What are Mega Volume Eyelash Extensions?

If you are starting in your career in the lash industry or are looking to expand into Mega Volume lashing you might be curious about Mega Volume eyelash extensions.

One of my passions is to help other eyelash extension artists grow and increase their potential, by sharing what I've learned over the years I've been in the lash business.

What are Mega Volume lashes?

To understand what mega volume lashes are, it is helpful to first go through the other types of lashes.

With all of these options we are talking about individual lashes, not strip lashes, that are applied by professional eyelash extension artists.

• Classic Lashes: This is where one extension is attached to one natural lash. 
• Volume Lashes: This is where 2-6 extensions are created into a fan and attached to one natural lash. 
• Mega Volume Lashes: This takes volume lashes to the next level where there are 10-25 extensions in a fan that are attached to one natural lash.
• Hybrid Lashes: This technique uses a combination of the different lashing styles to create a custom look for the client.

As you go from Classic to Mega Volume eyelashes, you use lashes that have a smaller thickness/diameter… which tend to be in the 0.02 - 0.05 range. In other words, you are using more lashes, but each lash is smaller in diameter.

Whereas volume lashes are classified in 0.06, 0.07, and 0.10 lashes. Classic lashes are usually 0.12 - 0.25 or thicker.

Going with smaller diameter lashes in Mega Volume allows you to attach more extensions to each natural lash, which can provide a much fuller look and give you more placement options.

Do Mega Volume extensions damage the natural lash?

Can you damage your clients natural lash with Mega Volume? Just like the other lashing styles, there are risks of damaging the natural lash if you aren't careful with your application.

In general, Mega Volume lashes that are applied safely can be less damaging than Classic or Volume lash extensions.

When you are preserving the health of the natural lash, you need to keep a few things in mind:

• Weight: The total weight that can be safely applied to each natural lash.
• Isolation: Not being able to separate and target individual natural lashes for strong and safe adhesion.
• Adhesive: Not using and applying the glue properly can cause lashes to stick together or be painful for the client.

ISOLATION IS KEY. You can perform the best lashes in the world, but if your isolation is not on point, you might end up gluing lashes together, which can cause the natural lash to pull out as it grows and/or make it painful for your client.

ADHESIVE CHOICE MATTERS. You also need to choose a lash adhesive that will help you prevent "stickies". Stickies happen with adhesive that dries too slow for your technique (classic, volume, hybrid, or mega volume), or isolating lashes too close to a lash you just placed smashing all the lashes together causing them to stick. When applying mega volume lashes, choosing a fast drying eyelash extension adhesive can help you prevent stickies, but also give you enough time to attach each lash into a fan.

Also, keep in mind that dipping your fan into adhesive adds weight. Dip only about 2mm into the lash adhesive to keep the amount of glue on the fan minimal. Adding too much glue can result in the lash extensions sticking to other lashes around your lash extension or even pooling on or near the lash line causing the lash to adhere to the eyelid. This can cause irritation and in some cases blepharitis or even a lash allergy with repeat contact.

As you gain experience and fine tune your lashing technique, you will learn how to safely apply mega volume eyelash extensions.

How can you get that full eyelash look and not compromise the health of the natural lash?

One of the most important questions to ask when applying mega volume lashes is how much weight each natural lash can hold.

But first, let's talk about Lash Dimensions...

Lash Dimension refers to the amount of lashes in your fan (for Volume and Mega Volume lashing). That is described in this format: 2D, 3D, 4D, etc. This is what that means:

2D = 2 lashes in the fan
3D = 3 lashes in the fan
4D = 4 lashes in the fan
5D = 5 lashes in the fan
6D = 6 lashes in the fan
...etc.

Mega volume lashes typically are 10D - 25D.

Now let’s calculate the Lash Dimension (the number of lashes in your fan) that your clients natural lash can safely support.

First you have to figure out the classic lash size a natural lash can hold, you simply grab a single extension and hold it up to the natural lash. If it is no more than 2 times the thickness of the natural lash, it is safe to use that classic lash size for this calculation. If you think it is more than double the thickness, size down to a lash extension about 2 times the thickness of the natural lash. With more experience eyeballing the size will become easier. 

