thin lashes. In that case, it's best to avoid longer-length extensions, which can weigh down the natural lash and cause premature fallout and breakage. And if your client has tiny eyes, you would only go for shorter lengths as they dont have the lid capacity for longer lengths.
A natural lash look is between 8mm and 12mm; a more defined look is 8mm to 14mm; for a more volumised lash style, use 9mm to 17mm. You should always start your lash lengths with an 8mm or 9mm and never skip sizes.
Lash Extension Diameters
As mentioned earlier, lash diameter is the thickness of each lash strand. It must be tailored to your client's natural lashes and desired look.
Thickness is measured in decimals, with the finest starting at 0.03 and the thickest at 0.10 for premade volume lash fans. However, finer strands will be lighter and fluffier, while thicker strands will be heavier and create a more structured lash look.
There's only so much weight a natural lash can hold, so taking a balanced approach to thickness and volume is essential. A good rule of thumb is that the less volume you use, the greater the thickness of each lash strand. The more volume you add, the lighter the diameter should be.
4D volume premade lash fans (four strands to one fan), with a diameter of 0.10, are structured but still light enough for each natural lash.
The reverse is also true. 8D Volume premade lash fans (8 strands to one fan) with a diameter of 0.05 are fluffier and still light enough for the natural lash.
The Lash Store HQ Offers a extensive range of lash extension lash trays. Premades are available in 2D to 10D with diameters of 0.05, 0.07 and 0.10. C, D and L curls. They also offer Premade Wispy and Premade Hybrid Lash Fans.
The range is extensive to ensure lash artists can create any style your client requests.
Lash Extension Curls
Now that you understand volumes (Strands per fan), Diameters (Thickness of strands), and Lengths (mm size of each strand) of your lash fan trays, it's time to choose the right curl. Lash Extension curls are labelled by letters, and each letter represents the degree of the curl.
As a lash technician, you'll need a variety of curls to suit your clients, from the very straight to the extremely curled. Each lash curl changes the look of your lash style. L Curl gives a foxy eye, Slanted L Curl provides a wing effect, C Curl is less curly, whilst D Curl is a curler and provides a lifted appearance. Within the eight years of being lash suppliers in Australia, the most popular has always been D Curl.
Now that we've discussed Lash Extension Volumes, Diameters, Lengths and Curls, we hope you understand lash tray terminology better.
Feel free to explore our range of volume lash trays, premade lash extension trays, and premade wispy and hybrid lash trays. We also have all the liquids you need and are registered with the Australian Inventory of Chemical Substances (AICS).
THE LASH STORE HQ
112a Chapel Street Kingsgrove NSW 2208
Monday and Tuesday – 9.00 am to 7.30 pm
Wednesday to Friday – 9.00 am to 6.00 pm
Saturday – 9.00 am to 3.00 pm
Do you need more training? We offer face-to-face lash training courses in Sydney and online. You'll be trained by Betty, the founder of The Lash Store and an industry expert. Contact us today at courses@thelashstore.com.au