Is the lash industry doomed? Discover the facts about the industry, working as a lash artist, maintaining a salon/website, and the cost of treatments worldwide.
The Lash industry is slowly standing up after a long stretch of COVID-affected problems. Thank the heavens right! Most of us never gave up, but some of us had to. For all of you who are still in the industry and wondering what to do next, the answer lies in more research. And of course, hygienic practices for lash artists is a must now.
Before you jump on the wagon with a choo-choo train of relentless innovation, why not check out the real facts about the industry, lash artists, lash treatments, and lash salon/websites. Now all you gotta do is read on to find these answers under one URL.
Get started right away.
When it comes to the lash industry, there are a few shockers you need to brace for. But these stats will help you understand what’s winning and what’s not in the industry.
First, a glimpse into the past. Within one year from 2017 to 2018, the total revenue from eyelash extensions jumped to $270 million. Going back a bit, the revenue from falsies in the U.S during the year 2015 was estimated at $124.95 million. This brings us to a rough 2x increase within four years for the industry.
On top of it, the industry recorded a 31% hike in USD and 15% in the volume of falsies. In 2018 alone, treatments spiked 32%, which was even higher than the 24% of eyebrow products in the combined stats of health and beauty industries.
What’s the best brand for eyelashes in the U.S? Truth be told, up to 80% of the top ten eyelash extension giants are owned by two companies over the whole beauty industry.
Ardell Fashion tops the list with $18.6 million. It’s followed by Kiss Ever EZ Lashes that recorded $12.3 million. Another falsies hub is Salon Perfectly Glamorous that estimated its revenue at $7.3 million in the same year.
On a rough total, the industry may have taken slower steps during COVID, but it’s not facing any serious setbacks for the forecasts stretching over five and ten years that’s set by economists. They also add that North America is set to witness the maximum growth, with a current market share of 37% already.
Hence if take an overall count, the natural lash extensions industry is bound to grow from 2019 to 2025 at a compounded growth rate of 5.2%. When it comes to the online equivalent, the growth is estimated to even higher a size at 7.1% until 2025.
You now know what’s up with the industry. But you might be yearning to know the challenges and trends in the industry when it comes to other artists like you and me. Moreover, knowing more about them is vital to resolve the problems you might be facing now.
Well, off we go.
Over 25% of lash technicians have an industry experience of over 5 years and merely 9% have an experience-total of working for more than 10 years in this field. What when it comes to licenses? The good news is that over 89% of the technicians that work within the US are trained in some way.
The good news is 74% of the technicians hold a license in cosmetology or beauty services. Even better a fact is that some of the state regulations within the United States mandate this license for opening a salon related to eyelash extensions.
Now let’s take a look at the earning potential of lash artists. A good majority, up to 80% of lash artists say they are ‘very satisfied’ or ‘satisfied’ with their line of work. That being said, only 63% of the artists confess that the lash extension job has earned them income as expected when they signed up for it.
Statistics also note that 75% of artists working in the U.S rake up to $50,000 every year in earnings. While that’s not low, over 48% also say that they earn less than $20,000 annually, and merely 3% of technicians report earnings over $100,000 each year. The perk is that over 37% of artists have the potential to expand their income by offering new beauty services in case they offer classic extension applications.
The bad news is only 74% of artists carry insurance with their work so that they’re not held liable for the mistakes or repercussions of poor working conditions.
You might know this already because more than half of the technicians also say that they’ve worked with fatigue and weariness, solely due to physical exertion demanded by the work. It’s not new right? We all often feel overexerted after an hour of twitching and holding the extension like a statue or changing angles a million times. Well, now you know the facts too.
That’s not news to most of us because more than half of us apply over ten sets of lash extensions on a minimum per week. Some of us even do double or triple that.
When it comes to the process, Tirzah Shirai, the owner of Blink Bar says the style of the false lashes is chosen first by artists, followed by the material. Do you do the same? If you have a different style of doing things, why don’t you share it in the comments below so that all of us can compare?
What’s your biggest worry when you’re doing a lash treatment as an artist? Hold your tongue for a second and listen to what other artists feel their biggest challenges are. The primary concern of most lash artists is managing the after-care for clients and the second biggest problem is fixing the problems created by other lash artists. Is that you as well? Well, my worthy challenge is vice-versa, fixing problems made by others, followed by after-sales services.
Now, I don’t wanna shock you. But, over 50% of artists and salon workers claim that they had to bear the brunt of clients with allergic reactions to falsies at least once every year. This is the topmost problem when it comes to after-care. To avoid this, you have to ensure every client goes through a routine allergy-patch test.
Personally, I used to encounter lash allergies a lot at the start. But down the lane, it has cut down every year. And today I can say proudly that I don’t get complaints about allergies from clients anymore. It’s been at least 5 years since the last allergy complaint. Remember, most allergies happen due to the lack of a patch test. In other cases, it might be the client. So, keep your half clear.
