Your friend had a lash lift recently and mentioned she needed to keep her lashes dry for a day afterward. You love her new lash look and are keen to twin with your bestie, so you want a lift too.

But you’re big-time emotional. Hardly a day goes by without you tearing up (even dancing kitty TikToks get you going!).

You’re curious: can you cry after a lash lift?

You can cry a day after having a lash lift done without spoiling your results. However, avoid crying in the 24 hours after your procedure to give the results time to set properly, as wetting your lashes during this period counteracts the solution that keeps them lifted and curled.

Shedding tears isn’t always in your control. What will happen to your lashes if you do cry soon after your lift? Plus, does having watery eyes count as crying? You want an expert opinion.

I’ve been lashing for over a decade (and training lash techs in the art of the lash lift), and I’m here to answer all your questions about crying after a lash lift.

Right, let’s get to it!

What Happens if You Cry After a Lash Lift

There are different lash lift aftercare rules (including whether it’s okay to cry) for looking after your lashes in the 24 hours after your procedure and in the following weeks.

Let’s explore whether it’s okay to cry straight after a lash lift and in the next few weeks.

The First 24 Hours Are Crucial

A lash care essential for top, lasting results is keeping your lashes dry for 24 hours after your lash lift. All forms of moisture are a no-no for your lashes during this period – water, steam, showers, sweat, and, yes, tears.

Here’s why it’s a problem for lashes to get wet too soon after a lash lift: the solution that sets lashes into their new lifted, curled shape takes a day to lock in your results.

But moisture neutralizes the solution within this period. So, if lashes get wet before the solution has had enough time to finish its job, they can fall flat or become messy.

A few tears are unlikely to wreck your results, but keeping your lashes looking amazing for as long as possible is worth skipping the tearjerker romcoms for a night, right?

After the First 24 Hours

Once you’ve made it 24 hours past your lash lift, your lifted lashes will survive getting wet. Yay, you can start going to weddings and reading sappy love stories again!

But before you let loose and cry your heart out, know this: there’s something in tears besides water that can weaken your lift if you take crying to the extreme.

Tears are mainly water, but they also have an outer oily layer.¹ Oil works against the lifting effect, so crying on the reg could weaken your results. 

You might want to avoid situations (and people) likely to make you cry your eyes out then! 

Something else you want to avoid after a lash lift is watery eyes. All tears have an oily layer, whether triggered by strong emotions or an allergy. So tears from watery eyes can also flatten your lash lift faster.  

Cool fact: Science says emotional tears might contain proteins and hormones other types of tears lack._² 

Beware of these 10 common causes of watery eyes:³ 

• #1: Laughing fits.
• #2: Coughing.
• #3: Strong tastes. 
• #4: Vomiting.
• #5: Yawning. 
• #6: Eyestrain.
• #7: Allergies.
• #8: Bright light.
• #9: Smog. 
• #10: Cold, windy weather. 

…Oh, and don’t forget about chopping onions. Get someone else to make dinner while you’re rocking your lifted lashes!

Watery eyes are also brought on by conditions you should have checked out and treated, like pinkeye, eyelid inflammation, eye injury or irritation, and ingrown eyelashes. 

Think you might have a problem with overly watery eyes? Watch the American Academy of Ophthalmology break down the causes of excessive tearing, how it’s diagnosed, and ways to treat it. If you experience out-of-control eye-watering, see your eye doctor and have your condition treated before you have your lash lift. 

After a sob sesh or bout of watery eyes, gently wash your lashes with an oil-free cleanser to stop the little bits of oil in your teardrops from building up on your lashes. Then comb a spoolie brush through your lashes when they’re dry. 

Can You Redo a Lash Lift if Crying Spoils The Results?

Suppose your tears did wash away your lash lift results or left your lashes looking limp. You can boost them with another lift.

If your lashes are in good condition and you’re in a hurry to lift them again, you can have the procedure redone a day or two after your first. 

But damaged lashes need time to repair before they’re strong enough to go through another round of processing. Give them 4–6 weeks to get healthy before you have another lash lift done. You can speed up the repair work by conditioning your lashes with nourishing coconut or castor oil or applying a good-quality lash serum daily.

The Bottom Line

You make up to 30 gallons of tears a year⁴ – and thankfully, you don’t need to keep them in after having a lash lift. Just don’t release them all in one go! Plus, gently cleanse your lashes after crying. And hold your tears back for the first 24 hours after your procedure if you can.

If you’re feeling so emotional that you want to cry, you don’t need the extra stress of trying to fight back your tears so you can keep your lashes dry.

A good cry can make you feel so much better, so go ahead and sob if you need to… but avoid whatever crying triggers you can for a day after your lash lift. Plus, stay away from things that make your eyes water for these 24 hours.

– Asako

References 

1. Reena Mukamal – medically reviewed by Devin A Harrison, MD (2016). Facts About Tears. Retrieved from https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/facts-about-tears (Accessed on 6 July 2022)
2. See reference 1
3. Ann Pietrangelo – Medically reviewed by Ann Marie Griff, OD (2019). Why Are My Eyes Watering? Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/health/watery-eyes (Accessed on 6 July 2022) 
4. See reference 1