MinJungKim.com Braindump v 6.0 Gah. I’m still doing this?

Check em out. They look totally natural. Not dragqueen esque.

Check em out. They look totally natural. Not dragqueen esque.

Originally uploaded by minjungkim.

I just got an eyelash exension.

I feel perty.

i’ve heard about this! my eye doctor scoffed at the idea when i shared it with him…but i’m so tempted! how long did it take?

…and if you wear contact lenses, does it bother you at all? ie., does it irritate your eyes? do they feel weird?

Hey,

Yep.. I got them done professionally but recently bought a kit and just do them myself now. Yes, myself. It’s actually not hard and didn’t glue myself together. Make sure you buy the expensive, medical grade glue. There are some tricks to it once you try it but now I constantly have a lovely set and only 1 hour of my time every few weeks. Only problem I have really is the glue is drying up too quickly in the bottle. Perhaps it’s because I am the only one using that big bottle of glue.

You look great and glad you enjoy them.

NovaLash has sunk to a new low. Their web site now proclaims at the top of their home page that “NovaLash is the ONLY lash extension product that is AEWCA-approved”. One is left wondering who is AEWCA? I did some checking on this. It is the “American Extended-Wear Cosmetics Association”. Their web site is http://www.ae-wca.org. Their web site “looks official” and “sounds official”. It “warns” against using any eyelash extension product that is not made by NovaLash.

To understand first hand, the deceptive nature of NovaLash, please visit http://www.DNSstuff.com. This is a public website that provides information about who registers and owns the domain name for websites. On the DNSstuff.com website, go to the third box down on the left column where it says, “WHOIS lookup”.

In this box, type in the domain name for NovaLash, which is: http://www.lashextensions.com Repeat this with the domain name for this official looking site: http://www.ae-wca.org

You will quickly see that the President of NovaLash, Sophy Merszei, registered and owns BOTH websites.

Imagine the mentality of someone, like Ms. Merszei, who would conceive of the idea of creating an official looking web site, call it something that sounds impartial like the “American Extended-Wear Cosmetics Association” – and then pretend that it is meaningful that NovaLash is the only lash extension product that is approved by this organization.

Come on, Ms. Merszei. You should be ashamed of your deception.

Please visit http://www.DNSstuff.com soon. Ms. Merszei is obviously unaware that the entire planet can easily find proof of her deceptive practices with a few keystrokes. I am sure that she will soon figure out how to remove her name as the domain owner of http://www.as-wca.org . Please see this for yourself quickly.

On a side note, I have witnessed first hand the tremendous quality problems that NovaLash has had with their products. Furthermore, it is difficult to get NovaLash customer service to answer the phone to make a complaint. But don’t take my word for it. If you want to understand the general level of disgust with this company, please go to their website, click on “Find Us” then select “NovaLash Professionals”. You will find over 200 names listed of actual NovaLash customers. I invite you to randomly call any 5 or 10 of those listed on Nova’s own site and simply ask them what they think about the company. You will probably be shocked at what you hear.

NovaLash has used scare tactics about the safety of competitor’s products in order to market themselves. Can you trust anything that Ms. Merszei might say given the deception that she is willing to stoop to? If NovaLash was really concerned about safety, I believe they would raise their standards and REQUIRE, not just recommend, hands-on training to buy their product. NovaLash only recently began to sell only to licensed salons, probably in response to a lawsuit. Prior to this, anyone with a credit card could buy NovaLash products. I believe it is irresponsible to sell to untrained, unlicensed people and suggests that NovaLash is more interested in making a quick buck than in safety or the long term health of the eyelash extension industry.

In response to a recent blog posting regarding the integrity of NovaLash and its products, let me say that thousands of satisfied customers can tell you our company produces and sells only the highest-quality eyelash extension products. NovaLash is the only company offering formaldehyde-free adhesives, keeping consumers safe from potential allergic reactions and any associated cancer risk. Formaldehyde is not something you want to put in your eyes. As the only American-made lash extension product on the market using U.S. pharmaceutical grade (USP-Class VI) ingredients for greater purity, NovaLash extensions are only distributed to licensed professionals, guaranteed.

I started NovaLash in 2004 because, as a molecular biologist and a cosmetic chemist, I saw a need to create a formaldehyde-free eyelash adhesive. NovaLash has continued to grow its business exponentially year over year, due to the high quality and safe nature of its products.

