How to Get Thick & Elongated Lashes

One area of beauty that’s always so much fun is lashes. There are so many different ways to dress them up, techniques for helping with fullness and growth, and even different colors to wear for creating completely unique lash looks. And even with all the different techniques we’ve seen and tried, we’re always wondering how to get long lashes. We’ve tried many different methods, but today we’re here with our no gimmicks step-by-step guide to creating lifted, longer looking lashes with just a few easy steps. Straight lashes, short lashes, and sparse natural lashes are all welcome!

Step 1: Prep

For those with naturally super curly lashes - yes, we’re jealous. For the rest of us however, this step is going to be crucial for executing this look. While we understand that lash curlers might appear intimidating, curling is a total requirement if lifted, long looking lashes is what we want.

We’ve seen guides that require heating the curler up with a hair dryer or curling lash strands for a specific amount of seconds, and that’s not our schtick. How to get long lashes with a lash curler - for us - just means being gentle, ensuring that all the lashes are indeed in the mouth of the curler, and one X-factor that truly changes the game.

When curling the lashes, first get the lash curler as close to the base of the eyelashes as possible. Being careful not to get too close and pinch the skin, we want to start curling from the root because this will make the biggest impact on lift. After the first curl, move upward toward the lash tips, curling again and again to really overdirect the lashes from the downward or outward direction to high and lifted.

Step 2: Coat

This next step truly sets our technique apart from other long lash guides we’ve seen out there because it adds a nourishing factor to the application that other techniques lack.

For this step we’ll need a flat shadow brush with a paddle shape and our Nourishing Balm. We’re going to very lightly tap our brush into the balm and with delicate motions, we want to sweep the product over the lash strands. To do this look up and brush the product from the mid-shaft to tips of the eyelashes.

How does this help us achieve full, long lashes? Let’s just take a closer look at the balm’s primary ingredients. The base oils of avocado and shea have a deeply hydrating and reparative nature that not only condition the lash strands, but help to reverse brittleness and prevent breakage. For such a high traffic area like eyelashes, that are often weighed down, roughed up, and manipulated, a rejuvenating treatment like this will inevitably help maintain fullness, length, and support growth.

Surprise! That’s not the only reason we add this key step into our long lash routine. In addition to adding length, we’re looking to add fullness too. This conditioning coat of nourishing balm acts as a primer for our next step which - when paired together - is the ultimate combo for quick and easy extra thick lashes.

Step 3: Thicken

Here’s where the thicker lashes magic begins to happen. We recommend using a clean, fluffy brush for this step and a vegan natural translucent powder like this Bamboo Blur Powder option. Dip the fluffy brush into the powder, tap off all of the excess, and very lightly tap this over the lashes. We’ll see the powder begin to stick to that balmy base we applied in step 2, creating added fullness and an ideal base for the final step - one or two coats of mascara - to stick to.

Like with the nourishing balm, the added fullness isn’t the only reason we’re adding this step and these products to this longer eyelashes makeup routine. Bamboo is incredibly rich in benefits! It is known to improve circulation, promote growth, and generate thickness of hair. As an antioxidant and full of amino acids, we know that bamboo helps with eyelash retention; and less fallout means thicker looking lashes. We love how the bamboo adds some strength and integrity to our eyelash hair and because it’s antibacterial, we feel safe using this on the sensitive eye area.

Step 4: Cover

The final step is of course, adding mascara. No long lashes would be complete without it, right? Our product of choice here is to go with a lengthening mascara, as we’ve already added plenty of fullness with our last couple of steps. Our pick? The Ultra Lengthening Mascara. Yes, the name says it all with this beautifully formulated mascara. Liquid enough to evenly coat every strand, flexible enough to prevent flaking off, and yet still long-lasting and formulated with natural elements for pigmentation. Available in 4 classic and trendy shades, we utilized ingredients like black tea and berries for colorful mascara that everyone could safely enjoy.

Our secret to how to get long lashes with this step is our tip-first approach. We want to first apply product to the tips of the lashes, reinforcing that curl that we did in step 1. Once almost dry, we want to go in with a full lash coat, starting at the lash roots and really wiggling the product into the lashes. The key here is to almost comb the mascara wand through the lashes. This ensures full coverage and gets that complete length and lifted look. If desired, go in for a second coat, however we recommend avoiding too much product as the lashes can look clumpy and get weighed down. And that’s it! We’ve got thicker, longer lashes in 4 quick and easy steps. If you’re curious to watch this tutorial for some added guidance, we’d love to have you as part of our YouTube beauty community.

In the long run, what products we use and how we apply them are important, but not the only avenues to achieve the longer, fuller lashes we all want. Here are some lash care tips that we like to use for maintaining the length and integrity of our eyelashes.

• Avoid waterproof mascara. While we all just hate smudging and sometimes need the added reinforcement of a waterproof formula, they can be murder on the eyelashes if worn often, and especially in the removal process.

• Invest in a quality eye makeup remover. See our last step for some added insight. The eyelashes really take a beating as we’re scrubbing and rubbing to remove every ounce of makeup. We prefer to use an eye makeup remover that melts makeup away so we can gently wipe the lashes clear of makeup residue instead of ripping out half our eyelashes every night.

• Take eye makeup breaks. Giving our eyes a break from the more aggressive attention that’s needed to remove makeup will do wonders in keeping the lashes that we have in good shape.

• Add in lash treatments. Whether you prefer hair growth supplements or serums, or like to use a topical treatment for eyelash conditioning, adding in a weekly or regular eye conditioning treatment will give back to the lashes in a way that none of our other beauty treatments can.