During the summer, I pulled all of my eyelashes out. It took them just over 2 months to grow back (so much longer than usual that I had those panics of 'is this it?! Are they just never going to grow back now!?'), and I managed to leave them alone and allowed them to grow long enough to have the LVL treatment. Since working with Nouveau Lashes and seeing their amazing lash lift results on other bloggers, I've been desperate to try this treatment out myself. However, trichotillomania means that it wasn't so easy as just booking an appointment. I was always waiting until they were a certain length, worried about the sparseness or gaps, going to book and then worrying I would rip them out in the time between then and the date of the appointment. How I experience trich is so unpredictable and so I gave up on ever having the treatment.
Since then, I have managed to keep my lashes for quite a while the last few times they have grown back. A few people have asked how, and to be honest...I really don't know! All I can think of is that I love having them and being able to wear mascara/not having to wear false lashes, and so that excitement makes me not want to pull. Because I had managed my pulling sprees a bit better, I felt a lot more confident in finally booking that appointment. And that's exactly what I did a couple of weeks ago.
LVL is essentially a lash lift (standing for Length-Volume-Lift). A serum is put on the root of the lashes and the lashes are lifted up onto a little shield/pad on your upper eyelid; the formulas encourage the lashes to curl upwards in this shape and then the lashes are tinted to give the appearance of mascara. A bit like a perm for your lashes! The lashes are separated and curled individually to give an incredible wide-eyed effect...and also makes it look like you have way more lashes than you might have!
In The Frow has written this great post about what to expect from the treatment, step-by-step, which explains a lot better than I probably can. The whole treatment takes about 45 minutes- the pads can feel slightly strange and your eyes are a tiny bit open the whole time, giving you fuzzy vision, but you could easily fall asleep during the whole thing. Isn't that self-care at its finest? Perfect lashes and time for a power nap! The treatment lasts up to 8 weeks and is incredibly low maintenance (the only thing to bear in mind is that you cannot get water on them for 24 hours).
Because the lashes are lifted individually, they look incredibly uniform. They are all (pretty much) the same length, they are all tinted the same colour, they are all pointing in the same direction. They all feel the same when touching them. There are none that stick out of place, although a couple of mine do criss-cross over each other very slightly because of the way they've grown back. However, I don't feel tempted to pull them because it would a) create a huge, noticeable gap right in the middle of my lash line and b) ruin the overall look. Because I loved the results so much, I don't want to go near my lashes for fear of ruining them!
I barely find myself going to touch my lashes in the first place, perhaps because of the fear of causing damage to the lash line, but also because I know none are 'out of place' so I don't feel the need to go searching for them. I don't have that anxiety that there might be one that feels a bit different and so needs to be removed. If finding lashes that feel or look different is a trigger for your pulling, then I would definitely recommend this treatment. Not only has it helped with my pulling and the behavioural patterns that lead to the pulling (e.g. the feeling through my lash line), but it's made my lashes look amazing...and now when I look in the mirror, the growth is so noticeable that I can't help but be proud of what I've achieved. And that reminds you that you can have those little wins with trichotillomania and pushes you that little bit more into a positive mindset.
Even if your lashes are sparse, damaged or really short, you can still have the LVL treatment. I was tempted to go when they were just coming through, forgot to book, and let them grow a little more- but really you can have the treatment at any stage. You should speak with the salon if you have any doubts, but the treatment shouldn't damage your lashes at all. This was a concern for me (as I do enough damage to them myself) but they feel really healthy and a serum is applied after the treatment to help nourish your lashes. If it helps me to not touch my lashes for 8 weeks, then that's 8 weeks pull-free that I may not have had otherwise!
So it's only been a couple of weeks, but the change I have seen both physically and in terms of my pulling and self-esteem has been huge. I'm excited to see how this continues and will report back if anything changes!
(The photos show the LVL treatment on my natural lashes and then with one coat of primer on).
I had the treatment done by Kimberley at Onyx Nails & Beauty (in Southwick, West Sussex) and wouldn't hesitate to recommend her.
Some posts you might like:
Why I Will Continue to Have my Eyebrows Microbladed
Mocking Hair Loss is Never OK
What Not to Say to People With Trichotillomania
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