First of all I must say I joined yelp just to leave a review for this place. I don't normally do this but I had to share my experience. For Halloween I decided to get lashes put on at a different salon. A few of my eyelashes broke & a couple fell out when I removed them but no big deal.. As I was leaving for a beach vacation I figured I'd get individual eyelash extensions to make up for the ones I had broken when removing the original set. My eyelashes are naturally pretty long so I was looking to just make them look a bit fuller and elongate the ones I had broken. Kristina was the technician who performed my service, she was nice enough. I asked how long she'd been doing eyelash extensions and she said "not too long" I could tell she lacked experience, but the reviews were great for this place so I figured she'd do a good job. I took & sent pictures to the receptionist right before my service.*like i said I'm new to yelp and I'm not sure how to post pics but I'll update with before and after as soon as I do.* The lower half of my eyes were RED as in you could see them from a mile away RED, for THREE days. It ruined my whole vacation! my eyes were not only red they burned and became extremely irritated at the slightest touch. As I tried lubricating & soothing with eye drops I was crying not just tearing up, full-blown crying. I know this sounds dramatic but I'll have you know I'm not one to complain especially if it's something I signed up for. I don't believe in calling in sick, I tough it out, I have a high pain tolerance but oh man, this was something else. I tried contacting Maria to see what needed to be done for a reaction of this type. 2 days later I finally got in contact with her partly because I had crappy cell service while on vacation. When we finally spoke she assured me it wasn't a normal reaction (as I already knew I can't imagine women signing up for this type of pain willingly) She suggested taking benadryl for allergic reactions, I did, no help. I have never been allergic to anything, but you never know, i wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt.
I asked for the name & ingredients to the cleaning/prepping solution used on my eyes as there's where my problem began. I felt an immediate burn when she got the solution in my eyes but not knowing what to expect I didn't think much of it as my eyes were taped shut. Today 11-18-15 I spoke to Maria and was blown off with a simple "some people just can't get eyelash extensions" no apology! She also said the product was a primer, I've yet to hear back with specifics. (I'd like to speak to my Dr and see if in fact it was an allergic reaction or a chemical burn)
During the almost 2.5 hour process I told the technician Kristina I needed a break as my throat and nose were on fire and i asked about the burning. (i had previously mentioned I had a slight cough & didn't want to cough on her so i wasn't going to talk much) So she said the burning was probably from the cough not from the eyelashes & we continued on. We should've stopped right there but she assured me the only reaction I'd have from the eyelashes would be on my actual eyelids, and as the burning was in my nose and throat I believed her. When the process was over my eyes were super irritated. but again she assured me it was normal for new clients to experience discomfort & redness & it would go away in a few minutes. and I again believed her.. i payed, tipped, & left.
As i mentioned i got extensions to feel more confident on vacation i instead looked SCARY! I was asked multiple times if i was okay.. my eyes were so red I looked drunk/high/sick the entire time. I was so embarrassed & uncomfortable i wore sunglasses every second possible. The redness was constant but only time my eyes were in extreme pain was when I inserted drops or when despite my best efforts water entered them.
I had the eyelashes done on Wednesday 11-11-15 & the redness wasn't gone until Saturday night 11-14-15. Needless to say I'm NEVER going back there again!!! They did offer to remove the eyelashes for me but no thanks. I can't imagine what cheap chemicals they use to remove them with if what they used to "prep" did that much damage. I've been removing them with regular make up remover and they come right off. I seriously suggest if you're going to get extensions going elsewhere and looking up the products they use before hand. I found Bella Lash Studio on Groupon, they're located downtown Naperville which was convenient for me & they had a $95 dollar sale so I thought "why not?" Clearly sometimes cheap ends up costing you a WHOLE lot more. I paid $120 to be in pain, insulted, embarrassed, & have that oh so cute drug addict look.. POINT OF THE STORY IS DO NOT GO HERE & BE CAREFUL! read more