By Michelle Bodean, founder of Michelle Lashes-Brows-Beauty in Downers Grove. Licensed esthetician since 2019, lashing for over ten years.
Short version: extensions are worth it if you already put real time into your eyes most mornings, and they are a waste of money if you don’t. That is the whole test.
I get asked this constantly, usually by someone at a consultation who has already found a cheaper full set somewhere else and wants to know why mine costs more. Fair question. Here is the actual arithmetic, the honest downsides, and the situations where I tell people not to book.
A classic full set at my studio is $170. Fills are $99 and you need one every two to three weeks.
Run that out over a year. On a three week fill cycle you are looking at roughly $1,850, which works out to about $5 a day. On a two week cycle it is closer to $2,750, or about $7.50 a day. Mega volume, the densest set I offer at $260 with $169 fills, lands near $3,100 a year.
Now price the thing you are replacing. Mascara, a curler, primer, oil-free remover, and ten to fifteen minutes every morning. If those minutes are worth anything to you, they are the bigger number in that comparison. If you wear mascara twice a month, they are not, and extensions will feel like a bill rather than a service.
Permanent brows work differently because they are not a subscription. Ombre powder brows are $600, plus a required touch-up at $250 four to eight weeks later. That is $850 up front, and then the result holds for one to three years. If it lasts two, you are at about $1.15 a day. For someone who fills in their brows every single morning, that is usually the easiest yes on my menu.
A lash lift and tint is $130 and lasts six to eight weeks, which comes to something like $2.50 a day. It is the honest middle option, and I recommend it more often than people expect.
Three things, roughly in this order.
The first is time under magnification. A classic set is 1:1 application: one 0.12 or 0.15mm extension bonded to one natural lash, isolated with tweezers, one at a time. A full set runs 90 to 120 minutes. When a studio advertises a price that seems impossible, the way they reach it is speed, and the way you get speed is by letting the adhesive catch two or three natural lashes at once. Those clumps pull as the lashes grow out at different rates. That is where “extensions ruined my lashes” comes from. It is almost never the extensions themselves.
The second is who is holding the tweezers. Every artist here trains for at least three months before working on a client. That is not standard. I also still take clients myself, at a higher rate than the rest of the team, $250 for a classic set and $400 for mega volume, and I would rather be upfront about that tier existing than have people find it at checkout.
The third is judgment, which people underestimate. Choosing between a classic set, a hybrid at $195, Russian volume at $210, and a wispy set at $200 is not a menu decision, it is a decision about what your natural lashes can physically carry. Volume fans exist precisely so someone with fine or sparse lashes can get fullness without weight. Putting a heavy set on lashes that cannot support it is how damage happens.
Most salon pages skip this part.
You can react to the adhesive. Lash glue is a cyanoacrylate, and while a true allergy is uncommon, it happens, and it can develop after years of wearing extensions without trouble. If your eyes are at all sensitive, book a patch test 24 hours before your first full set. It is worth the extra trip.
Retention is partly out of my hands. Extensions leave when the natural lash holding them sheds, and that is your own growth cycle, not my work. Oil dissolves the adhesive, so oil cleansers and rich eye creams shorten your window. So does sleeping face down, since the friction twists lashes off the pillow. So does mascara, especially waterproof. If you are a stomach sleeper who uses a heavy night cream, I can do beautiful work and you will still be back sooner than the client next to you.
Our fill policy is strict and it costs people money when they ignore it. A fill only works if you still have 50 percent or more of the previous set, and it has to happen before the three week mark. Past that, outgrown extensions get removed and we build a new set, which means $170 instead of $99. If you cannot reliably get in every two to three weeks, extensions are not the right service for you, and I would rather say so now.
Permanent brow pigment fades and shifts. One to three years is the honest range, and where you land inside it depends on your skin, your medications and how carefully you follow aftercare. Anyone who chooses a very soft or light shade should expect to come back sooner. Nobody can predict on the day how your skin will hold pigment, which is exactly why the touch-up at four to eight weeks is part of the process and not an upsell.
If you sleep face down, wash your face with oil cleanser and cannot commit to a three week rhythm, get a lash lift instead. You will be happier and you will spend less.
If your natural lashes are very fine or very sparse, a lift may not have enough to work with either. That is a conversation to have at a consultation rather than a surprise at the end of an appointment.
If you are pregnant, talk to your doctor first, and know that the real obstacle is usually lying flat on your back for two hours in the later stages.
Take your contacts out before any lash appointment. Adhesive fumes get trapped under the lens and cause dryness and irritation that has nothing to do with the extensions themselves.
And if the price would put you in a tight spot, skip it. This is a nice thing, not a necessity.
Ask to see healed work, not fresh work. Anyone can photograph brows five minutes after a session while the pigment still sits dark and crisp on the surface. Photos at six weeks and at one year tell you whether someone knows what they are doing.
Ask what happens if you dislike it, and whether a correction costs extra.
Ask about hygiene and setup. Permanent makeup breaks the skin. Single-use needles, proper sterilization and a visible license are the floor, not a selling point.
Ask them to talk you out of something. The artists worth paying have opinions about what will not suit you.
For what it is worth on our end: I trained in Europe before moving to the US and getting my esthetician license in 2019, opened this studio in 2022, and have won lash competitions including The Beauty Factor Miami, Pro Championship UK and Lash Championship Nederland. I judge and teach internationally. Our Google rating is 4.9 across 165 reviews, and you can read all of them, including the ones where something went wrong and we fixed it.
Come with clean eyes, no mascara and no eye cream that morning. Block out 90 to 120 minutes for a full set. Book your next fill before you leave, because the three week window is not flexible.
For ombre brows, put the touch-up on the calendar when you book the first appointment.
Call the studio at (630) 822-0201 or book online. We are at 1202P 75th St in Downers Grove and see clients from Naperville, Hinsdale, Westmont, Oak Brook, Lisle, Clarendon Hills, Woodridge and La Grange.
One scheduling note: cancellations or reschedules with less than 24 hours notice are charged at 50 percent of the service, and no-shows are charged in full.
How much do eyelash extensions cost in Downers Grove? At our studio a classic full set is $170 with $99 fills, hybrid is $195, Russian volume is $210, wispy is $200 and mega volume is $260. Fills run from $99 to $169 depending on the set. Sets done by Michelle personally are priced separately, starting at $250.
Is it cheaper to get a fill or a new full set? A fill at $99 is cheaper, but you only qualify if you still have at least 50 percent of the previous set and come in within three weeks. Past that you pay full set price, so the fill schedule is the thing that actually controls your annual cost.
What is the cheapest way to get lash results? A lash lift and tint at $130 lasts six to eight weeks with no fills and no aftercare restrictions around oil. Over a year it costs roughly half what extensions do.
Are ombre powder brows cheaper than filling in your brows daily? $600 plus a $250 touch-up covers one to three years. Spread over two years that is a little over a dollar a day, which is less than most brow pencils cost to replace at the rate a daily user goes through them.
Do you offer microblading? No. We do ombre powder brows, which use a soft shaded technique rather than individual hair strokes and hold their shape better over time on most skin types.
For aftercare, safety and application questions, see our full lash extensions FAQ.
