lashmatrix.org

Hooded Eyes · Wispy · Hybrid

A real a hooded eye, the shape this map is drawn for.
This is a hooded eye — check yours against it before reading the map. Photo source & removal
PEAK inner outer steps down both ways from the peak soft base + wispy spikes lifted above lashmatrix.org
Where the peak sits and which way the length tapers.
Why Why it is laid out this way

Two things make a wispy set work: what stands up, and what is left empty between. A fold complicates the second one, because the skin over the lash line already dims everything beneath it, so a base built to your usual density arrives looking heavier than you intended. Under-build the base, cluster the spikes, and the gaps do the rest.

Zone order · bar = relative length Z1 Z2 Z3 Z4 PEAK Z5 Z6 Z7 inner outer
Build order, inner to outer — the peak zone flagged.

The order the zones go in

  1. Watch the shadow, not just the skinLook at her upright and note where the lid dims the lash line. That zone needs less base than it looks like it needs.
  2. Lay a light fan baseNarrow fans following the map, top length shared by the two middle zones, ends dropping away. Stop before it looks finished.
  3. Spike in clustersClosed fans standing well above the base, placed two or three together with clear runs between them.
  4. Nothing tall below the shadow lineInside the covered strip the base runs on alone. Spikes there are paid for and never seen.
  5. Check the gaps lastStep back and look for the empty runs. If you cannot see the base through the texture, you have built too much.
Length curve · one peak, gentle taper inner outer
The length curve: one soft peak, then a gentle taper.

The length curve

The base curve is modest and level through the middle so it can act as a backdrop rather than as the set itself. Spikes sit above it in clusters, which is what makes the eye read separate lashes instead of one dark line — the single thing a fold is best at destroying. Everything in the map is arranged around keeping contrast alive on a lid that is working to remove it.

Built wrong, it looks like this

Base built to full densityThe spikes lose the surface they were meant to stand against. Under a fold the result is one dark band with a few strays on top.
✗ WRONG one dark band ✓ RIGHT backdrop, then spikes
Spikes placed one by oneSingly spaced spikes look like stragglers rather than texture, and on a shadowed lash line they simply disappear.
✗ WRONG strays, not texture ✓ RIGHT clusters with gaps
Filling the gaps at the fill appointment because they look like damage.Two visits of that and the wispy set has quietly become a full one, with the extra weight nobody ever decided to add.
When not to use this mapSkip it when the client's own lashes grow at very different angles, because a spiked cluster on a stray lash points somewhere unhelpful and the fold makes that impossible to spot while you work. It is also the wrong effect for anyone who wants a smooth, glossy line, since every deliberate gap will read to her as a missed lash.
Deep The physics underneath

The base and the spikes are priced completely differently. Knowing which is which stops the set drifting heavier at every visit.

The same map, built four ways

Classic 1:1
Single strands make good spikes when her lashes are strong, and they are the least bulky option at the root. Where they struggle is the base, which on this map wants to be light and full at the same time.
Handmade volume
The base, and made narrow so it stays a backdrop. Building them yourself matters here because a wispy base needs to be less dense than the tray default, and only a hand-made fan lets you dial that down.
Promade / pre-made fans
They tend to arrive fuller than a wispy base wants, and the temptation is to keep the density they were built for. Useful for a fast base under a fold if you accept the spikes will need to be taller to beat it.
Closed fans — spikes
Almost no spread, so the whole bundle behaves as one thick strand with its mass on the lash's own line. The bond area is generous, which helps it stay attached; the weight is real, which decides how many you place.

Spread angle versus weight

Spread moves mass — never removes it narrowload on the axis widetwists off-axis

Two spreads, two purposes, and they must not converge. Base fans stay narrow so they stack close without their edges merging into a solid tone under the shadow. Spikes close to nothing, which is what makes them stand — and the moment a spike is allowed to open a little, it stops being a spike and joins the base as an unusually long fan.

What the natural lash can carry

  • Every spike is the heaviest thing on the lash it sits on, so clustering them means several neighbouring lashes are each at their limit at the same time. Cluster the spikes; do not cluster them on adjacent lashes.
  • The base is light enough to be nearly free, which is why the weight of this set can be estimated almost entirely by counting spikes. That count is the number to hold across fills.
  • Under a fold the load is not only downward. A lash gets pressed sideways for as long as her eyes are open, so a spike that would sit fine on an open lid can lean on a hooded one.

Where this map fails first

Where this map fails first inner outer outer spikes turn sideways inner base thins out lashmatrix.org

Two failures with two different clocks. The outer spikes lean before they shed, because they are long, heavy and sitting where the lid rests hardest — the cluster loses its edge and the texture goes soft while everything is still attached. The inner base thins at the ordinary rate, but on this map it is barely there to begin with, so it shows sooner than it would on a fuller set. Read a spike that has turned as a spike to replace, not as one that still counts.

FAQ Common questions

Why build the base lighter on a hooded eye?

Because the lid already dims the lash line, so the same density reads as more. A base built to your usual level arrives looking like a full set with a few spikes on it.

Should spikes be clustered or spread out?

Clustered, with clear runs between the groups. Singly spaced spikes read as stray lashes, particularly under a fold where contrast is low.

What do I do about the gaps at the fill?

Leave them. Filling gaps is the most common way a wispy set turns into a heavy one over two or three appointments.

Classic or fan spikes on a hooded lid?

Either, chosen by her lash strength. A closed fan spreads its grip over more bond area; a single strand keeps the root smaller under a lid that presses on it.

Also in: Hooded eyes · Wispy · Hybrid