When I first started out with eyelash extensions I only knew about pricing my fills by the two week and three week fill options. I had gotten my own lashes done at several salons and they had priced their fills this way as well so I didn’t realize other ways existed out there. Six months into my lashing career I found out that there is a better way to price my fills: by the duration of the actual appointment. I was super hesitant at first because this method wasn’t too common at the time. I didn’t know if my current clients would be too fond of the idea but I implemented it anyways. Shortly after I was floored on how much easier it made my life! Here’s why. As a lash technician we all know every client is different with retention. You’ll have Client # 1 who comes to their 2 week fill with a ton of extensions still on. It's most likely they don’t wear makeup, wash their lashes daily, and they do not have naturally oily skin. There are lots of factors to help improve retention but it’s hard to pinpoint the exact reason. Then, you’ll have Client # 2 who comes to their two week fill with 10 lashes leftover. Maybe they are prone to oily skin, wear makeup every day, workout lots, or they might just touch their lashes too much. Again, it’s hard to pinpoint why the extensions can stay on Client # 1 so well and not on Client # 2. It’s usually the lifestyle of the client or just naturally how their lashes are. Their growth and shed cycle could be rapid fast or pretty slow.
Anyways, my point is retention can be so different with each client so if you’re pricing your fills by the weeks, how are you supposed to know how much time should be alloted for each fill? At the two week mark it might take you 1.5 hours to complete Client # 2, where it can take you 1 hour or less to complete Client # 1 because one client has better retention than the other. Let’s say you block off the longest amount of time you’ve spent on a fill, so 2 hours. If you finish in an hour on the client with better retention, but you've blocked off 2 hours for the whole appointment, then you’ll just be sitting there for an hour waiting for your next client. Not very time productive by doing it this way. Another point is that they client will be in charge with the amount of time they want to book for a fill. My options for fills are: mini fill (45 mins), regular fill (1 hour), and large fill (1.25 hours). If a client wants to “save money” and books the mini fill when really need a large fill, then I will still only spend the 45 minutes on their fill and they will leave with their lashes not completely filled. If they want their lashes completed filled, they will need to book and PAY for the appropriate fill option. This way, if the client has great retention and takes care of their lashes, they can spend less and book a shorter fill time. If a client has bad retention, they’ll need to come in earlier for a fill or pay more for a longer fill. By pricing your fills this way, it will eliminate a lot of frustration. You will know exactly when your appointment will end so you can schedule your appointments accordingly and not have to rush through a set if you have too many lashes to fill or finish too early and be waiting a long time for your next client. This way is the best way for lash technicians in my opinion because it utilizes your time the most and you get paid fairly for the amount of time you are lashing on each client!
Let me know your thoughts and how you price your fills!