One way in doing this calculation:

• Calculate the classic lash size that the natural lash can hold.
• Determine which Mega Volume lash diameter you will use and multiply the weight to get to the classic lash weight equivalent. This will tell you the maximum number of lashes to use in your fan, which is based on the mega volume lash weight you use (0.02, 0.03, 0.05, etc).

Once you figure out the classic lash size, you can convert that value to the mega volume weight equivalents.

In general, the standard weight of a single 12mm lash of each diameter is the following:

Lash Diameter = Weight of the lash 

• 0.20 = 0.30mg
• 0.15 = 0.15mg
• 0.12 = 0.12mg
• 0.10 = 0.10mg
• 0.07 = 0.07mg
• 0.06 = 0.05mg
• 0.05 = 0.03mg
• 0.03 = 0.02mg
• 0.02 = 0.01mg

How do you determine how many lashes you will use on a lash (lash dimension)? 

You will have to gauge what weight of classic lash extension you would use on a natural lash. Then you must determine what volume lashes you are using and do some fast math. 

Using the classic lash size you calculated from the previous section, you can convert that to how many lashes in your fan. But the number of extensions in your fan is also dependent on the weight you want to use for your mega volume lashes. The smaller lash you use, the more extensions you can use in your fans.

Below are some examples on how to do these calculations.

Lash Dimension Example: Super Healthy Natural Lash

A healthy/thick natural lash that can support a 0.20 classic lash can generally support:

• 0.06 - 6D
• 0.05 - 10D
• 0.03 - 15D
• 0.02 - 30D (unrealistic to apply)

Lash Dimension Example: Healthy Natural Lash

A healthy natural lash that can support a 0.15 classic lash can generally support:

• 0.06 - 3D
• 0.05 - 5D
• 0.03 - 8D
• 0.02 - 15D

Lash Dimension Example: Weak Natural Lash

A weak natural lash that can support a 0.12 classic lash can generally support:

• 0.06 - 2D
• 0.05 - 4D
• 0.03 - 6D
• 0.02 - 12D

Lash Dimension Example: Very Weak Natural Lash

A very weak natural lash that can support a 0.10 classic lash can generally support:

• 0.06 - 2D
• 0.05 - 3D
• 0.03 - 5D
• 0.02 - 10D

In other words… When you are determining the amount of lashes to have in your fans, you are determining what size of classic lash their lashes can withstand and translating that to the mega volume equivalent.

This is how you can create a fuller look without compromising the health of the natural lash.

• When you do Classic lashes, the recommended maximum thickness is 0.20, one lash applied to a natural lash.
• With Volume lashes, the recommended maximum amount of volume lashes is 5D 0.07 lashes per natural lashes.
• With Mega Volume, especially if you are working with 0.02 Mega Volume lashes, you can put up to 20-25+ lash extensions per natural lash.

This concept of using thinner lashes for a “thicker look” seems counterintuitive, but it really does open up the options available for you to create fuller eyelash looks.

On top of that, if you are careful and smart about how you are calculating how many lashes to apply with each fan, you can end up putting less weight on the lash than you would if you went with classic lashes! This helps your retention, and helps preserve the health of the natural lashes. 

Applying Mega Volume Eyelash Extensions Gives You Options

Mega volume lashes are perfect for every client! That includes clients with compromised or short lashes, and clients of all ages. With all types of lash maps, you can customize the amount of lashes per fan creating more natural lash looks, or add more lashes per fan and create bolder thicker looks. 

Once you learn the techniques of mega volume lashes, your creativity will be expanded. Your options with the looks you can produce are endless, and your clients will be coming back to you for fills.

How to be in the top 5% of Mega Volume Lash Artists

Outside of getting solid training, there really are no shortcuts to becoming the best in the eyelash extension industry. On top of that, Mega Volume lashing is more difficult than Classic and Volume lashing, but it really isn't as hard as it looks once you understand the basic techniques.

In order to become the best, it takes practicing your fan making techniques, managing your time, and learning how to effectively communicate with your clients. This is not something you can do in a week. But, within a few years of pushing hard and learning from your mistakes, you could find yourself being one of the best mega volume eyelash extension artists in your area.

Once you start to master your lashing technique, you will start seeing more consistent results and your clients will be happier. You will be able to lash faster and increase your prices, and clients will seek you out when they want the best of the best.