Professionals using NovaLash are encouraged to attend hands-on training on the application of the lash extensions. NovaLash offers an eyelash extension training and certification workshop, as well as a training video for those unable to attend the workshop.

Regarding the American Extended-Wear Cosmetics Association (AEWCA), I am one of seven proud and active board members. Part of my duty as a board member was to locate and contract a web designer. Hence why my name is affiliated with the URL. Membership in AEWCA is restricted to doctors and scientists with a minimum education level of three years of postgraduate work and/or 10 years experience in cosmetic safety testing. The consumer safety restrictions and testing regulations are under the direction of Dr. Max Plikus, President of the AEWCA, not me. His primary goal is to review the safety, quality and performance of products such as cosmetic tattoo pigments, lash extension adhesives and removers, and sunless tanning products for the benefit of consumers.

Currently, NovaLash is the only A.E.W.C.A.-approved lash extension product, although the A.E.W.C.A. encourages other lash extension companies to undergo the independent testing necessary to receive certification. Why haven’t other manufactures applied for certification? Is it because they would not meet the stringent qualifications that protect your health? All lash extension manufacturers with ISO-9000 facility inspection certifications and test data are eligible to apply for membership in this organization.

I encourage anyone with any questions or concerns to contact me at NovaLash, 713-520-5848 or Sophy.Merszei@yahoo.com or the A.E.W.C.A. at 323-821-0182.

Dear Ms Merszei,

Thank you for replying to the blog posting regarding the integrity of NovaLash and its products. While I appreciate your reply, some of your statements raise questions that I, and other beauty professionals have, that need to be answered objectively.

I am a Registered Nurse, and an eyelash extension professional. I love providing eyelash extensions as a service and my clients love them. In fact, I have tried several eyelash extension companies including yours in my effort to provide the best.

The intention if this blog entry is not to bash your company or any other. The intention of this entry is to ask you objective (factual) questions in an effort to understand more.

Ms. Merszei, in your blog entry you state:
“NovaLash is the only company offering formaldehyde-free adhesives, keeping consumers safe from potential allergic reactions and any associated cancer risk.“

Ms Merszei, please provide us (via this blog) scientific evidence that your adhesive is the only formaldehyde-free adhesive.

And, please provide us with scientific evidence that your adhesive is in fact formaldehyde free. From my research into cyanoacrylate medical adhesives, I find that a small amount of formaldehyde is found in all cyanoacrylate adhesives. In fact, higher concentrations of formaldehyde may be found in many cosmetic and household items that we use everyday, such as nail polish, shampoo, dishwashing liquid and cosmetic powders.

Ms. Merszei, on your website you state the following: “We’re happy to provide all prospective distributors and beauty therapists with independent laboratory results verifying the safety of our ingredients.”
Ms Merszei, please provide us with the independent laboratory results verifying the safety of your ingredients. Please include the lab results that verify that your adhesives are 100% formaldehyde free.
On your website, you claim that your glue is patented. Ms Merszei, please provide us with the patent number of your glue. I searched the US patent office at http://www.uspto.gov and could not locate any patents or patents pending for your adhesives or any other adhesives for eyelash extensions. Is your glue really patented and, if so, is it patented for some use OTHER THAN eyelash extensions?
Ms. Merszei, on your blog entry you state: “I started NovaLash in 2004 because, as a molecular biologist and a cosmetic chemist, I saw a need to create a formaldehyde-free eyelash adhesive.”
Ms Merszei, I and many others who first purchased your kit in 2005 received the PURPLE-BOTTLE Asian-manufactured adhesive. This purple-bottle adhesive was included in other eyelash extension kits readily available online from multiple sources at that time. Many eyelash extension professionals reading this blog remember this adhesive. As you know, this adhesive had strong fumes and caused tearing and burning and was probably not formaldehyde-free.

Ms. Merszei, if in fact you “started NovaLash in 2004” because you “saw a need to create a formaldehyde-free eyelash adhesive”, why did you start out selling the inferior and irritating Asian made purple-bottle adhesive in 2004 and most of 2005?

Ms. Merszei, on your blog entry you state: “Professionals using NovaLash are encouraged to attend hands-on training on the application of the lash extensions. NovaLash offers an eyelash extension training and certification workshop, as well as a training video for those unable to attend the workshop.”

