Lashclusivity

Just like all areas of the beauty industry, lashes are becoming more inclusive. Kezia Parkins finds out how you can make your business more accessible and reach more clients

If you’re looking to up your lash game, inclusivity could be the missing piece to taking your business to the next level. Hear us out. Lashes have come a long way from mascara and the classic strip lash. There are now an array of treatments to enhance natural lashes or to extend with false lashes. With the influx of new ways to improve the appearance of lashes has come an abundance of new styles.

Over the past few years, requests for “wet look”, “angel”, “fox-eye” and “cat-eye” have become commonplace for the lash tech but despite what TikTok says, these looks don’t suit everyone.

If you want to truly up your lash game, then maybe it’s time to think about boosting your ability to enhance the natural lashes of anybody that walks through your doors to create a truly bespoke and inclusive service.

Lash extensions for brunettes and blondes

Lash extensions have evolved a lot, especially in the past five years. Until recently, jet black lash extensions were all you would really see and were largely all that were available. But with the rise in popularity of TikTok aesthetics “clean girl” and “old money”, where we have seen people opt for higher maintenance treatments in order to look low maintenance and effortless, jet black bold lashes, or looking like you’ve had your lashes “done”, has become less desirable, putting brunettes, blondes, redheads and anybody with lack of pigment in their lashes out of the picture when it comes to these trends.

For a lot of people, this changed when brown lashes started to become more popular, and in 2024 they are set to be one of the hottest trends of the year. Valencia Koger aka @MinksbyV, a lash tech and MUA based in Miami, USA, remembers reading that brown lashes were going to be big on a blog back in 2022. At that point, most of her clients and models were Black women or women with dark lashes, but wanting to be able to offer her services to everyone, she sought out a client with lighter lashes.

“The first time I tried brown lashes, I hated it,” says Koger. “It just didn’t look right. I kept inviting more girls and practised with brown lashes specifically for six months, using different shades.”

It wasn’t until summer 2023 that Koger says she had her technique down, matching the tones of the natural roots, brows and lashes with an array of coloured extensions she had sought from various manufacturers. “Just as I would colour-match makeup to the skin, I started colour-matching to the natural hair.”

“The popularity of the clean girl aesthetic makes the increased popularity of brown lashes make sense,” says Lashbase artist Alicia Reynolds, who also runs training membership organisation Lashlife. UK brands are extending their brown lash ranges, offering a wider variety of shades to clients than ever before – perfect for natural lash lovers and all of your fair-haired clients.

“Nobody should be EXCLUDED. We fight for inclusivity in hair, makeup and skincare so LASHES SHOULD BE THE SAME„

“Being able to offer a more inclusive service, as well as colour match, allows us lash artists to tailor our creations to suit everyone’s individual preferences and skin tones.”

Pigment conditions

After posting a video of one of these experiments, which became her sought after “lash colour-matching” technique, Koger went viral, helping to kick off a trend for expertly colour-matched lashes.

Her next challenge, and to bring true inclusivity to the lash game, was to colour match clients with conditions that affect the pigment in their hair, such as vitiligo, poliosis and albinism.

Vitiligo and poliosis are both often progressive, occuring in later life, and can both cause discoloration of the hair, brows and lashes. However, vitiligo can affect anywhere on the body, including where there is hair, while poliosis only affects areas where there is hair.

Meanwhile, albinism affects the entire body from birth. “I had a client with vitiligo who had black lashes on one eye and white lashes on the other eye,” says Koger. “Instead of being so focused on the colour, we had to focus more on the symmetry – how do we make them look the same? Because white can overpower black so it was a matter of playing around with density to get that symmetry.”

Koger has begun to be inundated with clients with conditions such as vitiligo and poliosis – which she says is more common than she ever imagined – which meant elevated natural-looking lashes were previously not accessible to them, and she says it is a continual learning process. “Nobody should be excluded. We fight for inclusivity in hair, makeup and skincare, so lashes should be the same. It makes the craft behind it so much fun. Doing one colour gets kind of boring.”

Tailoring your lash lift

The natural lash is still one of the hottest lash looks of the past few years and that doesn’t look set to change. “Covid is largely responsible for the move away from lash extensions to more natural looks but the cost-of-living crisis has added to that,” says Lisa Stone, educator for lash brand Refectocil.

Both of these recent events have boosted the popularity of the lift and tint. With 2.3 billion and 116.7 million views on TikTok respectively, #lashlift and #lashtint are two big trends among clients. “Many are going for something a bit more low maintenance. Lash lifts and tints are also a great way to create that effortless but well-groomed look that is so trendy,” says Stone.

But, while a lash lift can benefit most people, the treatment should not be approached as one-size-fits-all. “Race and hair type definitely play a part in how lashes grow. Some people will naturally have a more dramatic curl while others’ lashes will be a lot straighter. Lash thickness and eye shape should also play a part in how you assess your client for the best results,” adds Stone.

“Being able to offer a more INCLUSIVE SERVICE, as well as colour match, allows us lash artists to tailor our creations to SUIT EVERYONE’S INDIVIDUAL PREFERENCES and skin tones„

The natural lash look is still all the rage with a dramatic sultry, sloping curve. “To achieve this look, use shields rather than a rod, which creates a far more curled look. For clients with already very curled lashes, use a larger rod than you would usually,” says Stone. This, she explains, helps to relax the curl of the lash and set it lower, making the lashes appear longer.

The processing time of a lash lift should also take into account the thickness and density of your client’s lashes, as every person’s lashes are a different diameter, and heritage may play a part in this too.

Lash serums for all

The move to more minimalist makeup and soft glam has spilled over to lashes, boosting the rise in popularity for lash serums, which fast became one of the biggest lash trends of 2023.

Now, with an influx of brands on the market, many clients are bewildered by the choices on offer and the media attention around ingredients such as prostaglandins that can cause unwanted side effects.

Pros are in a position to recommend and retail serums to clients to help them cut through the abundance of information online. There are now products available that use only natural ingredients and others for those with sensitive eyes, such as the new Revitalash Sensitive Eyelash Conditioner, so do your research and help clients find the best product for them.