What is a Lash Map?
Eyelash Extensions are really like an art form when considering the fine work involved in their application and the delicacy of the process. But before picking up a pair of tweezers, your Lash Artist will start to plan the design of the set they will create for you. Lash Mapping refers to the process of planning which extensions we will put where, including their Thickness, Curl, Length and the configuration to your Natural Lashes. The true power of a Set of Lashes lays in the imperfections they have the power to correct when properly customised.
While our Lash Artists liver and breathe all that is Lashes and will be able to make advanced recommendations based on their experience, equally important are your goals and ideas for the look you want to achieve. Determining these and ensuring expectations are consistent between Lash Tech and client is super important to us. So while maintaining the health and safety of your natural lashes stays at #1, Lash Mapping can be a collaborative process for those clients who would like to participate!
5 Key Aspects to Lash Mapping
1. Your Natural Lashes
The most influential factor in the planning process. We could draw up the most intricate Lash Map in the world but if you can’t support the style without putting your natural lashes at risk it’s a waste of time. By definition, any “extension” is restricted by the original which supports it. To fail to recognise this is like an Architect commissioned to plan an extension of a modest suburban home returning with drawings reminiscent of Buckingham Palace. Or conversely, Optus Stadium putting out a tender to expand to a fourth tier and reviewing proposals surrounding the pitching of a tent.
The wide range in Natural Lash Compositions is the reason we tend not to rely too much on photos of other clients during the consult process. A Hybrid set on a client with a lot of healthy natural lashes is going to reflect a different result than what can be achieved on a client with sparse lashes or lashes primarily in the baby stage of the growth cycle. Like with Buckingham Palace and Optus statium, a different foundation will produce a different result and any extension should be tailored to that.
The next four factors are focused on the clients eyes. They also each represent an adjustments or correction which can sometimes be made with the Lash Map to manipulate the appearance of the eyes in each of these areas.
2. The Crease
Have a look at the top of your eyelid. Do you have a crease above your eye?
i) Monolid – If there is no crease to the lid and alot of space below the brow bone, your eyes are likely Monolids. Eyelash Extensions are popular with clients with a Monolid as they can create the appearance of a more open and larger eye shape. Monolids usually have straighter natural lashes and may be downward pointing.
Correction:
Length: The top section of the extensions tend to be hidden under a monolid. Therefore with these clients we can choose slightly longer extension to achieve the same affect they would on something with a natural crease.
Curl: We can also play around with the curl of the extensions we use on a monolid which tend to have straight, downward pointing natural lashes associated with them. We want to apply a curl which opens up the eye to increase their roundness, traditionally a D curl type but in more recent years, we have L+ Curl and M and M+ Curl extensions which have been producing simply stunning results on clients with lashes that are downward pointing.
Design: Where as with most other Lash Maps its typical to start with shorter lashes and gradually increase as your progress, with this type of eye shape we often emphasize a longer length to the inner eye, which opens up the eye and creates a beautiful effect.
li) Hooded –
This type of crease has some similarities with the Monolid. There is a crease in this case but it can cover most of the lid and can contribute to the appearance of a smaller looking eye shape. The fold of skin can hide the natural lashes, the crease can appear to be hidden or there might be barely any visible lid space between the lash line and crease. There are some techniques we can apply when designing the Lash Map to help correct this and open up the eyes.
Correction
Design: To correct a hood, Lash Extensions can be added to the centre of each eye to create fullness and length which is often referred to as a “Dolly Eye” Lash Map. The added depth draws attention into the eye which may be more challenging if there is excess skin. Added length in the middle makes the eyes appear larger vertically or “rounder”.
Curl: These types of eyes are usually best with a more relaxed Curl as anything to defined by curl back onto the lid.
3. The Spacing
Look at the space across the bridge of your nose, and the distance between the inner corners of both eyes.
Wide Set If the spacing between your eyes is wider than the width of one of your eyes, then your eyes are considered wide set.
Close Set – If your eyes are less than one eye’s width separating the two eyes, this is classified as close-set eyes.
Neutral Set -If there is close to one eye’s width between your eyes, your eyes are balanced and we consider this a Neutral Set.
Correction
Eyelash extensions present an opportunity to correct any imbalance and increase overall symmetry. For example, a client with very close set eyes might choose to add the longest extensions on the outer corners of their eyes – often referred to as a “Cat Eye” or “Kitten Eye”. This will visually draw the eyes apart , as the overall width between the two outer corners expands and the eyes become elongated.
For the same reason, a client who has naturally Wide Set eyes would typically not be best suited to a Lash Map which further draws the eyes apart. adds length to the outer corners. As this would draw their eyes further apart, creating a “splitting” effect
4. The Angle
To work out if your eyes have any type of angle – imagine a straight, horizontal line across your eyes with the pupil in the middle like the diagram below. Determining whether the line falls above or below the horizontal centre of your pupil / whether the outer corner of your eyes falls above or below the line will classify if your eyes have an upwards or downwards angle.

Your eyes may be balanced and have a slight upturn which creates a cat-like look or they may angle downwards which can appear sleepy or droopy at it’s most extreme.
Some clients like to correct a downturn by adding lift. This can be done by creating volume and/ or adding length on the upper outer corners. Or by choosing a more defined curl for their extensions which will open up and lift their eyes back up again.
5. Eye Shape
To work out if a pair of eyes are Almond shaped or Round you can examine the whites of the eyes, and whether there is any white visible below or around the Iris (the coloured part) when looking straight ahead.
Round – if you can see the whites of your eyes below the iris – these are usually round eyes.
Round Eyes are usually as wide as they are tall. The upper lid and lower lash line
are very round, with the eye taking on a circular appearance.
Rounded eyes often suit the Cat Eye because it will add length to and help to balance the shape more toward that desirable Almond shape while still retaining the attraction round eyes create.
Almond Eyes – The iris in an almond-shaped eye usually touches the eyelid at top and bottom.
Almond eyes are considered the most universal and typically popular eye shape.
They usually have a noticeable crease and like actual almonds, these eyes are wider than
they are high and taper off at the corners. While most styles of Lash Map suit these sort of eyes, we would tend to avoid an extreme Cat-eye as it can cause already balanced eyes to appear elongated or narrow and can split the face in two.
