BB&L Blog

In-Person vs. Online Lash Lift Courses 0

Are you interested in broadening your education in the eyelash industry? As beauty professionals, we understand that everyone learns new skills a bit differently. To help you decide which training option is best for you, we have dug deep into the benefits of our online lash lift course as well as the key differences in a Beautiful Brows and Lashes hands on training course vs. an online training course!

How to Stay Up to Date on the Latest Eyelash Trends 0

As stylists we understand that the beauty industry is constantly evolving! In recent years some of the biggest trends in the world have made an appearance in the United States and are here to stay. At Beautiful Brows and Lashes we are consistently researching and trying different techniques and strategies to get ahead of up and coming eyelash and eyebrow trends. Read on to learn how you can become familiar with hot new services that can be added to your treatment menu!

What Lash Lift Supplies Do I Need For Client Sessions? 0

Are you wanting to add the latest and hottest eyelash trend in the beauty industry to your treatment menu? Stylists that are new to lash lifting often have questions regarding what products they should be purchasing to get them started. As beauty professionals who were also once in your shoes, we have taken our experience and feedback from fellow lash lovers to create the ultimate product guide for newcomers!

The Difference Between Lash Extensions and a Lash Lift 2

Are you considering getting your lashes done? Before you go, it's a good idea to know the difference between a lash lift and a lash extension. Understanding the differences might just affect which one you go with! 

If you’re an esthetician trying to determine what services to offer, this could be helpful for you as well.

In this guide, we will break down the differences between these two services for you.

Lash Extensions

Lash extensions use small individual lash pieces and attach them directly to your own lashes. Rather than simply adding a solution to your lashes to lift them up, you are adding lash pieces with glue.

The glue used for this process is medical-grade and long-lasting. Each lash piece for the extension is applied one single piece at a time. This process can be pretty involved and it’s tailored to the look you are going for. Since it’s attached to your natural lashes and made to give you longer, fuller lashes, it can take some major time to complete.

Initial eyelash extensions could take a full 2 hours to finish up.

In general, lash extensions have a more dramatic finish to them but that is not necessarily always the case.

Lash Lifts

A lash lift is a different approach to boosting your lashes. With the lash lift process, your lashes are treated with a solution like the Lash Bomb that is designed to fluff up your lashes to make them look longer and fuller at the same time.

Lash lifts can also be done in your own way, whether you want length or you want fullness, or perhaps even both. The formula will curl the lashes up and tint them just slightly to enhance the look.

The lash lift process doesn’t take quite as long as a lash extension. This process will generally only take about an hour. Your lashes will look full and longer but the end result is not quite as dramatic as extensions tend to be.

Neither process is just like applying strip lashes so keep that in mind as well.

Which One Do You Need?

There are certain advantages to both of these processes so it really just depends on what you want to happen.

Lash lifts are known for looking more natural overall while still making your lashes stand out. They take less time to complete and they are great for covering up any potential imperfections that your natural lashes might have. They tend to be low maintenance and last somewhere around 8-12 weeks.

The only downside is they may not work as well on really short lashes.

Lash extensions are also low maintenance to some extent. You will have to have regular (monthly) treatments to keep them fresh, though. These are dramatic and will draw people’s attention every single time. Lash extensions are really only as good as the person applying them so be sure you choose someone who is talented and experienced in working with extensions.

There you have it! The differences are slight but they do matter. Which one will you go with?

How to Stand Out in the Beauty Industry 0

There are plenty of fish in the sea when it comes to the beauty industry. It seems like every day more and more people join the industry, bringing you yet another competitor.

Perhaps you are one of those new people joining the industry and you deserve a chance to prove what you can do! The best way to be successful in the beauty industry is to find a way to really stand out.

Check out these 5 tips for standing out in the beauty industry.

1.   Stay on Trend

The trends are constantly changing. This means that you have to be able to keep up with those trends in order to stay relevant and stay in front of people looking for the trends. What you are doing today might no longer be popular tomorrow.

