Sun, Jul 05, 2009
 Aesthetician Lea Van Diver attaches extensions to Lindsey Hutts' eyelashes at Face Me. The black synthetic lashes have freed the 20-year-old from a daily ritual of using mascara. Photos by James S. Wood / arizona daily star
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Make your peepers popLush lashes can be yours all the time without the daily ritual of applying mascara
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 08.18.2007
Lindsey Hutts isn't really a high-maintenance kind of gal.
The University of Arizona junior doesn't wear much makeup and does her own nails. The 20-year-old's beauty splurge — extensions. For her eyelashes.
"It just makes a really big difference," said Hutts, who added that she wakes up in the morning already looking like she's got on mascara.
Which is the big draw for the slight-as-a-whisper fake hairs.
Hutts' own lashes are dark at the bottom and light at the tips. The black, synthetic lashes attached to her own have freed her from a daily ritual of copious amounts of mascara and an eyelash curler.
"I have people come up to me all the time and say, 'You have great lashes,' " said Hutts, who gets hers done at Face Me, 1865 E. River Road, Suite 151. "But I don't say anything (about the extensions). I just say, 'Thank you.' "
Yes, in 2007 the "Does she or doesn't she?" question applies not to hair color but eyelashes.
"It's not bulky," said Lisa Stoner, who owns the Northwest Side Looks Lashes. "You can't tell at all."
In recent months, Tucsonans like Hutts have been lashing out. The trend for fully-fringed peepers hit the East and West coasts between five and 10 years ago, estimates Stephanie Edelbrock, an aesthetician and trainer with Gadabout. Edelbrock spent nearly three years researching the process before Gadabout added the service a year ago. Currently, only the Sunrise/Kolb and River/Campbell Gadabout locations offer eyelash extensions.
"When you have these beautiful lashes, you don't have to do anything else to your eyes," Edelbrock said. "It's a youthful, wide, big-eyed look."
Gadabout sees a lot of post-chemotherapy patients. The extensions give them an instant boost.
"It's just immediate gratification," Edelbrock said.
Pretty much anyone can get extensions — you just need to have some lashes so there's a base for the synthetic ones.
"We cannot fill in gaps," says Lea Van Diver, an aesthetician at Face Me. "It's not a false lash, it's an extension."
Full eyelash extensions generally cost $250, and the process can take two hours. Wearers then need to come back every few weeks (the average is three) for fills as natural lashes shed. That costs between $50 and $100, depending on the salon and how many lashes you need.
As you might imagine, adding extensions is meticulous work.
Van Diver dons a pair of yellow polka-dotted glasses before tackling Hutts' eyelashes. Each itty-bitty hair needs to be isolated with needle-nosed tweezers. Van Diver plucks a thin, lightly curled black lash from a tuft in a clear, plastic container and drags it through black, surgical-grade adhesive. Then she carefully sticks it close to the base of Hutts' natural lash. In about 30 seconds the glue dries, and it's on to the next lash.
Typically, extensions range from 6 millimeters to 17 millimeters — just about long enough to take flight.
Van Diver uses three different lash lengths for a natural look.
Stoner, who only does lash extensions, says once her clients take the plunge and get add-ons, they then like to have fun with them, adding highlights or mixing in colors like blue, purple, even red and pink.
Extensions have been a godsend for Cece Blankenship. The retiree and former model has had several eye surgeries that left her green eyes sensitive and unable to tolerate mascara. Although, if a special occasion popped up, Blankenship would wear it anyway and brave the inevitable eye infection.
After getting permanent eyeliner tattooed on her lids and battling with false eyelashes, she got lash extensions from Stoner about four months ago.
"I had my confidence back," said Blankenship, 54. "I don't think of myself as a beautiful person, but I definitely try to enhance what God has given me. . . . I'm beyond thrilled. I will never give them up. I just love 'em."
Lash extensions do require extra TLC. No oil-based makeup remover (it compromises the adhesive) or eyelash curlers (again, can damage the adhesive bond), and if you're going to use mascara, go for water-based, says Face Me owner Davina Salese.
Dr. Kathleen Duerksen, an ophthalmologist who specializes in facial plastic surgery, warns that people need to be cautious when doing anything around the eyes. She recently treated a patient with eyelash extensions who had a corneal abrasion, most likely from a glob of glue that had gotten in her eye.
"A corneal abrasion is probably one of the most painful things to have," she said, adding that people with allergies and sensitivities to adhesive need to be especially careful about extensions.
Interestingly, Hutts, the UA student, has noticed that since she's abandoned the mascara wand and eyelash curler, her lashes are healthier and aren't breaking off anymore.
"Mine are getting thicker."
● Contact Kristen Cook at kcook@azstarnet.com or 573-4194.
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