Tracy is a leader in the lash industry. She's literally like a wizard without the hat and wand. She does all our training in Perth and truly cares about every single student she gets the pleasure of teaching. Originally, she comes from the UK, but she's been in Oz for long enough to understand footy, and not be shocked by the sight of a mullet whilst still keeping her brilliant British accent.
We asked her some questions around her career as a trainer and her own boss lady (with running her own beauty room), things that could help YOU boom your business and become a competent lash artist!
How long does a full Volume set take for a student who is still practicing? And how much time can they shave off as they get better?
As a student, it’s not unusual to take 3-4 hours or even 5 hours to do your first full sets of volume lashes. The key to shortening the time is mastering the fan making. Find those perfect tweezers that work for you. And practice, practice, practice everyday. Once your confidence grows, you can bring your time down to 1.1/2 -2 hours. This will not happen quickly. But it will happen with experience.
Locks Lash have a great selection of Volume tweezers to help you with fan making/picking up fans:
(@lashed.by.bre using our Disco Perfect Volume Tweezers to make her beautiful fans)
➡️CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE YOUR FAVOURITE VOLUME TWEEZERS⬅️
What is the difference between when you first started lashing/training and now? Has much changed? If so, what and why do you think?
So much has changed in the industry over the past 13 years. Glue has been the biggest improvement. In the early days it was a lot thicker/gloopy and $150 a bottle. Techniques of application have got so much better. Better education in the industry. We know so much more now. Lashes - thicknesses, what’s safe and not safe to use on all types of lashes.
Extra fine lashes aren’t alway suitable for the basic Classic lashes so it’s important that you learn Volume for this reason.
Cleansing, aftercare is a biggy. We now know that looking after our lashes helps with retention and better health. We need to educate our clients on this and it’s important that we keep up with our own education of the industry too. New things happen all the time.
What's the biggest thing you find students need to put importance on when getting trained?
When looking to get trained, recommendation is a good way to go. Check out the reviews. Do they train regularly. Look to see if they have on going support. Do they sell amazing products and keep you up to date with what’s new in the industry.
From training in the industry for so long, what's the biggest habit you see lash technicians do which they shouldn't?
Over the years, I see students getting very stressed in the beginning. Thinking they are not good enough. They look at forums and think their work should be as good as everyone else’s. The worse thing you can do is compare yourself to others. This skill is not perfected in one day. It takes lots of practice, patience and dedication. You will get there in the end.
What's your 'go-to' glue?
My favourite is Holy Grail and Flawless. The consistency is perfect for me. It has great retention as do all the glues if used properly. All the Locks Lash glues will work, some are thicker consistancy and some thinner. Some are faster setting and others slower, better for beginners. It's about getting your room environment regulated to the type of glue you are using. Are you a fast worker or slower. I see lots of comments on forums complaining about bad glue or it not working. In my experience it’s very rarely the glue that’s not working. It’s how we control the glue.
Locks Lash have numerous Blogs on handling our environment and other factors that may contribute to retention issues:
What's one thing you wish every lash technician knew at the start?