Ms. Merszei, I set out to ask objective questions, however, I do want to give my opinion about the following: why do you continue to seriously attempt to portray your interest in safety but yet do NOT require hands-on training in order to purchase your product? Certainly you will make fewer sales if you required hands on training. However, because safety is so important around the eye area, I believe that you should require training. Only with proper hands-on training can a professional truly understand how to apply semi-permanent lash extensions safely and beautifully. I’m sure that many Lash extension professionals can testify about the clients that have come to us for repair of a lash application that was performed by an untrained technician. This hurts our industry and gives lash extensions a bad name. Everyone should make the sacrifice necessary to attend a Training Workshop.

Ms. Merszei, on your blog entry you state: “Regarding the American Extended-Wear Cosmetics Association (AEWCA), I am one of seven proud and active board members.”

Ms Merszei, why are the names and credentials of the seven proud and active board members not listed? Who are they and what are their professional degrees, licenses, and other credentials? http://www.ae-wca.org ? It is customary for reputable professional organizations to list the members and the board of directors along with their credentials (college earned degrees, etc.). Reputable professional organizations are not owned by a company nor are they biased in favor of a certain company.

Ms. Merszei, as the original website domain owner of ae-wca.com, why did you recently remove your name as the owner only after your ownership of the domain was exposed?

Ms. Merszei, you state on your blog entry: that “Membership in AEWCA is restricted to doctors and scientists with a minimum education level of three years of postgraduate work and/or 10 years experience in cosmetic safety testing.”

Ms. Merszei, since membership is restricted to doctors and scientist, please include your specific credentials. Do you hold a college degree? If so, what degree do you hold and from what university? You claim to be a molecular biologist and a cosmetic chemist. What college degree qualifies you to claim this credential? Ms Merszei, attending a one-day seminar in cosmetic chemistry and getting a certificate does not qualify most people to call themselves a “cosmetic chemist”. Please be specific about your credentials, stating when and where you received your formal education.

You also state on your blog entry the following: “Currently, NovaLash is the only A.E.W.C.A.-approved lash extension product, although the A.E.W.C.A. encourages other lash extension companies to undergo the independent testing necessary to receive certification. Why haven’t other manufactures applied for certification? Is it because they would not meet the stringent qualifications that protect your health?”

Ms. Merszei, could it be that other eyelash extension companies do not believe that it is necessary to be affiliated with an organization that is owned by a competitor and/or is favorably biased toward a certain company that is on its board?

Ms. Merszei, you state on your website that “All competing brands of lash extension adhesives tested by the AEWCA were found to contain toxic and carcinogenic irritants”. Ms. Merszei, what brands are you referring to? I didn’t find any credible data to support any of these claims on the AEWCA website. In fact, there are no scientific studies anywhere on the AEWCA website that are related to eyelash extensions or eyelash extension adhesives. The few articles on the site are all related to permanent cosmetics that are simply copied from other sources. This is a real cheap shot, Ms. Merszei, if you are not willing to name the names of the competing brands that you have supposedly tested.

Ms. Merszei, please respond to the objective questions that are directly related to comments that you made on the blog and / or your NovaLash website.

Many professionals like me are concerned that the use of scare tactics surrounding eyelash extension adhesives will destroy the industry. Professionals and consumers alike that read these scare tactics may be afraid to provide or try the service at all. Ms. Merszei, if you can not answer the questions contained herein, please stop using scare tactics that are not based on facts, as this can bring long term harm to our industry.

Ms. Merszei, I am anxiously waiting for your specific replies.

Lorianne

Lorraine,
Where do you recommend I buy a more economic but safe glue, in the uk I can only buy a 76 US dollar glues
Thanks Ana

I completely agree regarding NovaLash! I started doing some checking myself after reading the postings about deception and here’s what I found and what I think.

