Lash Technician Posture: Avoiding "the Hunch"

For my thirteenth birthday I had a makeup party. A local makeup artist came to my house and, after conducting 7 mini makeovers, spent the evening teaching a bunch of giggly girls beauty basics and all around life hacks. “Always walk like you know where you’re going”, and “We don’t ‘pluck’ our eyebrows, we aren’t chickens” are a couple bits of wisdom that come to mind, even 14 years later. But I’ll never forget the imaginary “little Pamela” she put on each of our shoulders reminding us to sit up straight.

Aside from making you appear taller, slimmer, and more confident, sitting or standing up straight increases oxygen flow in your body, decreases stress hormones, and improves digestive function. Particularly for lash artists, or people with any profession that requires them to sit for most of the day, practicing good posture isn’t just a beauty tip, it’s a matter of livelihood.

Poor posture can result in long-term pain and injuries that can force you to put your career on pause, or even stop it altogether. We talked to Calgary-based Chiropractor Evan Schwindt about posture for your lashing career, and he provided a few easy exercises to incorporate into your lashing routine and everyday life in order to keep your body healthy, happy, and hunch-free throughout your career.

While lashing

Stand up tall with your shoulders back and down, and put your hands on your hips. Breathe in slowly through your nose, filling up your stomach, not your chest, and out through the mouth. Do this every 30 minutes, for 30 seconds. You might feel a bit weird getting up in the middle of your lash set to stretch, but the 2 minutes you devote to your back health during each appointment can make a big difference. Not only will you be contributing to a happier, healthier you, but without stiffness and pain to distract you, you can devote all your attention to your clients’ lashes.

After each client

Engage your core. Sit up, arms out to the side with palms facing up. Breathe in through your nose, and raise your arms up, feeling a stretch through the top of the bicep. Breathe out and lower your arms back down. Do this several times until the intensity of the stretch has dropped by at least 50%.

At the end of the day

Stand up against a wall, with your heels about 6 inches from the wall. Stand so that your lower back, mid back, shoulders, and head are all touching the wall. Raise your arms up, so your elbows are bent at a 90° angle, and press your elbows, wrists, and the backs of your hands into the wall, while maintaining your original points of contact.  Breathe in, and while maintaining the 90° angle of your arms, move your arms up the wall and over your head. Breathe out, and return your arms to their original position. Do two sets of 10 reps.

In addition to incorporating these back exercises into your daily routine, regular exercise like yoga, Pilates, and strength training will help strengthen your core, and the muscles surrounding your spine. Your body—and your lashing career—will thank you.

For more like this, enroll in LashPRO Accelerator™ 2018—a 35-week online business course that covers lashing, business skill, marketing, branding, and self-care. It's the only course of it's kind, designed to drastically transform your lash business while providing the tools you need for a long, and healthy career.