Eyelash extensions go to great lengths

The weaves are the latest fad to hit the peepers.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- If you are in the habit of batting your eyelashes, then listen up: Eyelash extensions are the latest jeeper to hit peepers.
"We had a client who is an actress who does movies in Los Angeles," said Ted Tippmann, a hairstylist at The Strand salon in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. "And she came in and we all thought she looked great. She told us that she had the eyelash weave done in L.A., where everyone has it done. It's a big secret with stars and models. I hear J. Lo won't leave home without them."
After doing some research on the Web, Tippmann found that eyelash extensions came to these shores just nine months ago from South Korea, where the process was developed. He also found an instructor in Los Angeles willing to give him one-on-one instruction in March.
"You have to add the lashes on one at a time. It takes a steady hand. I can't drink coffee before I do it," Tippmann said.
Tippmann uses two tweezers during the process, one to isolate the natural lash and the other to grab the extension. He paints the extension into glue before attaching it to the natural lash. "I have to steer it into place while the glue is still wet and make sure it's at the proper angle."
Saw the effects
Giselle Silverman had an eyelash weave by Tippmann two weeks ago after seeing the effects on an acquaintance and accusing her of having had Botox or an eye job.
"I love them," the Fort Lauderdale-based wardrobe stylist said. "I'm already hooked. I have bedroom eyes all the time now. Two of my friends are having it done this week. One is there now."
Silverman said another benefit is more practical. "I'm always schlepping running around picking up clothes, dropping them off, working on shoots outside where it's hot. And I don't have time for concealer and powder," she said. "I don't like makeup and this is great for me."
The average person has 20 to 30 lashes, each one about 6 millimeters long. After the process, the lashes can be 12 millimeters. The process costs between $100 and $125 based on a consultation. Some women need more lashes while other need specifics, such as three-way lashes that fill-in by having three lashes split from one.
"They can last for about six weeks, are 100 percent undetectable and there's no damage to your eyes or your natural lashes," said Tippmann, who performs one or two procedures a day. "I always tell people I'll even do your third eye for free."
Early warning
Eyelashes perform some of the same functions as whiskers do on a cat or a mouse. They provide an "early warning" that some object is a tad too close to the eye, which is often closed reflexively. Eyelashes generally take two or three months to grow (for some it can be up to six months). There is no scientific evidence that eyelashes benefit a species. But if flirting leads to propagation, then lashes are leaders in setting the mood.
Eyebrows have more to do with keeping sweat out of the eyes. It seems that when humans first appeared on the scene a gazillion years ago, those with bushy brows were able to escape being hunted by growling sharp-toothed animals because they didn't get sweat (and the eye irritant of salt) in their eyes. To put it in more modern terms: Brooke Shields would have survived, while Joan Crawford would have been din-din.