Understanding Cure Times:
It's essential to grasp the true meaning of cure times listed for adhesives. Contrary to popular belief, cure times are not an indication of how quickly an adhesive sets upon contact with the lash. Instead, they serve as a guide to illustrate where a particular adhesive falls within the supplier's range.
For example: When you see a lash glue advertised with a 0.5 sec cure time, it doesn't mean it cures instantaneously. If it did, you'd never be able to work with it, it would cure before you could even apply it!
For instance:
· Glues labelled 0.5-1 seconds are ideal for experienced artists and intricate techniques like hand-made Russian volume, where speed is essential.
· Those in the 1 -1.5 seconds ranges are a slight step down, suitable for advanced artists seeking a balance of speed and flexibility.
· Adhesives with cure times of 1.5-2 seconds are intermediate options, offering more flexibility for newer artists still honing their skills.
· Anything beyond that is typically geared toward novice artists, providing ample time for application and adjustment of the extensions onto the natural lashes.
However, there are also many factors which will influence cure speed, which means it’s always impossible to provide the lash artists with a “specific” set time of how long they can hold the extension onto the natural lash before they can release etc.
1. Room conditions: If you have higher humidity and temperature levels then your glue will cure more quickly, whereas if your levels are lower the reverse will happen and your glue will cure slower. Lash suppliers will always offer ranges for each glue. All adhesives prefer levels of 19-24 degrees Celsius and 45%-55% humidity (this is the optimum temperature and humidity for Cyanoacrylate based adhesives whether being used for lashes or in industrial grade applications). However, manufacturers will add stabilisers to the CA to help increase the cure speed. This is why you will see that the faster adhesives may show lower levels (i.e 40%-55%) whereas slower adhesives may show a range of 50% - 70%). But again, this is simply a guide and you can work outside of these ranges with many adhesives, but you have to know how to manipulate them and that’s a whole different topic! Don’t obsess too much over room levels and matching what is written on the product description. Instead, play with your room levels to find the range when that glue works best. It is just like perfecting baking a cake, it takes a few goes and oven adjustments to achieve the perfect bake.
2. Lash techniques: We now have so many different types of lashes: classic, pre-made, hand-made fans, easy fans, YY lashes, clover lashes, flat lashes. Most lash artists have no idea that each lash collects a different amount of adhesive and in a different way to another. A classic lash collects the least adhesive as it's one singular strand, therefore, this always cures quicker. Hand-made Russian Volume fans pick up lots of adhesives which attach to each strand and also collect in an invisible chamber inside the base of the fan. A hand-made fan, even using my 0.5 sec super-fast glue, still needs to be held for approximately 4-6 secs after it has grabbed onto the natural lash, to allow the extra glue to start its initial set cure, then for each strand to set in place and then the artist to slowly release so the fan does not close. This is why if you look at most hand-made volume work, it's closed fans where the artist has released too quickly. However, if I classic lash with my 0.5 sec glue, I can pretty much release after 1 second and the lash will stay where it is. If you look closely at flat lashes and YY and Clover lashes you will see that they have a flat base, therefore, lash adhesive collects differently on flat surface to how it does on a cylindrical surface. This difference in shape means more glue tends to collect on flat bases thus requiring extra time before you can release. Pre-made fans, these require lots of adhesive to ensure they bond, if not you will experience lots of brush-offs. When you use more glue for your pre-mades, if you release too soon the pre-made fan may flop over.
3. Lash porosity and texture: most lash artists have never been taught to identify the texture or porosity of the client's natural lash which is why some clients retain lashes better than others and why when we work on clients we find on some our extensions attach like a dream and other just slide off or seem to repel. Natural lashes have cuticles, some are naturally raised and some are closed. A raised cuticle allows penetration into the natural lash, whereas a closed cuticle is like a shiny plastic surface which will repel any substance. Some clients hold more moisture in their lashes than others, think about how some clients have dry skin and some are naturally moisturised. Natural lashes are the same, a client with lots of moisture in their lashes will help cure the glue much faster than a client with dry lashes.
4. Glue pick up and application: The amount of glue collected and the speed at which it's applied have a huge impact on curing. If you pick up a big bead then it will take much longer to cure than a smaller bead. If you work with a super-fast glue, yet you are super slow to get to the natural lash, that glue will have started its cure. So when you try to attach the glue will already be cured. What about the opposite? If you work with a glue too slow for you, then you will find you will have to wait too long for it to cure before you can release.
In conclusion, adhesive cure times are a crucial but often misunderstood aspect of the lash industry. While they provide valuable insights into an adhesive's performance, they should be viewed as guidelines rather than absolute truths.
As lash artists, it's essential to experiment, adapt, and problem-solve to achieve optimal results with different adhesives. By understanding the intricacies of cure times and considering factors such as room conditions, lash techniques, and adhesive application, you'll be better equipped to problem solve any issues.
Ultimately, mastery takes time and patience. Instead of blaming the adhesive when faced with challenges, embrace the opportunity to learn and refine your technique.
So remember, cure time doesn't mean how quickly you can release the extension once it touches the lash, instead it’s simply a guide for whether the adhesive is super fast, fast, intermediate or novice.
