Stacy at Southeast Lash

People are always surprised when I mention that a large part of my clientele is older woman. Which surprises me- I guess after a couple of decades (wow I’m aging myself here) of doing makeovers I’m accustomed to one of the most common complaints of my 55 and over friends- mascara.
- It’s too hard to see close up enough to get it on right
-There’s more skin around the eye so it’s easier to get mascara everywhere but the lashes
- Lashes are usually thinning so mascara doesn’t make the same impact it used to
We all know that the number one thing in our beauty routine that makes the most difference is dark, fluttery, eye framing lush lashes! I’ve seen the despair when mascara becomes a problem instead of a benefit.
So when I was learning lash extensions and building my business I naturally began my marketing thinking in this demographic- 55 and older.
Now- it’s a bit harder to market to this group of women. It takes a little effort and creativity to educate this potential clientele on the benefits and reassure them that it’s not all young-girl-glamour like they see in the media. Depending on where you are a lot of these women might not have even heard of lash extensions yet (this was my area!) But I was looking forward to the challenge of introducing these women to the service they didn’t yet know that they can’t live without!
-No smearing from watery, sensitive eyes
-No mascara smudges from blurry application
-Restores that youthful fullness that mascara can’t!
Even though it take a little more effort to gain these clients, the hard work pays off-this demographic typically is reliable and loyal! I’d rather work a little harder to gain long term clients than constantly market to find new ones.
-Are you located by any 55+ living communities? Offer a free set to an influential person in the community, like an activities leader. Or see if you can give a free lecture on the benefits of extensions in their clubhouse and maybe offer either coupons or a raffle.
-Join the local Chamber of Commerce and any local women-business owners clubs/ meeting groups
Do you guys have any tips or success stories ?
Stay tuned for a post on application tips for this demographic!

PROTECT YOURSELF and your reputation with constant documenting!
This was a tip that I have to credit Danielle Rae with- I read a post she wrote about it when I was first starting out. It made perfect sense to me so I immediately implemented it and I can’t begin to express how much this one tip has not only saved my reputation but also increased client loyalty!!
The above pic is from a cosmetologist who came to me for help. The night before, she got excited and tried to do her own lash extensions before she did her training. The top stuck to the bottom and in a panic she pulled it off real quick, taking off some of her lashes with it. She came to me in hopes that a professionally applied set could fill in the gaps that she thought she made. This was definitely a case where I wanted to take a picture of her natural lashes before I did anything to them, so she could clearly see where any gaps were! That way, when the set was done and she was looking in the mirror if there was a gap that I was not able to evenly fill, she could equate it to the fact that she had no lashes in that spot. It was also insurance in the future if she ever worried about my application.
Danielle pointed out that it’s common for clients to have a perception adjustment and feel their lashes aren’t as thick as they used to be- a picture can prove they are the same.
I take a before and after at each full set or new client, a before and after a removal, and even before and after a fill periodically for regular clients.
Do you guys have any good documentation stories??🤭
Controlling client expectations and protecting your reputation is an ongoing skill!!!🧐
And if you haven’t yet, be sure to follow Danielle at LASHES+COFFEE for game changing advice!

Swipe to see the before!
This clients lashes are still healing and growing but you can see significant improvement in thickness and length!
My last post was about how too much adhesive can chemically defeat your purpose!
This post is a couple of tips I’ve found to do instead of trying to rely on upping the glue.
-Number one- be absolute sure no lashes are sticking before they leave! Double check your work as you go, at the end of the service, and when they come back for a fill. Lashes that remain stuck together yank each other out- when clients have less lashes than they used to they will start to feel like their extensions aren’t lasting as well between visits.
-Take a breath and slow down a tad to make sure your placement at the base is smooth and secure.
- Have two different glues on hand. OR use one of the newer generation flies that aren’t humidity sensitive, like Ruthie Belle Dark Matter. Check the humidity range for your favorite glue- if it’s 35%-60% for example, purchase another one alongside it that is made for 15%-45%.
Here in Atlanta there were days where my favorite glue would literally start misbehaving put of nowhere- sometimes I could glance out the window and see clouds rolling in or out. I would immediately switch out to my alternate humidity adhesive and keep trucking along.
Have you guys learned some tricks that help when you feel your clients retention is not as good as it used to be? Please share below!!🤓 New products and techniques are coming out all the time to help solve this for us!

