Your primary goal as a lash artist is to give your clients a fabulous eyelash makeover. To achieve that, you need to know where to place the lash set and apply the right length, curl, and thickness.

Enter lash mapping.

Lash mapping is an important step in eyelash extension. It involves precisely marking the exact lash lengths you will apply to the client’s natural lashes. You do this by drawing and mapping out the lengths for each section on the eye patches with markers.

Expert lash technicians often skip the drawing part as their skills improve, but if you’re a beginner, you’ll find many benefits to mapping lash styles before starting the procedure.


Let’s explore lash mapping, its benefits, and a checklist that will come in handy for beginner lash techs!

Every person’s eye shape differs, and not all lash styles fit certain eye shapes. That's why lash mapping is a must.

Mastering lash mapping can benefit both amateur and certified lash artists. Throughout your eyelash career, lash mapping can help you in many ways.

Lash mapping creates a smooth transition of lash lengths on both eyes to create that symmetrical look. Can you imagine the eyelash extensions on your left eye looking different from your right? You want your client’s lashes to look fabulous and flawless; that’s why you should take this initial step.

Lash mapping takes extra time for each appointment, but it pays to go in with a plan for where to place each extension. When you’ve drawn a map beforehand, the application process becomes faster and easier. In addition, it allows you to focus more on delivering the client’s lash extension requests.

With so many clients walking in and out of your lash bar, you might get the lash styles mixed up or get lazy and repeat the same styles. Lash mapping helps you to prepare the lash style that will look best on your client. It also minimizes the room for error.

Lash mapping depends on the style your client wants to achieve. Each has its own lash lengths, curls, and placements. Let’s take a look at them.

Also called “natural eye,” this classic lash style follows the client’s natural eye shape to create an open look. Its lash map places short extensions on the very inner corner, where our lashes are naturally short, and evenly fills the rest of the eye with a mix of short and long lashes.

Lash technicians usually use thin and short lash extensions at the corners of the eyes since we tend to subject both ends to stress and movement. But the lash map for the basic cat eye places the longest lash length at the outer corner and short lengths at the inner corner of your eye. This style creates an eyeliner effect, making the eyes look lifted.

The dolly places the longest lash length in the middle of the eye and the shortest on the corners. This lash style works wonders on wide-set eyes, making them appear closer.

Like the cat eye, the butterfly lash style makes the eyes look lifted but with a softer effect. It places the longest lash extensions at the point of the eyebrow’s arch. The shorter ones are then placed toward the outer corner, so the baby lashes there are not subject to stress.

The wispy look, or the Kim K lash, is an advanced style that uses lash fans throughout the entire set. Its lash map places wide and short fans with CC curls along the base to create the butterfly style. Afterward, place narrow and long fans with C curls on stronger natural lashes, creating a wispy look.

In lash training, you’ll learn that lash mapping must be based on careful assessment of your client. Before you proceed, you’ll first need to determine the best lash extensions for them depending on these key factors.

Eye shape: Does your client have almond, round, or elongated eyes?
Eye plane: Are your client’s eyes upturned or downturned? For example, if they have upturned eyes, you want the lash set to put less emphasis on the upward angle.
Eye set: Close-set eyes look great with the cat eye lash style since it makes your eyes look further apart. However, if you apply the same style with wide-set eyes, your client’s eye set will appear broader.
Eye depth: The key to giving monolid eyes more dimension is by using longer and curlier lash extensions, making the eyes pop. On the other hand, the natural lash style would fit hooded and deep-set eyes to make them look open.
Natural lash strength: Applying thick and long lash extensions may not be optimal for clients with thin and short eyelashes. Their natural lashes can't handle the weight of 12- or 13-millimeter extensions. Use short extensions on them instead.

What if a client asks for a specific lash style? In that case, give them your expert recommendation based on the factors above, but ultimately, give them the style they want if it poses no risks to their health and safety.

Some lash technicians overlook mapping eyelash styles, so they end up with unhappy clients wearing uneven eyelash extensions. But if you take the time to do a lash map, you can apply a flawless set and bring out your clients’ best features.

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