While browsing social media or posting, I noticed many lash artists asking why pre-made fan lashes have poorer retention compared to handmade fan lashes. This is a common issue for novice lash artists . Next, I’ll use a simple illustration to explain this.
Before addressing this question, let’s first understand what pre-made fan lashes and handmade fan lashes are:
Pre-made fan lashes: These are lashes produced and shaped by factories. Their characteristics include uniform fan distribution with consistent spacing between each lash, making them very aesthetically pleasing. The roots of the lashes are pre-fixed with glue during production, so unless deliberately damaged, the fan shape remains intact. Additionally, pre-made fan lashes are convenient to apply—you can directly dip them in glue and graft them, saving time and effort. They are a great choice for lash artists new to the industry.
Hand-made fan lashes: These are created by lash technicians using skilled techniques. Experienced technicians can create a fan shape comparable to pre-made fan lashes in just 1-2 second using the pinch method or with the help of a glue cup. Being able to skillfully create a fan shape by hand reflects a technician’s expertise.
Next, let’s explore why their retention differs.
As shown in the diagram, this is a cross-sectional view of the root of handmade fan lashes, with blue representing the glue. When you dip the lashes in glue and place them onto the natural lash, the glue is not yet fully set. As you press down with tweezers, the lashes spread out, wrapping around the natural lash. This allows the glue to have more contact area with the natural lash, resulting in longer retention.
This is a cross-sectional view of the root of pre-made fan lashes. Since the roots of the lashes are already fixed, even if you press down with tweezers, they won’t spread out or wrap around the natural lash. As a result, the glue doesn’t have sufficient contact area with the natural lash, leading to poorer retention compared to handmade fan lashes.
Nowadays, the production technology for pre-made fan lashes is very advanced, allowing for the creation of lashes with very thin roots, and their retention can rival that of handmade fan lashes. However, because they cannot achieve sufficient wrapping around the natural lash, they still fall short of the retention achieved by handmade fan lashes. Therefore, learning how to quickly and perfectly create handmade fan lashes is crucial. It requires investing time and effort in practice, which not only saves costs but also satisfies customers, ultimately helping your business thrive.