Have you heard of the age-old saying that time is money?
I bet you have. In fact, you’ve probably heard it so many times that it’s lost all meaning!
The concept that time is money (also known as the ‘opportunity cost’) dates back to Benjamin Franklin’s 1748 essay, “Advice to a Young Tradesman”, where he talks about the fact that in order to earn money, you’ve got to act and use your time as efficiently and effectively as possible.
I have to agree with Benjamin Franklin on this one. As one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, the man knew a thing or two about putting his time to good use. I’ve also found that the idea that time is money holds a lot of truth in today’s world and within the lash industry.
As a lash artist, time is your most valuable resource.
If you’re spending more than two hours on a classic set or over three hours on a volume set, you’ve come to the right place. I’m going to reveal seven ways that you can increase your lash speed without sacrificing quality.
So, if you want to learn all about the do’s and don’ts when lashing that can help you cut down the time you spend on your fills and sets, keep reading!
{If you want to listen to the podcast episode on this topic, click on the player at the top of the post. Alternatively you can watch the video below, or read on…}
Average Industry Standard Timing for Lash Artists
Before we get stuck in, I wanted to share the standard average timing for lashing full sets and full fills. The reason I’m sharing this information with you is that I don’t want you to set unrealistic expectations for yourself.
Not every lash artist can hit these “target times” (if you want to call them that) and some may even finish up quicker or much slower than the average. Nonetheless, it helps to be aware of the average time frame that most lash artists finish a full set or a touch-up.
- Classic Full Set: 2-2.5 hours
- Classic 2-3 week fill (touch up): 1-1.25 hours
- Volume Full Set: 3-3.5 hours
- Volume 2-3 week fill (touch up): 1.5-2 hours
If you’re not within these time ranges, or you’re aiming to speed up your processes, here are seven ways that can help you to cut down precious minutes:
1. Stop the Excessive Talking (time saved: up to 15 mins)
I don’t mean to be rude, but if you want to speed up your lash routine, you’ve got to cut down the time spent talking to chatty clients.
You know the type. They love a good gossip and find it almost impossible to zip it. Don’t get me wrong. I love catching up with my clients. It’s a great way to get to know them better and develop real relationships. However, at some point, the talking has to stop so you can actually get the work done. You can chat with them as you prep their lashes. But as soon as the eye pads are on, it’s time for some friendly silent treatment.
Talking (and thinking about talking) is a distraction, especially if you’re not experienced enough to do everything on autopilot. When you’re ready to place the lashes, encourage your client to rest and relax.
Once you have mastered isolation and placement (and you’ve got excellent muscle memory), then you can start chatting during your appointments, and it won’t slow you down. But for the most part, lash artists need peace and quiet to focus on the artistry without any distractions. This also means that clients shouldn’t have their phone out during the appointment. There’s nothing worse than messing up a lash placement because the client moved to get a better look at their Instagram feed. It’s just bad manners.
Politely ask them to stay very still and relax. They don’t have to freeze into place like a statue, but limited movement and zero distractions will definitely make your job a lot easier.
2. Cease Excessive Fluffing (time saved: up to 10 mins)
Many lash artists have picked up the habit of excessive fluffing. If you don’t know what fluffing is, it’s exactly how it sounds. It’s when you flip through the lashes with your tweezers after you’ve placed one, without actually getting anything done!
A lot of newer lash artists do this, and it turns into an endless fluffing marathon. In reality, you should be isolating, not fluffing!
As we isolate, we spread the natural lashes apart.
Place the lashes and as you’re holding them, look for the next one and keeping moving along. This helps to reduce the amount of time wasted by fluffing each lash!
3. Reduce Excessive Brushing (time saved: up to 7 mins)
How many times in a day do you find yourself picking up your spoolie and just brushing the time away?
Or worse, maybe after you’ve finished brushing, you grab the dental mirror and take a selfie or photo for Instagram? How much time do you think you’re wasting by doing that? (spoiler – it’s a lot!)
Yes, you need to brush the lashes throughout the appointment to make sure they’re all lined up nicely. But keep brushing to a minimum! You should be brushing around five to six times throughout a full set. If you’re brushing more than that, try and cut back.
If you’re brushing a lot because you’re trying to get a complicated design perfect, but it takes you up to three hours to do a classic set, it might be time to rethink things. You’ve got to walk before you can run! Get your timing down first, and then you can start to move onto more advanced techniques.
