Spiked Lash Styling Tips and Tricks
Written by: Debbie Vo
The “spiky effect” has taken the world by storm over 2 years ago and has made an imprint in the lash industry forever. Exactly, what is it? A popular lash style that strategically uses texturizing technique to create an illusion of a strip lash.
Before I continue on how I create this look, I want to share a short story on how I stumbled upon this trend.
First of all, I have been in the lash industry for almost 5 years now and when I first began lashing, no one was creating sets outside of the popular “perfect line” (this meant every fan was perfect, symmetrical and layered seamlessly). Whereas the spikey set couldn’t be any more different.
Fast forward two years into my lash career, I had a client who literally brought in her favourite strip lash and requested I recreate this look. I’m not going to lie; I was extremely anxious at first and had no idea what I was doing. It took a lot of trial and error, and at first it didn’t turn out too bad, but there was definitely a lot I could improve on. I religiously practiced on my friends, family members and even used sponges to create different looks, documenting everything I did on the way.
Alright enough talking, let’s get straight into the deets!
Understanding your clients:
- Ask questions, and A LOT of it – the more you ask the better understanding you have of your clients want/need (is it for an event, a trip, will they be doing a photoshoot, etc.?)
- Ask for visuals – have them bring in their favourite strip lash or show saved posts from IG (that way you can envision the overall lash look and mapping)
- Realistic expectation – analyze your client’s eyes. What is their natural eye shape, what kind of eye plane do they have and how are the condition of their natural lashes? Is this effect doable or not?
In terms of the actual application:
- Play with the curls – if you want a softer blend, keep the curl the same throughout the set or mix it with another curl (i.e., C curls mixed with CC curls). If you want a dramatic effect, use multiple different curls with a drastic contrast (i.e., B curl mixed with a D curl).
- Incorporating different lengths – for a softer blend, use lengths that are 1-2mm apart, whereas with a dramatic texture, use lengths 1-4mm apart.
- Spikes – the closed or narrow fans is often the longest extension in the set, place the spikes strategically throughout the set (I like placing these at the bones of the map)
- Mixing different diameters – for example if you want your spikes to be more evident, use a thicker diameter like 0.07 but fill in the rest of your lashes with a lighter diameter.
As a lash artist it’s important to have different skill sets, think of it as a weapon in your bag of tricks. I encourage all of you to try this look and if this tip helped you, feel free to tag me in your photos ☺.
Yours truly,
Debbie Vo