What’s your biggest problem? Tell us in the comments below.
Over 50% of the salons and independent providers that operate in the eyelash extension industry say that they’ve had to manage a client with an allergic reaction at least once in the past year. This issue is one of many reasons why the top priority is to manage client after-care in this industry
Here’s the scoop: 96% of artists do the classic single-strand method, and 54% do volume lashes. Are you self-employed? Whether you take it as good news or bad news, 70% of us are self-employed today. Maybe that’s a signal, we ought to be running our own business too. While it took me ages to get here, you might do it sooner too.
Our world is an open book, thanks to the statistics revealed above. Now let’s focus on the business side of eyelash extensions. What if you own a lash salon or work at one? How much do they make? What do they do? Do you need a website? Is it praiseworthy too?
Read on to find out.
The lucrative truth is that 50% of the lash salons or independent artists who offer lash services today also have a website. Moreover, these websites are active and used by their target demographic vigorously too.
About half of the salons or professionals who offer eyelash extensions have a website that is active or available to their customers. Around 30% of those sites have an active blog that helps to promote their services.
On top of that, a big number of lash technicians, which is over 78% are using social media channels today to get their brand out in the open world. Out of this, 89% confess they use Facebook and 72% say they use Instagram.
Next up are fem-trepreneurs or female-entrepreneurs. While we have a growing rate, it’s still a rarity in our industry. Facts to be revealed, only 2% of lash businesses have a woman owner or majority shares owned by women.
Remember Blink Bar operated by Tirza Shirai? It stocks over 300 eyelash extensions for various types of clients and most of them are even customized orders for clients. So if you’re thinking of opening a lash salon, getting customized eyelash extensions is a must, especially if you want to create a successful business today.
Now you know everything to start a business. But what about the statistics on eyelash extension treatments? How many times in their lifetimes do customers use these treatments? Does every lash salon charge the same for falsies? Let’s find out in detail.
On average, lash technicians charge up to $180 to do a complete set of eyelash extensions treatment. That being said, some artists charge less too. This comes to a total of 6% of artists and the cost is about $60 or less for the service. If you want premium services, up to 12% of salons and artists confess their services have a price tag higher than $181 per session.
How many times do customers get lash extensions? Facts are falsies depend on natural hair growth. So if you get a client with fast hair growth, they might need sessions within two weeks even. But on average, customers who regularly get falsies get consultations every four to six weeks.
Now, let’s talk about the age of customers. Over half of all eyelash customers are aged 18 to 34, followed by 42% of those aged 35 to 54. You might’ve calculated already, but only 5% of the customers are seniors aged 55+. Are there male lash customers? Yep. But, only 2% because 98% are women, folks.
How long do you take to do a session? While there isn’t any race or competition, most of us experts take less than two hours to complete a session in a salon. If you’re a beginner, you might take slightly more. You might also take longer with the preferred style of falsies by a customer is exclusive too.
For example, for clients who want the most natural look of lash extensions, we normally have to do 80 to 90 lashes for each eye. That brings the total to 160 to 180 lashes on the total. Keep in mind the total might increase or decrease based on the size of their eyelids and the growth of their lashes too.
For customers, the basic instruction given by lash professionals (which you must say too, in case you’re forgetting to nowadays) is to avoid steam and water for a minimum of two days after they complete the treatment. This is a mandatory rule for protecting the longevity of the treatment. Once after, they can blow-dry the falsies whenever they take a shower. While this means more routines and hassles, customers who’ve done it once find no problem signing up for the extra care to keep their eyes fabulous.
If you live in the U.S, the cost of a filling session after your first treatment can range from $41 to $80, depending on where you get it. Up to 18% of technicians claim they charge $40 and 6.2% say their session charge can go up to $120. For this filling session, it takes half of the normal session. Hence, it can range from 45 minutes to one hour on average based on how their eyelashes are.
If you’re getting the extension done from a recent graduate, it might cost half of what costs with senior artists.
For artists to whom clients request detailed after-care instructions, on top of the ordinary, it’s best to recommend kits too. This may cost around $30 but if they also want the serum to properly maintain the extensions, the total might spike up to $150. Don’t forget to remind them to sleep on silk pillow covers to ensure the falsies stay as they are instead of crumpling up.
Whew, that was a shocker and a lot to digest at once right? Why don’t you bookmark the page so that you can come back to this when you’re talking with a prospect. The industry has a lot in store whether you’re a student, aesthetician, cosmetologist, or anyhow engaged in the beauty industry.
The final step to ensure your treatment goes solid and super is by using a good eyelash extension. If you own a salon, this is where a reliable China lash manufacturer comes in. If you’re interested in designing your own custom lashes, hit us up at Dolvlashes and we’ll help you out with unique and perfect falsies for all your clients, no matter what your demands are.