Can You Swim With Lash Extensions?

Everyone knows lash extensions, be it a constant influx of strip lashes to feed your habit, a consistent appointment with your local lash tech, or even a serious investment in DIY lashes, will cost you a pretty penny. Sure, they’ll get you feeling and looking like your best self, but as with most major purchases, you’ll probably want to care for them the best that you can. 

No one likes losing a chunk of change in their wallet, especially not if it ends up all being over something avoidable. Getting your lashes wet can be one of those very things — avoidable in excess and unfortunate if it ruins your fresh full set of wings. 

“Avoidable?” you ask. “How do I shower? Clean my face? How can I swim this summer at the beach or the pool? Are you telling me I can’t swim?!”

We appreciate your curiosity and understand your confusion — how are you supposed to avoid water when it’s a daily part of your routines and the center of most summer circles? We thought ahead and have all the info you’ll need to know. The answers to your questions just might surprise you. 

The Ins and Outs of Lash Adhesive

To understand the importance of how water affects your lash’s wear, let’s break down lash adhesive in general and learn how it works with (or against) various other ingredients. 

There’s a lot of sciencey stuff that goes into creating lash products. Where all you’ll be worried about is how easily lash adhesive applies from the applicator, we worry ahead of time about how skin-safe an adhesive is and how it can remain as strong and long as possible without wearing out from things in your daily routine — facial cleansers, soaps, shampoos, heat, and yes, water.

You might not be concerned about these things when purchasing and using a lash adhesive from the store or when you’re sitting for hours with a lash tech as they apply adhesive to your natural lashes. You’re simply trusting the product and the person applying. 

And odds are you’re either removing the lashes daily before you go through all the splashing, cleansing, and makeup removal, or your lash tech is giving you all the essential information for upkeep and care after you’re appointment. 

But if you’ve converted to a DIY lash system like Lashify®, you might not be aware of how some products affect your lash adhesive's strength. In this case, water could be the least of your worries and the cherry on top of a hill of growing habits that’ll have your lashes floating away with the next rouge wave that washes ashore. 

Oil and Adhesive

Oil-based anything is one thing to watch out for when wearing adhesive. Superglue — probably one of the strongest forms of adhesive you can find in general use — is known to be removed easily with an oil-based product working against it. 

If you’ve ever had your fingers accidentally glued together with the potent substance, oil might’ve just been your ticket to salvation without you realizing it. Adhesives often contain an acrylic compound known as cyanoacrylate that makes up a family of fast-drying bonds. 

Oil works to break down the bond in even the strongest of glues. This means that an oil-based makeup product or facial wash can quickly negate the adhesive’s effectiveness even with a temporary glue used with strip lashes. 

With a semi-permanent adhesive like our Whisper Light™ Bond, it’s best to avoid oil-based products unless your goal is to remove your lashes. 

Heat and Adhesive

Heat is another deterrent to adhesive. With a product like our Bondage® Extra Strength Bond with Charcoflex®, we take advantage of the activated charcoal to provide a heat-resistant adhesive, but it’s still a good rule of thumb to avoid excess or direct heat. 

Don’t sit for hours in the sauna at the spa, don’t blow dry hair right in front of your face, and don’t stare directly into the sun. You should be good.

Water and Adhesive

Finally, water can wear away at the bond your adhesive has made with your natural lashes. This is why lash techs will advise you to keep your lashes completely dry for 24 to 48 hours after application and why we’d recommend the same. 

Just like with anything good, lash adhesives take time to fully bond the lashes together, and they use those first 24 to 48 hours to harden into a nigh unbreakable hold for the duration of your wear.

Can Lashes Get Wet at All?

Okay, so water: bad. That base is covered. But what about after the first 24 to 48 hours? Can you swim out to sea then? Can you plan that pool party with your besties? Can you cry in the shower after the season finale of the Bachelor ends? In short, it depends.

After your incubation is complete, water won’t destroy the bond in the same way, but the weight of the water itself can still be a formidable enemy to your lashes. If you go to the beach or head to the pool, but all you plan on doing is dipping your lower half in the water to cool off or only getting thigh-deep in the ocean waves, then yeah, you’re all set to “swim.” 

If you plan on using the first snorkel you can find to lay face first in the pool for 30 minutes, then no, we’d recommend you leave that kind of swimming for the ones who are lash-less. As for showering and washing your face, the unavoidable water sources, there are still ways to keep clean while also keeping dry — your lashes, at least. 

For your leisure time in the shower, where you can zone out under the running water, you might consider using a splash guard for your eyes like the Lashiplash™. We can already feel you recoiling, but bear with us.

Who’s seeing you in the shower? Most of the time, no one, so who’s there to care if you’re doing what needs to be done to protect your precious investment? It takes all the worry out of the process by simply donning the clear, quality water visor during your shower, and removing it after — lashes perfectly intact. Give it a try, and then we’ll talk.

When washing your face, your lashes are ok to hit a few drops here and there. What you want to do is avoid direct splashes or streams of water. The weight of the water will quickly drag your lashes down and you with it. 

Recap of the Fundamentals for Strong Lashes

That was a lot of info we just dumped on you, so to help you remember the most important bits, refer to the list below:

1. Oil is the enemy! Read the ingredients on your makeup and other daily-used products to ensure you’re not destroying that cyanoacrylate bond before it’s ready to depart. 

2. Water should be avoided in heavy streams or direct splashes. The Black Magic Cleansing Puff could be the perfect solution to cleaning your face without a stray drop of water finding your lashes. Microfiber for the win!

3. Swimming is possible, but it depends on your definition of it. Pops in the pool, sashays along the shore, and a tap of your toes in the water are perfectly okay. Cannonballing into the deep end, backflipping off a diving board, and trying to do that handstand thing we all did as kids (and still do) should probably be avoided.

Keep your lashes dry. This is the big rule of thumb. If you’re ever wondering, “Is this time ok? Surely a little splash won’t hurt.” Just say NO. Your lashes are going to be thanking you in the end. 

Water Wicking Wonder

We’ve mentioned it a few times by now, but there are a lot of ways to enjoy the sunshine and cool water without ruining your investment. If you feel like you’ll be insatiable without a trip to the beach this summer, get up and go on the trip! Just know your lash limits and what tools are in your corner to help your lashes have the best chance of survival. 

The Lashiplash™, Black Magic Cleansing Puff, and Bondage® Extra Strength Bond with Charcoflex® are but a few of the innovations at your disposal (did we mention activated charcoal is also water-wicking?). Make the most of them and watch how they help you make the most of your next vacay.

We can’t wait to see your scrapbook of photos when you get back, filled with pics of you looking absolutely stunning in your clean, cared-for, and well-traveled set of Gossies®!

Sources:

Cyanoacrylate | chemistry | Britannica

What Breaks Down Super Glue Adhesive? | Cedesa

Charcoal, Activated (Oral Route) Description and Brand Names | Mayo Clinic