Pregnancy & Eyelash Extensions, Is it Safe?

Posted by Sarah Moore on July 19, 2023

Pregnancy and eyelash extensions are a big topic of conversation in the beauty community. The most common question being asked by clients, can I get eyelash extensions while pregnant?

There are numerous factors to keep in mind when working with pregnant clients. Today I wanted to give you all the tips and tricks I’ve learned in my over two decades of serving clients. Here are all the practices and products to keep clients cozy, and safe.

Disclaimer. While there is lots of information in this wink, and on the internet, ALWAYS be sure each client checks with their personal physician before starting any new service or activity. In addition to clearance from a doctor, create an opportunity to have communication prior to an expecting mother’s first appointment. Clients should be informed on risk and what to expect, not only to protect them and their precious bundle of joy, but you and your business.

Okay let's dive in! First off, the answer to, is it safe? The short answer is YES!

In my opinion there are TWO major factors when it comes to ensuring client safety that are well within your control: using high quality products and body positioning. Let's take a deeper look into these two elements of the service.

1. High Quality Products

While using the best products available is always advised, pregnant clients are more vulnerable to ingredients. Most notably, we are talking about the importance of using high quality adhesives. Luckily, GladGirl has you covered with adhesives that are guaranteed to be free of formaldehyde, latex and parabens. GladGirl adhesives will significantly lower your risk factors with all clients pregnant or not.

Once you are confident your adhesive is non toxic, I recommend using the fastest drying adhesive for your skill level. During sessions with pregnant clients I use In A Flash Eyelash Extension Adhesive with an impressive drying time of half a second! This glue can cut down service time significantly, drastically increasing safety and comfort. Not only does this glue save you time, it has an expected retention time of 5 weeks.

Always keep in mind that allergies can develop during pregnancy, allergies that a client did not have before. While eyelash glue should never come in contact with the skin. The adhesive bonding to your natural lashes (as well as eyepatches and tape) can still cause mild redness and inflammation that a client may not have experienced prior to being pregnant. That is because we have so much more blood and our immune systems are working hard to help the little life along.

Here are links as well to my favorite eye patches and tape for sensitive skin at the bottom. Both of these products have NEVER caused even the slightest redness on even my most sensitive of sensitive clients.

Moving on to the second factor.

2. Body Positioning

In my opinion, body positioning is the most important part of serving pregnant clients. That is because once you know you are using the best products on the market, the biggest factor to safety is understanding what is happening to the body and the baby during pregnancy.

In the second and third trimesters lying on your back may compress a major blood vessel that takes blood to the uterus, making you feel dizzy and possibly reducing blood flow. As a general rule after the 20 week mark of gestation, clients should lay on their side for the entire duration of their eyelash extension appointment. Back sleeping is no longer safe after 20 weeks of gestation.

The Solution: Create a comfortable space where your client can lay on her side instead of on her back. Lay your client down on her side with her head straight, or as straight as she can lay comfortably…You may need to work at a slight diagonal. Laying on the right side of the body is preferable, however clients may need to shift around numerous times during an appointment. Depending on the client you may want to allow an extra 30 min of time to the appointment slot to accommodate comfort.

For lash artist comfort, I recommend using an eyelash station on your hand, with a glue ring. This will save you a lot of time and attention that could be wasted reorganizing your work station each time your client needs to reposition themselves.

That brings me to my ‘go to’ companions in helping clients get into the most comfortable position possible. Wedge Pillows! In my mobile business I always travel with two :) as well as a full length body pillow. The wedge pillows I prefer are Eyelash Extension Application Memory Foam Pillow by GG!

Sometimes I use both wedge pillows to support the upper body, in addition to the body pillow between the knees and chest for full support. This pillow combination provides support for all the ways you may need to get creative with positioning. To keep pillows and linens santitarty between clients I recommend placing them inside a waterproof zippable pillow liner, and then covering with our regal satin pillowcases. Your clients will be cozy as can be.

Now that we have covered the two most vital elements for eyelash services for pregnant clients, let's get into the cozy details. Specifically regarding temperature & potential nausea. I recommend having blankets for when your client is cold, and a fan for when they are hot. Hormones keep temperatures fluctuating, and you will want to be prepared for both scenarios. During a session a client may become nauseous. Pregnant or not, I always have hard candies on hand, my favorite is the yummy candies called ‘nausea sweets’ by pink stork. These tasty candies are organic and infused with peppermint and vitamin B. I also keep ginger candies close for clients that prefer ginger to the flavor of peppermint. Having something yummy to suck on can dramatically reduce the experience of nausea.

Speaking of Hormones fluctuating, they get a bad rap for affecting eyelash retention. Hormones affect hair growth cycles, though this isn’t something that normally occurs during pregnancy, but after. Hair is more likely to fall out postpartum. Thankfully, use of lash serums and vitamins can be highly effective in mitigating hair loss.

While it should be noted, some shedding of lashes is not hormonal and can be just the change of seasons. Eyelash shedding season occurs twice a year in Spring and Autumn when temperatures begin to change. Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do to prevent this, but it is crucial to educate yourself and your clients regarding lash shed. I provide each client bi annually or postpartum with GG’s Lash & Brow Boost.

Keep in mind, it is completely normal and natural to lose a few lashes each day. Specifically, one to five lashes fall out a day, depending on the person, their age, health, lifestyle, and a thousand other factors. It is perfectly normal and occurs with or without eyelash extensions & pregnancy.

What about breastfeeding? Similar to getting lashes while pregnant, there is no evidence to support that lash glue gets into the body or breast milk. It all shakes down to always be willing to purchase the best and most high quality products. As an artist and business owner I have always found comfort in knowing GG provides the best adhesives and beauty products available so I can focus on my clients and their beautiful lashes and brows.

Let me know in the comments below your favorite GladGirl products and practices for pregnant clients. Thank you for all your comments and topic requests. Let me know if there is anything in particular you would like to see a wink on…till next time!