This client came to me from a couple of years at another place with a simple request: she just wanted her lashes to last longer.
She had NO idea what else was going on up there😳 which is common- from the clients view oftentimes the only thing they notice is that their lashes don’t last as long as they used to. She had gone from three week fills to weekly fills and out of frustration decided to try somewhere new, which is when she ended up with me.
Turned out, her longtime artist grew busy enough to hire someone new to take over some clients and that’s when this client felt her lashes began falling out sooner.
I could almost feel the new artist’s frustration just looking at all that glue in the clients lashes. Here in Atlanta our humidity can be tricky, and as a new artist sometimes your base attachment isn’t as secure. So- it looks like she may have been trying to just use more and more glue to help this client who insisted her that her lashes weren’t lasting.
But too much glue not only hurts the lashes, it actually can make a WEAKER bond that causes the extension to fall off even sooner than if she had stuck to the appropriate (much smaller) amount! This can be evident from the blocks of glue still attached to the natural lashes where the extension is missing.
Semi-permanent adhesive works much differently than lash glue. In short, the adhesive needs to be even and thin between the extension and the natural lash in order for the chemicals to make a strong permanent bond to the natural lash. If the glue is too excessive, thick and globby, the chemicals aren’t curing onto the natural lash, it’s curing up against more glue and the extension. Which means that within days that weak attachment is going to allow the extension to fall off easily- and leave some glue behind. Then when you try to apply new extensions at the next appointment, again the extension is just bonding to excess glue and not the natural lash. It makes a vicious cycle- the more you try to rely on more glue to secure the attachment the more likely the attachment is going to be weaker.
What to do instead? Watch for the next post...🤔

This was my first foray into colored lashes. She had a gorgeous streak of purple in her hair that I wanted to match so she let me try it out! I feathered in some fans of .03 purple lashes onto the outer top layers so she could still keep a defined dark lash line.
Colored lashes haven’t been requested in my area as much as I was hoping so I haven’t gotten to really master a technique!
Do you guys have any tips on working in colored lashes?

Can lashes actually IMPROVE with consistent lash extension wear?
This picture proves it’s possible!
-The top picture was her first visit with me after we removed her classic lash extensions after 6 months of wear at another studio in another state
-The bottom picture is after about 6 months of consistent wear of ultra light mega volume lashes at my studio (she was out a few weeks from illness and just wanted to remove the last old bits and start fresh).
We got to catch a glimpse of what can happen when lash extensions are applied at the proper size and weight and with ultra care to protect the babies and not let anything stick together!
You can see new lashes sprouted where there were gaps and the lashes overall look thicker and stronger!
I really feel the ultimate secret is protecting the babies at all costs. I use a lot of different isolating techniques while using magnifiers.
What kind of ways have y’all found to help see your clients’ lashes improve? This client didn’t use any but I also usually love to put them on a good serum to see some great results!

Lashbox LA is one of my favorite lash brands!
I also love Lash Blvd, London Brow and Lash, and of course Ruthie Belle💖
What are your favorite go-to brands?😍

How many of y’all have clients that keep wanting to go bigger..and bigger...and bigger...🤣 I call it lash addiction because it seems like more is never enough once they get hooked!

Swipe to see full story!
This is my dear friend. She had been turned away by a couple of lash artists because her lashes were so sparse and wispy from years of strip and cluster lashes. I had her immediately start using a lash serum (I think it was Beauty Garde) and in September I applied the maximum of what I felt was safe, which you can see is hardly noticeable! But because she was no longer using strips, was now using a serum, and we stuck with tiny ultra lightweight extensions , her lashes rapidly improved. You can see by October we were already growing stronger and by December we were thrilled with the results!
I always used .03 and had to keep fans smaller.
That 1st application in September I had to keep fans to 3-5 wide, lengths 8-10mm.
October we went a tiny bit bigger.
By December I was able to do fans 3-8 wide and lengths 8-13.
Don’t be afraid of someone comes in with little to no lashes! Just do a very gentle and thorough consult, managing expectations by showing them pictures and explaining a timeline of about 4-6 months for a true lash extension effect.

TINTING!!! One of my favorite things to do for blondes especially! Here at my studio is a client who gets it down about every 6-8 weeks. You can see what an impact it makes, darkening all those tiny invisible baby hairs and growing lash bases.
Do you guys love to tint with your extension services? I was scared to try it at first, wondering how to do it without hurting the extensions but with a couple of tricks it’s easy and magical!

HOW awesomely FUN it was to add some subtle definition to this guy’s gorgeous eyes! I think most people don’t think about guys but they too suffer a loss of their framing lash lines- the smallest addition of lash extensions can make a big difference, especially if they are in the media!
Here I used mostly a B curl, .10 classics mixed with .05 volume fans of 3-5 lashes, in sizes 6mm to 10mm, spiked in following the natural staggering of his lashes.