A Lash Tech's Guide to Volume Fans
If you’re completely mystified by the differences between Volume lashes, Mega Volume, Russian Volume, Hollywood volume and everything else, you’re not alone! But you are in the right place! We’ve put together the ULTIMATE guide to volume fans to shed a little bit more light on what it all means, and which lashes to achieve the looks you love!
Mayfair Lashes or Chelsea Lashes?
Before we really delve into the fun stuff, it’s worth mentioning that the below advice is the same for if you are using Chelsea lashes, or Mayfair lashes - the differences between these two are their finish: Mayfair are shinier and bold, Chelsea are a little more matte, and a little more natural, so which finish you pick will ultimately depend on whether you want some dark drama, or a more subtle matte finish to your set.
Russian Volume vs. Hollywood Volume Lashes
Volume lashes originated in Russia, and were initially characterized by a super neat, very even and smooth top line. Lash technicians would work with the client’s lash layers to achieve this immaculate top line by dropping down a millimeter as they went up a layer. The resulting look is a very smooth arc throughout the lash set.
Hollywood Volume is Russian Volume’s rebellious younger sister - when Russian Volume hit the shores of the USA, a spikier, less curated finish was born and really resonated with an American clientele. Hollywood volume is referenced less these days, but is referred to instead as a spiky finish, wispy finish, or Kim K! The huge rise in popularity - thanks in part at least to the Kardashians - has paved the way for lashes such as Easy Fanning lashes, which have a mixture of lashes on the strip to easily and effortlessly create this wispy, spiky effect.
Thicknesses
How big of a fan you can create depends on the thickness of the lashes you’ve chosen. If someone comes to you for Mega Volume lashes, DO NOT reach for 0.07s!
With any of the below thicknesses, we’ve listed them based on that size of fan being the equivalent of a 0.18 classic lash, or thereabouts. Technically youcan use slightly larger fans for clients with very thick natural lashes, but we’re all about lash health over here, so the sizes below are SAFE!
✨ 0.10 lashes are classic lashes for all intents and purposes, but if someone has very strong natural lashes and would like a lighter volume set, you can use 0.10s for 2D fans.
✨ 0.07 lashes can be used for fans up to 6D
✨ 0.06 lashes are so similar to 0.07, but can be used up to 8D
✨ 0.05 lashes sit comfortably between volume and mega volume lashes, so can be used up to 12D
✨ 0.04 lashes can be used for fans up to 19D
✨ 0.03 lashes can be used for fans up to a massive 35D!
Why such a dramatic increase in size from 0.04 - 0.03? As mentioned, these fan sizes are worked out on a basis of how many individual lashes in that thickness would be equal to one 0.18 classic lash. We’ve use volumetric calculations to do this - S = 𝜋 x R. It’s a long and technical explanation, but what it basically means is that you’re working out how many lashes would ‘fit into’ a larger lash. It’s quite easy to assume that 1 x 0.15 lash = 3 x 0.05 lashes if we are simply dividing, but what we actually need to do is look at the diameter of the base (that’s the lash thickness, 0.05 in this case) and work out how many of those fit into a 0.15 diameter. There’s your almost-equivalent weight!
Will you be sitting and counting out 35 0.03 lashes? Probably not, but with this knowledge, you now know that you can be a bit more liberal with the number of 0.03 lashes you’re picking up to add to that natural lash!
We hope this helped! Follow us on Instagram for more lash hacks, tips and tricks, and the occasional giveaway!
Until next time,
LLP x
