Korean Lash Lift in Austin, Texas
A Korean lash lift raises your natural lashes straight up from the root and sets them in that position, so they look longer and more open for weeks with no curler, mascara, or extensions. At Austin Pretty Girl, our lash artists perform Korean lash lifts in our South Austin studio on East Ben White Boulevard, where we've been doing lashes and brows since we opened as Lashes de Bella & Skincare in 2011.
The appointment is easy to relax through, since your eyes stay closed the whole time and you'll feel little more than a light touch along the lash line. If your lashes are fair or light at the tips, you can add a tint in the same visit so the new length shows from across the room.
- Lifts straight, downward, or stubborn lashes from the root
- Stays visible on hooded eyes and monolids
- Typically lasts six to eight weeks
- Pairs with a lash tint in the same appointment
What Makes a Lash Lift "Korean"?
The word describes a technique for placing and processing your lashes, and a trained artist can perform it with any professional lifting system whose formula suits the method. In a classic lash lift, the lashes are wrapped over a curved silicone rod, which bends them into a C-shaped curl that tips back toward the brow. A Korean lift uses a flat shield. Your artist sweeps each lash upward from the base, lays it flat against the shield, and sets it there with a lifting balm, a tacky conditioning product that holds each lash in position, before the solutions go on.
Because each lash is straightened upward along its whole length, the finished result reads as lift and length from the root, with lashes that fan out cleanly and look separated. Austin Pretty Girl uses Elleebana professional lash lift products. Korean lifts are usually done with a cysteamine-based formula, a gentler active than the thioglycolate used in many traditional lash lifts, because it holds up well during the slightly longer processing a flat lift needs.
Korean Lash Lift vs. a Classic Lash Lift
Both treatments reshape your own lashes, and both last until those lashes shed. The difference is the shape they leave behind and the lashes each one handles well.
| Classic lash lift | Korean lash lift | |
|---|---|---|
| Shield | Curved silicone rod | Flat shield |
| Finished shape | Rounded curl that bends back toward the brow | Lifted from the root and projected up and out |
| How lashes are held | Lash lift adhesive | Usually a lifting balm |
| The look | Soft, curled, natural | Longer-looking, separated, eye-opening |
| Works best for | Long lashes that are straight and need shape | Straight, downward-growing, or stubborn lashes, and hooded or monolid eyes |
If your lashes are long and fairly straight and you love the look of a curl, our classic lash lift gives you that rounded curl for $95. If your lashes point down, refuse to hold a curler, or disappear under your lid when you open your eyes, book the Korean lift, because it lifts them high enough at the base to stay visible.
Lashes and Eye Shapes This Lift Suits
The flat, upward technique earns its keep on lashes that have frustrated you before. You're likely to love it if any of these sound familiar:
- Your lashes grow straight out or angle downward, and curlers lose the battle by noon
- Your lashes grow in different directions and never sit together
- You have hooded eyes or monolids, where a classic curl folds under the crease and vanishes
- A past lash lift came out crimped, kinked, or more curled than you wanted
- Your lashes are fair and you want the length to show, which a tint takes care of
A lash lift should wait if you have an eye infection, a stye, or irritation around the eyes, or if you've had eye surgery recently. If you've reacted to a lash or brow product in the past, mention it when you book so your artist knows before the appointment.
What Happens During Your Appointment
Set aside about an hour for your appointment, a little longer if you add a tint. It helps to arrive with clean lashes and no eye makeup, though we cleanse them either way. Your artist works through these steps in order:
- Consultation. We look at your lash length, the direction your lashes grow, and their condition, and we talk through how dramatic you'd like the lift to be.
- Cleanse and protect. Your lashes are cleansed of oil and makeup, and your lower lashes are tucked away under a protective pad.
- Shield and placement. A flat shield sized to your lash length goes on the lid, and each lash is swept upward and laid flat in the shape you chose.
- Lift and set. The lifting solution loosens the disulfide bonds that hold each lash in its natural shape, and the setting solution reforms those bonds in the new upward position.
- Tint, if you added one. The color goes on while the lashes are still in place on the shield, so it coats each lash along its full length.
- Nourish and finish. A conditioning step goes on last, then the shield comes off and your lashes are combed into place.
Pricing at Austin Pretty Girl
How Long Does a Korean Lash Lift Last?
A Korean lash lift typically lasts six to eight weeks, depending on your natural lash growth cycle. The lift stays in each lash for that lash's whole life, so the look softens gradually as lifted lashes shed and new ones grow in behind them. Because every lash is on its own growth schedule, you won't wake up one morning to find the whole lift gone.
We recommend waiting until most of your lifted lashes have grown out before you book the next one, which usually lands around the eight-week mark. Lifting the same lashes again before they've cycled out is how lashes end up dry and brittle, so spacing your appointments protects the result you're paying for.
Caring for Your Lashes Afterward
Your lashes are still settling into their new shape for the first day, so the first 24 hours decide how well the lift holds. During that window, please avoid:
- Getting your lashes wet, including face washing around the eyes and swimming
- Steam from saunas, steam rooms, or long, hot showers
- Workouts that make you sweat heavily
- Mascara and any eye makeup
- Rubbing your eyes or sleeping face-down on your pillow
After that first day, life goes back to normal. Brushing your lashes upward with a clean spoolie in the morning keeps them sitting evenly, and a lash conditioner keeps them soft between appointments. Waterproof mascara and metal curlers are hard on lifted lashes, so skip both.
Should You Get a Lift or Lash Extensions?
The two solve different problems. Extensions add length and fullness beyond what your natural lashes can do, and they need regular fills to keep that look. Our classic full set is $200, and fills must be booked within 30 days of your last appointment. A Korean lift works only with the lashes you have, and nothing needs refilling while it lasts.
Choose the lift if you'd like your own lashes to look their best with no upkeep. Choose lash extensions if you want visible volume or length your own lashes don't have, and look at our lash membership if you plan to keep them on year-round.
