What if the “strongest” or “best” adhesive doesn’t necessarily come from finding the “perfect” adhesive? Like anything in this world, there are thousands of lash adhesives available on the market. Each one designed with a different humidity and temperature, dry times, longevity and of course - packaging.
However, IMO - finding the “perfect” adhesive all comes down to these 4 things:
1. Your temperature
This goes hand in hand with where you live, your climate and what time of year/season it is!
The lower the temperature is, the higher your room settings must be! If you're in a low climate environment, you'll need to bump up your aircon to help level out the temperature. Let's say your room is sitting at 18°, you'll have to set the aircon at 25° or higher to bring the temperature up to 22 - 24°.
And of course, the higher the temperature is, the lower your room settings will be! If you're in a high climate environment, you'll need to lower your aircon to help level out the temperature. Let's say your room is sitting at 26°, you'll have to set the aircon at 19° or lower to bring the temperature down to your desired temp!
Keep in mind, you may have to adjust this many times throughout the day! Mornings and evenings are typically cooler - therefore require more adjustments. Whereas as midday, would be the hottest point of your day and may not necessarily need any adjustments.
The same goes for seasons! Each season has a totally different climate, no matter where you live. If you prefer lashing at 22° and a 60% humidity - aim to maintain these percentage levels throughout the entire year.
It's also important to note, the higher the temperature is - the higher humidity levels will be and vice versa. Please make sure you check and adjust individually in order to have the correct levels.
2. Your Humidity
Similar to your temperature, the humidity will also change consistently throughout the day, week, month and year.
The lower the humidity is, the slower your adhesive will set and cure. This can be a pain to work around. Low humidity levels are prone to cause lash stickies, extensions slipping and sliding off the natural lash and not to mention, takes SO much longer.
If you have low humidity of 50% or lower, you'll need to invest in a diffuser and nano mister! Both of these tools are used to add moisture back into the air, rising the humidity level up.
However, if you have high humidity levels of 85% or higher, you'll have to purchase a de-humidifier! These are designed specifically to soak up excess moisture from within the room - again, hopefully bringing down the humidity levels.
It's also important to note, the lower the temperature is - the dryer the humidity levels will be and vice versa. Please make sure you check and adjust individually in order to have the correct levels.
SIDE NOTE: A question we always get asked - "Do we use the super bonder in every climate and on every client?". The answer to this is YES - 100 x yes! The super bonder is designed to soak up excess moisture - yes. But the main purpose is to lock and seal the adhesive, allowing clients to wet their lashes instantly. So no matter what climate, time of day, year or month - you must bond the lashes.
3. Your Lashing Speed
This is determined by how long it takes you from once you've dipped into the adhesive to when you've placed down the lash!
When you're just starting out, you may want to adjust your room settings to a lower level to allow for a slower drying adhesive.
This gives you the time to pick up and apply with precision (and no stress) However, once you've gained experience, you gain speed and won't be able to work with anything under than .05 seconds.
If you're working with a higher level percentage humidity and temperature, your adhesive will naturally speed up. Essentially, this makes the adhesive dry out much quicker allowing for techs to work quick whilst setting and curing the lash within seconds.
Opposite to that, if you're working in a low level humidity and temperature range, your adhesive will take forever to dry! Realistically, it's perfect for beginners and hell for the professionals. Be careful though! As we know, lower levels are spectacle to cause a bunch of issues for both you and the client.
4. Your Room Size
The bigger the room, the more air flow! The smaller the room, the less - obviously.
Now, this takes time - it's not a simple as you'd think. It's something you have to really trial and error! Again, different times of the day, week, month and year will also need adjusting. So really invest some time and energy to determine the perfect temp and humidity range for your sized room.
If you're in a bigger room and/or salon, you'll need to bump up your room settings to make sure it's circulating correctly! However, if you're in a small room - you won't necessarily have to do so.
FOR EXAMPLE:
Let's pretend it's winter (18°) and you're in a 4 x 4m2 room, you'd have set the aircon to 24° in order to keep the room around 22°. The humidity levels would also be low, so your diffuser must be on and nano misting throughout the set.
I now if you have a 5 x 10m2 room, the temp is 18° - you'll have to and have the aircon set at 26° or above keep the air circulating far enough. To ensure there's moisture throughout the entire room, place a few extra diffusers around - or again use a nano mister.
Ok - so now you know the 4 main points to help you determine what adhesive works in your environment! Remember, the adhesives (no matter what brand) are designed to work in any climate at any time of the year. It just depends how much you know and how far you're willing to go to know your adhesive!
That's all for now - until the next blog post!
Love always,
Misteria x
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