Remove Eyelash Extensions
Artificial eyelash extensions are attached to your natural lashes with semi-permanent glue. You have be careful when removing them, or you risk pulling out your natural lashes. Read this wikiHow to lean how to safely remove eyelash extensions.
Contents
10 Second Summary
1. Remove your eye makeup.
2. Lean over a bowl of steaming water.
3. Drape a towel over your head.
4. Steam your face for 10 minutes.
5. Wipe your lashes with the cotton ball soaking in olive oil.
6. Rinse your lashes with warm water.
Steps
Steam and Oil
- Remove your eye makeup. Use a gentle eye makeup remover to wipe away any mascara or eyeliner. This makes it easier for you to see where your real lash ends and the extension begins.
- Steam your face. The hot steam will help loosen the eyelash extensions. Follow these steps:
- Heat up a bowl of water in the microwave. Let it get hot enough to produce steam.
- Hold your face over the bowl and drape a towel over your heat, to trap the steam around your face.
- Steam your face for about ten minutes.
- Wet a cotton ball with olive oil. Wipe it on your lashes, taking care not to get any in your eye. Continue gently wiping your lashes with oil until the extensions begin to fall off.
- Rinse your eyelashes. Splash warm water on your eyelashes to wash away the oil.
Glue Remover
- Buy lash glue remover. If it's not possible to get back to the salon, try removing your lashes with lash glue remover. You can find lash glue remover at most drugstores.
- If you had your extensions professionally done, ask the technician which solvent he or she uses, and see if you can just purchase it there.
- Glue remover is a mild solvent with a smell similar to nail polish remover.
- Get a good look at your lashes. This can be a delicate process, and you need to be able to see what you're doing. Prepare to remove your extensions by doing the following:
- Stand in front of a mirror in a well-lit bathroom. If necessary, bring in extra lighting to prevent shadows cast over your face from interfering with your ability to clearly see your lashes.
- Remove your eye makeup. Use a gentle eye makeup remover to wipe away your mascara and eyeliner. You need to be able to see where your real lashes ends and the extensions begin.
- Apply the glue remover. Take the following steps to apply the glue remover and loosen the extensions:
- Wet a cotton swab with glue remover. Make sure it's thoroughly damp.
- Gently pull down the outer corner of one of your upper eyelids. Close one eye, and using the soft pad of your finger, gently angle the eyelid downward at the outer corner. Your upper lashes should be pointing downward, giving you a better view of the extensions.
- Move the cotton swab across your lash line. Work from outer corner to inner corner in small, gentle motions. The remover should start to dissolve the glue.
- Pull out the loosened extensions. After you've been over your lash line about 15 times with a wet cotton swab, grip the end of an extension between your thumb and forefinger. It should fall out easily.
- Remove excess glue from your eyelid. Once all the extensions are out, do another pass over your your upper eyelashes to clear out any leftover glue.
- Rinse your eyelashes. Splash some warm water on your face to rinse the glue remover from your eyelashes and eye area.
Professional Removal
- Go back to the salon technician who applied the extensions. Eyelash extensions are most often affixed using glues that contain cyano acrylate, otherwise known as superglue. This type of glue is extremely difficult to remove without the proper tools and chemical solution. Return to your eyelash extension if you want to remove your eyelashes for any of the following reasons:
- Most of your extensions have grown out, and you have a few left that you'd like to remove. You should be able to return to the salon and have these taken out quickly, and usually free of charge.
- You aren't happy with the way you look in eyelash extensions. If you have a whole set of extensions that need to be removed, it's much better to go back to your technician instead of trying to remove them yourself.
- A few days have passed since you got the extensions and you're experiencing a pricking sensation. Sometimes one or two extensions get stuck together, or the same extension is glued to more than one natural lash. This is usually easy to resolve, but it requires a trip back to your technician.
- Go to a different salon if you're concerned about the application. Sometimes new technicians or people without training make mistakes when applying eyelash extensions. Go to a different, well-reputed salon to get your extensions removed if you are experiencing the following problems:
- Your eyelash extensions don't look professional. If they're crooked, patchy, or just not attractive, go to someone you can trust to have them fixed. You don't want to complicate the problem by accidentally damaging your natural lashes.
- You are experiencing a lot of pain around your eyelashes. If the glue used to apply eyelash extensions is applied improperly, it can pull at the skin and cause severe pain around the eyes. Instead of going back to the person who applied the extensions this way, put yourself in better hands for the removal process.
Tips
- You can also try the oil removal process with baby oil or oil-based eye makeup remover. Make sure to work the oil into the lash line thoroughly before attempting to lift the lashes out.
- If either of the home removal treatments don't work for you, go to a professional to have the extensions removed.
Warnings
- Do not pull eyelash extensions off. Your real lashes will come off with the fake lashes.
