Ever wonder how Lash Extensions got started?

For centuries, women have been associating long, voluminous lashes with youth, vitality and beauty. The beginning of lash extensions (as with many of the beauty rituals we know today) were once borderline barbaric, painful, and extreme – but hey, beauty hurts right?! Thankfully, we’ve come a long way! In 1879. James D. McCabe suggested in The National Encyclopedia of Business and Social Forms, under the section “Laws of Etiquette”, that for women to grow their lashes thicker, they should trim them (Gasp!). And thus, the first known mention of Lash Enhancements. A few more relatively painless enhancements were suggested over the next few decades, which included rubbing pomade, or a mixture of water and walnut leaves into the lash line; however, I’m not sure how effective these treatments were…

Fast forward to 1899 when the Dundee Courier ran a story about the latest and hottest trend (among the wealthy that is) – Lash transplants! They explained the procedure as follows: “An ordinary fine needle is threaded with a long hair, generally taken from the head of the person to be operated upon. The lower border of the eyelid is then thoroughly cleaned, and in order that the process may be as painless as possible rubbed with a solution of cocaine. The operator then by a few skillful touches runs his needle through the extreme edges of the eyelid between the epidermis and the lower border of the cartilage of the tragus. The needle passes in and out along the edge of the lid leaving its hair thread in loops of carefully graduated length.

By 1911 Anna Taylor was the first to patent the invention of false eyelashes but they didn’t gain mainstream popularity until 1916. In D.W. Griffith’s film “Intolerance”, it was expressed that Seena Owen must have “eyelashes brushing [her] cheeks.” He had his wig maker glue false lashes onto the actress’s yes using spirit gum – and if you’re unfamiliar, suffice to say this solution is NOT for eyelids! Ms. Owen often had her eyes nearly swollen shut upon arriving to the set – but it looked gorgeous on camera!

Over the next few decades, lash extensions come in and out of popularity, hitting one high in the 60’s mod era with Twiggy wearing over-the-top extensions on the top and bottom lids. During this time, lashes were made to be highly exaggerated, the women WANTED you to know they were wearing extensions! By then, they’d also discovered using latex was a safe and simple way to adhere the lashes – which is still used in modern strip lash adhesives.

Modern classic lash extensions (individually applied) are believed to have originated in Korea and Japan. The current trend for the classic individual eyelash extensions started in Japan in the early millennium and became popular in the U.S. around 2004. Volume lashes however, began in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2011 by a lash stylist named Olga Debronravova, who had been applying lashes with 0.10 and later discovering .07 to create an even fuller look by adding multiple lashes in the shape of a W without weighing down the natural eyelash.

Since then, the industry has exploded in popularity and new techniques. We can't wait to see what's next!