7 Ways to Use Your Mannequin Head
When you start your lashing career, your new best friend will be your mannequin head. Most artists receive their first lash supply in their training kits, but if you do not have a mannequin, PLA has your back on this! We have three beautiful practice mannequins to help you along your lash journey.
A mannequin head is great for ANY lash artist. As a beginner, it’s where your journey starts. As a veteran artist, it helps you perfect your craft and learn and practice new techniques. Today, we are going over seven ways to use your mannequin head.
1. Practice Placing Eyepads
Placing the eyepads on the client can be tricky for any lash artist. In the beginning, you’re simply trying to master the placement of them. It can be useful for veteran lash artists as well because we encounter different eye shapes every single day! There are several methods to effectively place an eyepad, and using your mannequin to practice some of these techniques can be very helpful. Click here to watch a short tutorial on one of our favorite methods for applying gel eyepads then you can go practice on your mannequin!
2. Practice Taping Methods
Additionally, you can use your mannequin to practice taping methods. This is very similar to our first use above because they go hand in hand with one another. The eyepad will get most of the lashes down but sometimes not all so we rely on tape to help us out. Practicing placing tape and getting used to doing this step can help speed up your lashing process. There are also many ways you can use tape throughout your lash service, making this a good skill to practice. For example, you can practice taping lashes out of the way to improve your isolation.
3. Practice Removal Methods
Our third way is to practice removal methods. Read our blog post here to learn more about three lash removal methods. These are great to practice so you can observe how long you need to let your remover cream set! You can also observe if you are placing the removal product on the correct area, ensuring that it’s on the adhesive joint. It’s good to practice a few removals on the mannequin to get your technique down.
4. Practice Different Styles of Lashing
One of the most popular uses of the mannequin head is practicing different styles of lashing. As a beginner, you may be simply practicing classic lashing. As you’re learning classics, you can even practice different mapping styles such as creating a doll, kitten, or cat eye look! As you advance, you can start practicing hybrid and volume styles. A lot of artists in the industry use their mannequins to practice these styles and work on their lashing skills to perfect them!
5. Practice Mapping Different Styles
Speaking of mapping, this brings us to our fifth idea which is to practice different mapping styles. Every client has a different eye shape and different features. Our job as a lash artists is to truly be an artist and create a look that is suitable for each client’s facial features and eye shape. Practicing different mappings can help speed up your lash process and increase your confidence on accomplishing these different looks!
6. Practice Working with Your Tweezers and Tools
Another skill to practice is working with your tweezers and tools. When we first get a pair, we need to learn how to effectively work with them. The tiniest little micro-movements with our hands can make all the difference. Whether you’re applying actual eyelash extensions on the mannequin or just working on isolation techniques, it’s good to practice working with your tools! You can practice holding your tweezers in different ways, practice lash application with a variety of tweezers, make and apply a fan, work on isolation with various isolating tweezers, and more! Practicing these skills will help you grow as an artist and develop the right technique for you.
7. Practice Layering Methods
Lastly, we highly encourage artists to practice taping back and layering methods. One of the most common questions we get is how to make sets look darker and denser. A great way to achieve this is by layering the lashes! Practice taping back the top layer, lashing the bottom layers, then mid and upper layers! Practice makes perfect, right?
Overall, practicing all of these things will help improve your lash speed, help improve your confidence, and help you reach your full potential! You can grab your practice heads at our eyelash supply store, Paris Lash Academy, as well as the mannequin-replaceable eyes! Happy Lashing, Kings and Queens!