Make the effort to stay educated about up and coming trends and learn how you can use those in your business. Be prepared when a client sits in your chair and asks for that “new” trendy style.

2.   Find Your Niche

Chances are you have a couple of things that you are either the most interested in or really good at. While you can certainly offer other services, find these things that can be your niche that you really hone in on.

Maybe you will stick to lash lifts or brow laminations. Maybe you prefer to stick to waxing or hair styling. It’s totally up to you but when you choose that focus, or that niche, build on that for your target audience.

Build your brand around your niche so you have something that you are known for.

3.   Get to Networking

One of the best ways to stand out in the crowd is networking. There are plenty of ways to network in the beauty industry if you are willing to take the time to do so.

Here are a few tips.

• Be active on social media platforms. Instagram is great for beauty industry networking.
• Get involved in your community.
• Attend conventions, expos, and similar events.
• Find ways to get your name out there.

 These are just a few things you can do. Find the resources in and around you to get your name heard but also make yourself present. People will start to recognize you.

4.   Never Stop Learning

You may be an expert but here’s the thing. The best experts are always learning. There is always something you can do to learn more or improve your skills. Be the professional in the beauty industry that believes you can always learn something new.

This is something you do on your own behind the scenes. However, we strongly believe educating yourself and building on your foundation is one of the best ways to stand out in the beauty industry.

5.   Show Integrity

Finally, people make mistakes. The question is really how will you respond when a mistake is made? If you show good business practices and integrity in your work, this will most certainly make you stand out in the industry.

Sometimes, reputation really is everything.

Wrapping Up

If you want to truly stand out in the beauty industry, take a look at these 5 tips and wrap them all together. You want to be yourself and be able to represent what you can do but don’t forget to make sure other people know your capabilities!

How to Decide What Prices to Charge? 0

Setting prices is probably one of the hardest things to do in a business. You've got to figure out a price that is fair, that covers the costs of all of your products and work, and that makes you money. 

How do you decide what to charge your clients? 

Check out these tips for setting your prices. 

What Have You Invested?

In order to provide your services, you went through extensive training and certification processes. Not to mention training for specialized services like lash lifts or brow laminations. 

You invested in yourself to learn how to do all of these things and obtain the right certification to offer the services. None of that was free and you need to be able to make a return on your investment. 

Cost of Supplies

Next, you need to consider the cost of your supplies. Supplies aren't cheap and every little thing adds up. You have multiple supplies that you use for one procedure so you need to figure out how much it costs you to do a procedure. 

1. Determine how much you spend on a package of supplies. 
2. Do the math to determine how much it costs for each item used in your procedures. For Example: If you use 1 mascara wand from a pack of 25, how much did just the 1 wand cost? 

For each procedure you do, take note of every supply you use and break it down like this. 

Your Time

Now, you need to figure out your time. How much time will one client take you for that particular procedure? Do you book out 1 hour for a lash lift? 

You should establish an hourly rate and build that into the package of how much you will charge. The average hourly rate most estheticians charge is around $20 per hour. However, some of the highly-skilled and most popular charge $30 and more per hour. 

Your hourly time might start out lower as you're getting started but if you're really good you can increase that in the future. 

What Are Others Charging? 

It's a good idea to do some research and find out what others around you might be charging for their services. If you want to be competitive in the market, you will need to find a reasonable price that is similar to other services. 

You want to get paid and your services are valuable. However, you also want to make sure you aren't over charging and driving customers to your competition. 

Finalize the Price

Now, you've compiled several different things together and it's time to set the price. Put these together. 

1. Total cost of materials plus an upcharge of 10% or so for those materials. 
2. Your hourly rate, based on how long you book for that procedure. 
3. A charge for your skills and the investment you made to acquire them. 

When you tally these things together for your services, whether you do lashes, brows, or something else entirely, you should be able to come up with a good price to charge your clients.