By Dawn Omboy
At some point in the grooming salon, we have all had those clients who come in with that one particular request: “please make sure you leave the eyelashes”, and as accommodating groomers, we do our best to make those clients happy. Groomers are doing just that, but many are doing it in a more fun and creative way.
The first time I remember seeing eyelashes as an add-on on a dog, it was done by Carmen Baker when she presented her creatively groomed poodle as “The Hoochie Poochie”. Carmen had groomed her dog to appear as though she was wearing hot pants with fishnet stockings, high heels, and a puffy cap sleeve low cut top showing off her ample sculptured cleavage. Topping it all off, the Hoochie Poochie had bleached curly blonde hair (her topknot had been curled using a curling iron) and then just above the eyes, she had big flirty eyelashes; what a sight!
I asked a few creative groomers, including Angela Kumpe, Jonelle Shmoldas, and Victoria Gabay what they use and how to add this girly bit of fun to their clients’ dogs. Victoria and Angela both use tacky glue to secure the eyelashes in place.
Fig 1) Start by carefully removing the eyelashes from the package, apply a very thin line of glue to the outside edge of the eyelash and give the glue a minute to get a little tacky before applying.
Fig 2) Once it is ready, position the eyelash just above the eye and not where the actual eyelashes are.
According to Kumpe, this will be more comfortable for the dog and, in most cases, they will leave them alone.
Fig 3) Shmoldas likes using feathers, creating a feather brow. Gabay finds her eyelashes at Party City and Kumpe has them available on her popular website, A Creative Collection.
Fig 4) Another fun thing I like to do is use the dog’s natural eyelashes and enhance them with a pet friendly paint pen, which is a temporary hair crayon that is very easy to use. Just select the color and hold the pen against the lash and your thumb and streak it right onto the lash.
It’s really cute and the client who said “leave the lashes” will be nothing less that delighted. ✂
Making the World more Colorful, one dog at a time…
Queen of Color