A Guide to Russian Volume Lashes

What are Russian Volume lashes?

Russian volume eyelash application is an advanced form of lashing and is the art of multiple pick up of up to six super fine synthetic eyelash extensions and placing them in a man-made fan on to one natural lash (not pre-made fans or cluster lashes). This is classed as a semi-permanent treatment as the lashes are designed to stay on until the natural lash they are attached to sheds.  This technique can give from 2 right up to 6 times more extensions (volume) as a normal classic individual lash set. Anything over a 6D is then classed as a Mega Volume set.

We measure the depth of a Russian fan in ‘D’. 2D meaning 2x synthetic lashes in the fan, 3D meaning 3 synthetic lashes, 4D meaning 4 and so on. The heavier the D of your fan the fuller your lash set will look. A 2D set would be the lightest and 6D would be the heaviest.

There is more than one way or technique to make a Russian volume fan with the most popular ways being

• The Wiggle technique

• On the strip method

• Pinching method

• Glue dot method

Classic Lash Placement

Russian Volume Fan Placement of a 3D fan

Pre-made fan placement

Which method you work with is largely dependent on who you train with and which method you pick up best.

With Russian volume we make our fans at point of application, the reason for this is to achieve a better bond to the natural lash. When you apply a classic individual lash you simply place it onto the natural lash wand release, however, with Russian volume we want to place our fan and then apply a slight pressure to achieve a  wrap on the natural lashes.

By achieving that wrap around the natural lash the bond and retention will be made stronger. Another point to remember is that by wrapping, the weight is distributed causing less stress on the natural lash. If we were to use a Pre-made fan it would have already been pre-glued at the base prior to application meaning, that a wrap will not be possible and double the amount of glue will be used as you will need to dip the fan in glue again to then place onto the natural lash. 

The density of our volume lash sets can be altered depending on our fans width. The wider the fan the fluffier our set will look and the narrower the fan the denser our set will look. The width of a fan is a matter of preference. As long as the spacing in the fan between natural lashes is even and the bases are not crossed then there is no right or wrong.

Some people may question why or how we can get away with applying so many synthetic lashes to one natural lash?

It used to be frowned upon to place more than a 1D on a natural lash but now as we use much finer artificial lashes this is now possible and is safe to do so. 

Firstly, as you can see from the below chart, for 2D-6D Russian volume, you would use between a range of 0.05 and 0.10 depending on how many lashes you require in your fan for the set you are making.

The last diagram explains to us why 2x 0.07 lashes are not the same in weight as 1x 0.15 lash. Because we measure lashes in diameter, 2x 0.07 lashes can easily fit inside a 0.15 with plenty of extra space meaning that in actual fact about 4x 0.07 lashes would make up the same weight as a 0.15 lash. This explains why when applying fans, we can apply more lashes without causing damage to the natural lash. The more lashes you have in a fan the lighter you would go with your lash weight. 

If you struggle with how many lashes are safe to use in a fan there are lash weight conversion charts available. It is advised with Russian volume to not over extend the lashes but rather just add curl and fullness. We always advise if you are extending to never exceed 3mm longer than the clients natural lash length.

As well as having a weight limit to help us gauge how many lashes can safely be placed into a fan there is also a wrap limit. A wrap limit is how many lashes can safely be wrapped onto the top or bottom of the natural lash without causing damage. Again, if you struggle with this there are wrap limit charts available.

Timewise volume lashes take much longer than a set of classic individual lashes and therefore usually are charged at a higher price. For a standard set of Russian volume, you would be looking at between 2 and 3 hours to create your full set. In a competitive environment, you would be looking at 3 to 4 hours.

Infills for Russian volume are still recommended every 2 to 3 weeks and they should take between 1.5 and 2hrs.

Like classic individual application, you can apply Russian lashes in any curl, thickness and length depending on the client’s eye shape. Each set of lashes need to be designed and customised to suit each individual client’s needs. 

When should I train in volume?

Although some training academy’s offer Russian volume training the day after classic individual training this isn’t advised. Ideally, I would recommend mastering classic application first and allowing roughly 6 to 12 months at least before training in volume. The two different methods are completely different so it is very important to master one before moving onto the next.