Eyelash Extensions in Tokyo from Pro Care Eyelash
If you ask most women what makeup item they can’t live with out, I am going to guess that most will say mascara. Beautiful, defined lashes make such a difference to your everyday appearance, but there are definite downsides, including smudges, clumps and the dreaded flakes that appear under your eyes towards the end of the day. But it’s the removal at night that is definitely the worst part of wearing mascara—panda eyes anyone? Suddenly eyelash extensions seem like a very attractive alternative. Beautiful, long, clump free lashes; no messy eye makeup removing each night; saves you time when getting ready in the morning... This definitely sounded like it was worth a try.
There are thousands of salons in Tokyo that offer eyelash extensions, but after a little online research I headed to eyelash extension specialist Pro Care Eyelash in Shibuya. The first thing that attracted me Pro Care Eyelash was its fantastic English website, which contains detailed information on the eyelash extensions process, how to choose the overall look you want to achieve, and important aftercare information. Pro Care Eyelash has seven convenient locations around Tokyo, as well as salons in Yokohama, Hiroshima and Osaka. Another important factor was that the staff are eyelash extension specialists, with this being the only service that is offered at their salons.
Conveniently located near Shibuya station, the Pro Care Eyelash salon is a spacious and modern space. When I arrived I was immediately greeted by the friendly staff and seated in a comfortable waiting room where I was greeted by therapists. It must be said that on the day I visited Pro Care Eyelash, the English spoken by the staff was limited. However, they were extremely professional and tried their utmost to come up with a solution for our communication gap.
We began with a counselling session, which took about 10 minutes. During this time two staff members (one was my therapist and the receptionist as translator) ran through the Pro Care Eyelash extension service and helped me decide on which eyelash extensions to try. The overall look is carefully considered, and one of the strengths of the Pro Care Eyelash salon is that a detailed picture menu makes it easy to understand the different effects that can be achieved. Firstly, you decide on the overall effect: natural, volume, color mix, “American doll” or narrow maetel styles. Then, with the help of the Pro Care Eyelash staff, you select the number of lashes you want to be applied to achieve the desired look, be that 40, 60, or 80 individual lashes on each eye, and then the amount of curl and lash thickness. It’s important to carefully consider lash length and curl if you wear prescription glasses or sunglasses, as long length extensions can annoyingly hit against lenses. Your therapist will help you select the best curl and length for you.
I decided to try 50 lashes per eye to achieve a natural look that closely followed my natural lash type and shape. The total cost for this treatment was ¥11,760, as Pro Care Eyelash offered me a 20 percent discount since I was a new customer.
Before the treatment begins you need to ensure that your lashes are free of all eye makeup. So, if you can, arrive at the salon with clean lashes. If not, bring your eye makeup remover to remove all traces of eyeliner and mascara before the treatment starts. If you forget, the staff have a number of products that you can use.
Once this was done I was shown to my treatment area, where I lay down on the comfortable treatment bed and was covered with a warm blanket. Applying eyelash extensions is painstaking work, with each treatment taking between about one and two hours, depending on how many lashes are being applied. Protective tape was carefully applied to my lower lashes, and my therapist began applying the 100 individual extensions to my natural lashes.
Eyelash extensions are applied directly onto your natural lashes, and are carefully placed somewhere between one and two millimeters from the base of the lash. The treatment does not hurt at all, and it’s almost impossible to stay awake!
When finished, the therapist gently blow dries your lash extensions on a cool setting and removes the protective tape. Once I had taken a careful look at my newly enhanced lashes I was really happy with effect the eyelash extensions had achieved. It actually looked really natural and not at all fake. It looked like I had a few coats of lengthening mascara on…but better, as there were zero clumps and the lashes on each eye were perfectly even. The Pro Care Eyelash staff had done a fantastic job at understanding the look I wanted, and I feel that the extensions were of a high quality and expertly applied. The only downside to the salon for me was the lack of English spoken by the staff when I visited. Although the result was fantastic, I can imagine that a lot of non-Japanese customers may not feel comfortable with not being able to have their initial consultation in English. So, this is definitely something to keep in mind.
But overall, I think I have been converted. There’s no doubt about it: eyelash extensions are high maintenance. But I think sometimes it pays to be a little high maintenance with your beauty appointments, in order to be lower maintenance every day. After trying eyelash extensions I believe they are perfect when you have a special occasion and are looking for a really glamorous makeup look, are going on a beach holiday (no runny mascara after your swim), or for anyone just wants to save time on their daily beauty routine.
Tips
- If you have light lashes consider tinting your lashes before having extensions applied so that there is not a mix of lash colors. This is probably more important when only having a small number of lashes applied.
- After showering, bathing or washing your face, dry your lashes with your hair dryer for about 15 seconds on the cool setting. Direct the cool air away from your eye, so that it runs from the base to the tip of your lashes. This will ensure your lashes continue looking beautiful and maintain their curl and quality.
- Use Bioderma Crealine (available at Tokyu Hands, Loft and some Pharmacies) to gently remove eye makeup while you have eyelash extensions, as traditional eye makeup remover contains oils that loosen the “glue” that holds eyelash extensions in place.
The Deets
Address: 5F Towa Miyamasu-zaka Bldg., 1-14-9 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Tel: 03-5778-4555
Open: Daily, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. (last appt. 8 p.m.)