4. You Don’t Have to Lash 100% of Lashes (time saved: 20 – 45 mins)
It’s time for a little bit of tough love. Although aspiring to lash 100% of your client’s natural lashes is great, it’s not always possible. If it takes you an extra 30 to 45 minutes to go from 80% coverage to 100%, you need to ask yourself if it’s worth it. Your clients (especially your newbies) won’t notice the difference between the two. But, they will notice the extra 30 to 45 minutes!
I suggest trying to get as much coverage as possible in the allotted time. Don’t go over your standard service timing because you’re not getting paid for it. Clients might pay you for two hours of your time to get their lashes looking “out of this world.” But, they aren’t paying you for the extra 30 mins it takes you to lash 100% of their natural lashes!
If isolation a struggle for you, don’t even mention 100% coverage to your client or anywhere in your marketing. Once you’ve got more experience and practice under your belt, and you’re lashing within industry time standards, then you’re ready to start working towards 100% lash coverage.
5. Prepare, Prepare, Prepare! (time saved: up to 5 mins)
Preparation and setup are hugely important and can act as a massive time-saver. There’s really no excuse for this one. You should always be prepared for the next client the second they walk over to your treatment table.
As soon as a client is on the treatment table, their “time clock” is ticking.
It doesn’t matter if they showed up early and had to wait in the seating area for a few minutes. Once they are on that table, they expect to spend an hour lying down and then off they go!
Things get complicated when your client is on the table (patiently waiting for you to start transforming their lashes), but you’re not ready. Instead, you’re trying to find the tweezers, you’re getting your sanitizer out, and you’ve still got a few lashes to put away from your last lash client.
Space out your timing between appointments if necessary. If you’re still struggling to find time to prepare for each client, evaluate your current set up to see if valuable seconds are being wasted by going back and forth from product to person and back.
6. Map it! (time saved: up to 10 mins)
Never underestimate the power of mapping! It takes the guesswork out of your sets because it stops you from wasting time trying to figure out what length should go where etc.
Mapping out your lashes on the eye pad will save you a lot of time. Seriously, a lash map is one of the best tips I can give to any lash artist – both beginners and veterans alike!
Not only will your speed pick up, but the consistency of your sets will improve dramatically too. Once the clients have their eye pads on, that’s your window to start drawing out your lash map.
Remember to keep track of where you’re lashing, so that you can quickly pick out the next lash and so on. Don’t over-complicate the process. Always find the easiest lash. You don’t need to thread through layers of lashes. If there is a lash right on top, start with that one first. Simple!
7. Master your Isolation Skills (time saved: up to 5 mins)
Isolation is the hardest skill to master for lash artists, but it’s also the most important. If the sound of isolation makes your stomach twist and your head spin, don’t worry. I promise that, with practice, it WILL become second nature.
In the time being, I’ve got a few tips with you that you can start implementing today so that you’ll feel much more confident when it comes to isolating your clients’ lashes.
My first tip is to use TAPE. It doesn’t matter if you’re a newbie or a seasoned pro, tape is your best friend to make isolation easier and faster. Tape works well for most clients, but especially for clients with hooded eyelids. Gently pull the tape out towards their temple, and it’ll suddenly make your job a whole lot easier.
But what about those inner quarter lashes? The tricky tiny ones that can be difficult to isolate in the beginning?
My advice is to lash the babies! In your first five to ten minutes of doing a full set, take some time to lash those baby lashes if needed. If you don’t lash them, don’t be surprised when they start to stick to the other lashes!
My final tip is to change your view when necessary. Don’t be shy. It’s okay to gently move your client’s head back and forth so that you have a better angle and view of their lashes.
If you work on all 7 of these ways to increase your lash speed, you could shave your full set times down by up to an hour! That would free you up to take one more client in a day. If you freed up an hour of time to take one more $50 fill client a day, and you work four days a week… that’s an extra $900 in your pocket at the end of the month!
So, get to work on ways in which you’re wasting precious minutes with your clients and if you want a more in-depth guide of all the suggestions I made here, PLUS a few more tips and tricks I’ve picked up on increasing your lashing speed, head on over to thelashpreneur.com/lashspeed to download that guide now!
Happy business building!
Have a Good One!
Tara Walsh
The Lashpreneur
