How I Clean My False Lashes

I know almost nobody does this, most girls have tens (or even hundreds!) of falsies in their kits/vanities, but I'm sorta on a budget. And I also hate wasting anything if it's still good to use, so why not?

What follows is my personal manner of dealing with the process of making sure you can reuse your false lashes- cleaning them. Most videos on YouTube and blog posts do other things, namely the infamous 'alcohol cleansing method' or what I call 'maceration'- leaving the falsies in some container with water and alcohol. I never did this, my 'recipe' is simpler, faster and really cool (because it's mine!). So here's what I do. For the record, I only use Duo Lash Adhesive in Black. 

1. I never rip my false lashes off, like I saw everybody else doing. It takes your natural lashes off as well, pinches and pulls the skin and you're also damaging the falsies if you're using a high-quality adhesive, like Duo, which has strong endurance.

Instead, what I do is pat my face (especially the eye area; take some warm water in your fists and put them over your eyes, above your sink) with warm/hot water, depending on mood and weather. I soften the makeup this way, the mascara that is attached to my natural lashes and the false ones as well, binding them together, and i soften the adhesive. I just need one splash and they're ready to be peeled, not ripped off. It's the best manner of removing them as gently as possible.

2. I leave them aside while I remove my eye makeup in my usual routine. Don't start cleaning the lashes because the softened mascara and eyeshadow is already a mess and it gets into the eyes immediately. I just take off my makeup and make sure there's nothing left.

3. I just let warm water running, and keep the lashes under the tap for about 15-30 seconds, depending on the water temperature and the type of lashes (will get to this one in a minute). 

4. The adhesive softens very easily, and sometimes (I guess if combined with other products, or just depending on the water temperature, not sure) gets light gray, like a little discolored. It usually stays black. 

5. I can literally peel small strands of adhesive off the false eyelash margin; carefully, really gently, and I don't even have long nails. I am saying 'gently' because you might wanna pay extra attention if you're using lashes that are $50 a pop, like Shu Uemura, MAC or any other expensive brand. To be honest, I sometimes just rip the softened adhesive strands off the eyelash line and call it a day, it's so soft that I don't need to be 'careful'. Just saying. Oh and if adhesive has gotten into/among the base of the hairs, then I do have to be careful not to destroy the lash; I use the tweezers or pick every bit of softened adhesive really carefully. It has the consistency of chewing gum, minus the stickiness. Really easy.

6. I never leave my lashes soak in liquid, because it damages the hairs and softens their own adhesive.

7. I never rub them between my palms- what's the purpose? The mascara I had on (and I use very little or no mascara on false eyelashes...I think it looks better with my makeup style) has already melted and dissolved by itself; if I really really wanna make sure everything is gone, I can use the tiniest bit of Dove face soap suds, or some face cleanser, a bit of (baby) shampoo (gentle), whatever. Something really mild. 

8. I never apply alcohol. It is just useless- you're disinfecting something that will get filled with bacteria and germs as soon as it comes in contact with oxygen or another surface. What's the point? Plus, it dries out the hairs of your falsies if they're natural and completely effs up the adhesive. Boo. Never!

9. Now, time to put them back into shape- take the lash, 'shake' it a little to remove any water drops off your fingers/the lashes. Take the lash by the base line and hold it with your index and your thumb. With your other hand, take a soft towel. Gently come forward with the lash, not the other way around, and just touch the lash against the towel. You can also use makeup removing wipes, paper towels, etc, whatever you wish as long as the material doesn't leave residues/lint. 

Press them against the fabric you're using just to make sure you're getting the water 'residue' soaked out of the hairs; do not rub or push hard. 

Then keep the lash in the same position, just curl the hairs back to their previous shape with your other hand, then press the fabric against the 'new curl' until you see it holds. You can dry them naturally (what I usually do because they dry up really fast) or close to a heat source, it doesn't really matter as long as you're attentive. 

I'll put some pics to demonstrate, as soon as possible. 

Now, there is a difference between handling natural hair false lashes and falsey-false ones.

1. No hot water on the natural ones.

2. No hair pulling, scratching, anything in the family. It will ruin your lashes, especially if they're expensive. Use a pair of tweezers to remove what's remained between the hairs, at the base. 

3. You need to reshape them once they're no longer soaking wet, because the natural hair will change its curl after the bath. It will not look identical, however what I personally think is that the 'new' shape looks much more natural than the original version and the lashes do look as if they were yours once you reuse them. However, this depends on your preferences. The synthetic hair falsies remain the same no matter what, but they have a little problem- the hairs are glued with their own adhesive, so you need to be careful when you clean them as well. 

Then you can store them like I do (very frugally shown here http://mariesbeautyblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/how-to-clean-brusheshow-to-store-lashes.html), or place them back to their original cases.