No matter how easy it looks, the only true way to success is by obtaining proper instruction and hands-on training from a skilled and reputable trainer.
Jill Lund
Owner & Founder
“Jill Lund’s (formerly Jill De La Torre) background in both educational instruction and esthetics spans over 18 years and positions her as one of the most qualified eyelash extension instructors in the United States. Jill attended the University of Nevada Las Vegas College of Education from 1991-96 majoring in Education. After pausing to have two babies, she soon found herself with a desire to spark her creativity outside the classroom. The beauty industry, specifically the field of esthetics, interested her from the time she got her very first facial at the age of 13. Jill completed esthetics school and received her license from Arizona State Board of Cosmetology in 2004. Within weeks of beginning her new career, she read an article in a local paper featuring eyelash extensions and something clicked. She says she “had a gut feeling” eyelash extensions were going to be one of the most important cosmetic trends in the profession. “As soon as I finished reading the article, I signed up for the only class I could find that taught lash extensions,” says Jill. The class, which was taught by two local permanent makeup artists, she would realize later was subpar at best. “They had us watch an hour-long video,” Jill says. “And then each of the students worked on each other for a little bit… and that was it.” Applying lash extensions on clients was exhilarating, but soon she became discouraged by a seemingly small problem. “I was giving people my word the lashes would last four to six weeks,” Jill says. “But they weren’t even lasting more than five to seven days.”
A common assumption for those new to application is that low retention is due to the glue they are using not being very good. So before giving up, Jill decided to try buying another company’s adhesive, but they would not sell to her stating that their policy was only to sell their products to professionals who had taken their hands-on training course. Frustrated at first and not one to give up so easily Jill took the new course, this time receiving proper hands-on training and a curriculum that taught everything needed know to be successful at eyelash extensions. “I was shocked at all the things I didn’t know in order to apply extensions properly so that they stay the time I was promising. Taking a proper class was the most important business decision I ever made.” She resumed offering the service and got so inundated with business that it made sense to solely focus on lashes as my area of expertise. It was obvious the next logical step was to change her business to focus solely on eyelash extensions. “At that point in time, wax bars were just beginning to pop up all over the place, but there were no lash bars yet,” Jill says. She immediately hopped online, checked the availability and purchased the domain thelashbar.com and changed the business name to The Lash Bar. Sixteen years later The Lash Bar is still going full force with more plans to expand.
