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How to Get Longer Eyelashes – XTreme Lashes, Lash Dip, Latisse Review

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Lashes at Allison Roth Studio Pittsburgh

Nowadays, everywhere you look, more and more women are batting 1000.  It seems that eyelashes are to 2011 what breasts were to 2000 – it seems no pair is full enough, but at least men in this decade really are looking at our eyes.

On a serious note, long eyelashes really are beautiful, and they provide an instant upgrade to any look.  Here, we analyze the best three treatments currently available on the market – how each works, and how much each will cost.

XTreme Lashes After

1.  XTreme LashesTM

I had XTreme LashesTM done at the Allison Roth Studio in Pittsburgh about a year ago, and I seriously couldn’t stop looking in the mirror for the entire three weeks.  XTreme LashesTM are actually eyelash extensions that are attached to your normal eyelashes.  It takes about 60-90 minutes.  The secret behind them is a patented adhesive that lasts for 2-3 weeks.  The adhesive withstands everything – swimming, showering, summertime Super Soaker attacks by a five-year-old:  everything. Probably the only thing that the eyelash extensions can’t withstand is oil and wax-based eye makeup formulas, so the XTreme Lashes practitioner will recommend that you buy the special mascara and eye pencil, which are priced around $20-25 each.

Unlike a lot of the other products out there, XTreme LashesTM must be applied by a licensed practitioner, which is probably why the process is so expensive.  Still, I absolutely loved mine, and I can’t wait to get them done again someday!

Lash Dip Before After

2.  Lash Dip

  • Cost:  $200-300 initially, price varies for maintenance (if desired) at the 2-3 week point
  • Lasts:  4-6 weeks
  • Rating: 9/10
  • Image source: Lash Dip press release

Lash Dip is the newest advancement in eyelash extensions.  The process has been winning awards and accolades such as “Lashes of a Lifetime” by publications like Vogue magazine.

“Not only are spa and salon owners happy with the significant new revenue stream, but they boast about this innovative service,” says LashDip executive Julie Reeder. “The Lash DipMethod is proving to be a win-win-win… clients love Lash Dip, spa/salon owners love being on the cutting-edge of style and enjoy the additional revenue stream, and we’re thrilled to be able to introduce a game-changing service,” states Reeder.

At the salon, a certified technician will apply a coated polymer to your eyelashes, which hardens to look and feel like real eyelashes, except longer.  The patented polymer has been proclaimed by the company to be hypoallergenic and safe for patients with sensitive eyes or contact lenses.  Like XTreme Lashes, Lash Dip takes about 60-90 minutes to apply.  Women who love “natural” products will appreciate the fact that no extensions are required for the process.  Rather, the polymer is applied to your own eyelashes.  Some women even claim their eyelashes grow as a result of being encapsulated with the protective coating.

So why do I give Lash Dip a 9/10 and XTreme Lashes a 10/10?   One reason:  maintenance.  I’m not a lazy girl, but if I am paying upwards of $200 for my eyelashes every month, I don’t want to be bothered with them ever again (unless, of course, I’m busy admiring them in the mirror).  But Lash Dip requires that a “Lash Seal,” which is included in the price of the treatment, be applied 2-3 times each week after the lashes are applied.  Like XTreme lashes, Lash Dip also works best with water-based (not oil-based) makeup after its application.

So while I love the idea of Lash Dip and would recommend it to anyone, I also still think XTreme Lashes beats it by a hair (a small hair, mind you, like an eyelash…)  Of course, I’m scheduled to have an editor’s appointment to have Lash Dip done in September, so I will update and let you know then how it works out.

Picture 28

3.  LatisseTM

  • Cost:  $120.00
  • Lasts:  One month; effects last for the length of the hair growth cycle (typically 6-8 weeks)
  • Rating: 8/10
  • Image source: Latisse.pdf

Oh, LatisseTM.  On the one hand, LatisseTM is the only high-end product on the market to have substantiated clinical research backing it — and you know how I love research!  This is because Allergan, a major multi-million dollar pharmaceutical company, produces LatisseTM, but hey, research is research.  In the published, FDA-reviewed clinical trial, approximately half of 280 patients used LatisseTM daily for 16 weeks, and their eyelashes grew 25 percent longer, 106 percent thicker and 18 percent darker than those in the non-treatment (control) group.  Also, the common fear that LatisseTM causes a change in eye color is unfounded.  LatisseTM contains 1/20 the amount of active ingredient of Lumigan, the anti-glaucoma drug, which has been found to cause a change in the iris color of blue-eyed patients.  This effect has not been documented in LatisseTM users to date.  Additionally, the belief LatisseTM may cause glaucoma in healthy patients has been cleared by research in the journal Expert Opinion on Drug Safety.  Still, ultra-cautious patients may want to stay away from it.

I personally give LatisseTM the ol’ “8/10” rating because of the documented side effects and maintenance.  About 1 in 25 patients (3.6 percent for you perfectionists) will experience eye itching and redness.  Further, the product takes about 2 weeks to show results and has to be applied every night, which I’m also not too happy about when I’m paying $4 per day for longer eyelashes.  Still, LatisseTM does produce dramatic results over time, and the vast majority of users are extremely pleased with it.  It’s also considerably cheaper than the other methods (about half the cost), and can be done in the privacy of your own home (at least, after you get a prescription from a physician).

Bottom Line

If you have an extra $30-50 per week (the price of a mani-pedi!) to invest in your beauty routine, then there is no reason you cannot have amazing eyelashes.  I will also say that there have never been an array of better options on the market than today — and I can’t see a better way to upgrade your look for a wedding, graduation, modeling/acting audition or photo shoot.  Eyelashes really do make a world of difference!

Got a favorite eyelash product to share?  Let us know, and you may be selected to win a skin care product!

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