How To Make Lash Extensions Look More Natural
The natural lash look is super on trend right now, but even if you want the natural look, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re dumping your makeup bag in the trash. You want a little extra length or volume from extensions but don’t want it to be obvious. Subtly is the word when curating a natural-looking lash style with DIY eyelash extensions.
Here are our top tips on getting the most natural-looking lash extensions you can!
Science to the Style
When we look at each other's lashes, how do we judge what looks natural or not? No one is walking up to people with a ruler to measure down to the millimeter. When we look at a person’s lashes, what is our brain processing that ticks a box of ‘real’ or ‘fake’ without really thinking about it? The first answer is length.
Though natural lash length varies from person to person, lash length is actually pretty consistent across humans as a species. In fact, most mammals have consistent lash lengths across their species, and the ratio of eye width to lash length is consistent across mammals.
That’s right; there’s an optimal length for lashes in nature. So what’s the magic ratio? Approximately one-third of the eye's width equals the length of the natural lashes.
Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology studied 22 different mammals from different habitats with different eye sizes. They found that as the animals’ eyes got bigger, their lash length got longer. Animals’ eyelashes were consistently one-third the width of the eye, from the inner to outer corners of the eye.
They found that this ratio is the perfect length to keep out dirt, debris, bacteria, and vapor by redirecting air around the eyeball, but not so long that it fans air back into the eye, causing dry eyes.
The human eye is about ¾ of an inch in diameter (roughly 20mm), and one-third of 20 mm is about 7mm. Your natural eyelashes are likely within 2mm/3mm of 7mm. No disrespect to mother nature, but some of us would prefer to have slightly longer lashes.
So how can we respect the truly natural look of nature’s lash ratio while still getting longer lashes? Lashify has just the Gossamers to help you out.
Diversity Is Natural
We all look different! What looks natural on your bestie may look alien on you. That’s because natural lashes are not a one size fits all style guide.
There are two places you need to look to assess the most natural-looking lash for you: Your natural lashes and your desired lash map.
Your Natural Lashes
First, consider your natural features: Your eye shape, natural lash length, lash color, and lash thickness.
Eyes come in all shapes and sizes, so what looks natural on one eye shape might not look as believable on another. Your eyelids impact what looks natural on your eyes. Consider your eye's natural curve.
Are your eyes deep-set, protruding, or neither? Longer lashes are better for deep-set eyes than protruding ones since protruding eyes already look open and awake. Those with a hooded eye shape should select shorter extensions since longer lashes may touch the brow.
Monolid eyes should look for extra length with a loose curl. Not sure how to shop for lashes based on your eye shape? Not even sure what your eye shape is? Don’t worry; we have a helpful guide.
Though it may sound counterintuitive, you should try to mimic the length of your natural lashes when selecting extensions for a natural look. If you have short lashes, long extensions will stick out like a sore thumb.
Short natural lashes need shorter extensions. Additionally, longer extensions put slightly more pressure on your lashes, so you’ll have better luck bonding extra-long extensions to extra-long natural lashes.
Your lashes can be nearly any natural hair color. Your lashes may be black regardless of your hair color, but they also could be a perfect match for the hair on your head. If your extensions don’t match, or at least get close to, the color of your natural lashes, the extensions may stand out.
So look closely at your lashes and ask yourself how you might describe their color. Regarding thickness, if your individual lashes are thin, look for a lash with thinner fibers. Most classic lash extension fibers are .07mm, but you can read the packaging to find the measurements.
Your Lash Extension #Goals
Second, consider how you imagine your enhancements looking after the bond has dried. To ensure the final look is natural looking, consider a few important factors about your extensions: The lash length, thickness, curl, color, style, and material quality.
Material Quality
‘Premium’ matters. Cheap, low-quality materials will make cheap, fake-looking lashes. Your look will appear more natural as the quality of the lash material improves since better materials get better results. For example, premium silk looks more natural than cheap silk. PS, we only use Premium Korean PBT silk in our Gossamers.
Speaking of silk, we naturally think that silk is the best material for extensions, especially when you want a natural look. Silk blends into your natural lashes easiest, which makes it perfect for matching the look and feel of your natural lashes.
Silk lashes have a longer lifespan than lashes of other materials because it’s more flexible, lightweight, and durable than other fibers. Makes sense that silk extensions are so popular!
Lash Length
For a natural-looking length, select an extension that’s about 2mm longer than your real lashes. Don’t go longer than 5mm past your natural lash length regardless of your eye shape to maintain a natural look.
As you design your lash map, keep your natural lash length variance in mind: generally, your natural lashes start shorter at the inner corner and get progressively longer. Design your lash map to subtly mimic your natural lash pattern.
Lash Curl
Choose a curl that mimics the strength of the curl of your natural lashes. If the curl of the extension is much tighter or looser than your natural lashes, they’ll literally stick out because they won’t physically blend into the lashes, not to mention visually blend in.
For example, if your lashes are straight, choose a looser curl, like Amplify Gossamers. Classic lashes offer the most natural curls.
Lash Thickness
Lash fibers that are between .06 mm thick and .08 mm thick look the most natural on most eyes. At this thickness, the extensions won’t look or feel heavy or bushy on your eyes.
Lash Color
The days of black being the only option for extension color are over! Matching the color of your natural lashes is one of the fastest ways to get a natural lash look easily. With Lashify, you can get at-home extensions in any natural color with our Intimates collection.
Naturally, you want to choose the extension that most closely matches your natural color. If you’re between two colors, go for the slightly darker shade since the darker color will create a more dramatic look.
The Core Collection
Let’s start with the basics. Our Lashify Core Collection offers our classic lash styles. These styles have different curl strengths, and they all come in different lengths, ranging from 8mm to 14mm.
- Amplify Gossamers offer the loosest curl and focus on adding length. Amplify Gossamers are perfect for those with naturally straight lashes.
- Bold Gossamers are the thickest of the classics. The thicker fiber mimics the look of a lash with mascara. (Pro tip: never ever mix mascara and extensions since it will ruin the lashes!)They can be a bit tricky to pair with other Gossamers, but they are the perfect place to start if you’re considering stepping up to volume lashes.
- Curl Gossamers offer the tightest curl of the classics and are recommended for nearly every eye shape. Curl Gossamers play nicely with practically every other Gossamer from the other collections. It’s a perfect everyday lash style that can be mapped into so many different lash map styles.
Intimates Collection
Lashify’s Intimates Collection is made of Gossamers in a variety of natural colors made to visually melt into your lash line. All colors in the Intimates Collection come in Amplify and Curl styles, so they’re all .07mm thick. All our Gossamers are vegan and cruelty-free, no matter how real they look!
-
Ash Gossamers blend brown with tinges of purpley-red, perfect for strawberry blondes.
-
Minx Gossamers mimic the glamorous, unique look of natural mink with our vegan fibers. It's a soft, mousey brown, designed for light brown or dirty blonde lashes.
-
Ginger Gossamers are an absolute necessity for the redhead with matching lashes. No more obviously fake black extensions in your rosy lashes!
-
Truffle Gossamers expertly blend black and caramel browns, like a barista swirling caramel in your coffee. Truffle is one of our most popular colors, so we made it available in Fluffy and Fluffy FX Gossamers from the Volume Collection too!
Sources:
Follow along for your first time using Lashify | YouTube
Everything You Need to Know to Get the Most Natural-Looking Lash Extensions | Allure
Your Eyelashes Should Be This Long, Science Says | Scientific American
What is my eye shape? The best tips for each, according to makeup artists | Today