I believe that NovaLash and its President, Sophy Merszei, continue to use scare tactics to deceive the industry. She obviously does not plan to stop doing so. Her deceptive scare tactics are harming our industry. Here is just an example:
• On the front page of the NovaLash website, they boldly state “NovaLash is the ONLY lash extension product that is … made in the USA in accordance with FDA recommendations for formaldehyde content”. Then, on NovaLash’s “Health and Safety” tab on their website, they state, “Most lash adhesives produced from Asia are … not FDA approved for cosmetic or medical purposes.
This is pure DECEPTION. Ms. Merszei boldly states that NovaLash is the ONLY lash extension product made in accordance with FDA recommendations for formaldehyde content. Ms. Merszei obviously wants you to believe that all the other lash extension products are NOT made according to FDA recommendations and therefore must be unsafe. The facts are that the US Food and Drug administration (FDA) does NOT regulate cosmetics. I have done a comprehensive search and found only one case where the FDA actually had anything to say about the formaldehyde content in a cosmetic product and the cosmetic product was “nail hardeners” – not eyelash extensions. The only recommendation from the FDA concerning formaldehyde in any cosmetic product is as follows, quote, “Nail hardeners often contain formaldehyde as the active ingredient. Although formaldehyde may be irritating to the skin or cause allergic reactions, the FDA does not object to its use as an ingredient of nail hardeners provided the product contains no more than 5% formaldehyde …” This quote may be found on the following link to the FDA website: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/cos-hdb3.html .

The FDA says absolutely nothing about standards for eyelash extensions. The FDA states that “nail hardeners” should contain no more than 5% formaldehyde. I can tell you that the eyelash extension glues provided by the major suppliers in the USA generally contain negligible levels of formaldehyde, less than 10 PPM. That is 10 PARTS PER MILLION. For comparison, the FDA’s 5% formaldehyde spec for nail hardeners is equal to 50,000 PPM. Yes, 5% is equivalent to 50,000 PPM.

Since the major eyelash extension providers in the US supply adhesives well below 10 PPM formaldehyde, this is certainly “in accordance” with the only FDA recommendations for formaldehyde content – which only recommends no more than 50,000 ppm. However, the other major eyelash extension providers do not invoke this because the specific FDA recommendations are not addressing eyelash extensions specifically. Obviously, NovaLash has no such restraint.

Imagine the deception of Ms. Merszei: 1) to invoke FDA recommendations on formaldehyde content, when the FDA does not even address recommendations for eyelash extensions; and 2) to invoke FDA recommendations on formaldehyde content when she is referencing a product with less than 10 PPM when the FDA recommends no more than 50,000 PPM in another cosmetic product. Ms. Merszei, give me a break.

Ms. Merszei even takes it a step further on her “Health and Safety” tab on her website, where she states, “Most lash adhesives produced from Asia are … not FDA approved for cosmetic or medical purposes.” While this statement is technically true, it implies that the NovaLash glue is approved by the FDA. Again, she is being deceptive. The FDA has not approved any lash adhesive for cosmetic purposes. Ms. Merszei, when are you going to stop trying to deceive us?

Why am I so upset about this? Well, Ms Merszei’s scare tactics are harming our industry. I have a thriving business in eyelash extensions and I want to keep it that way. Even though most of us know that NovaLash’s scare tactics are empty, they can still harm our industry. I am very happy with the products that I currently use. I previously used NovaLash’s products and found their quality to be inferior. I would prefer to get out of this business than be forced to use their product again.

I am addressing only one piece of NovaLash deception in this blog. Other blogs have addressed many other examples of NovaLash deceptions. I am sure many others are to follow – as NovaLash is rather blatant. When will we stop? Only when NovaLash stops using scare tactics and deception to sell product.

Why are the other major eyelash extension providers not addressing this issue? Hello, Lavish? Hello, Xtreme? Hello, 3D? I suspect that the major providers know that NovaLash has a horrible reputation in terms of product quality and credibility and that NovaLash’s scare mongering is not worthy of a response. Well, I can tell you that NovaLash is probably not going to change anytime soon their scare tactics are beginning to have an effect. Lavish, Xtreme, 3D - I understand that you do not want to dignify NovaLash with a response, but you should address this issue head on. NovaLash’s scare tactics are harming the entire industry – and it is time to stop it. With facts.

Thank you MJK for the website. I was searching for lash extensions and I read NovaLash’ and then yours. Was very informative. You have very intelligent people reading your blog, as ‘lashqueen’ and ‘lorianne’. Thank god for articulate, well educated, females.

Thanks for the info on NovaLash. What safe glue would you recommend and where to buy? Please advice.

Please! Everyone knows it´s the same company that`s writing the bloggs against Ms. Merszei!Ms. Merszei was not even a member of
A.E.W.C.A´s board when Novalash was approved. She was handpicked by the board months later becauce of her expertise!

I am an experienced lash extensionist and have used NovaLash exclusively. I’ve been thrilled with the quality and performance of their products and am inpressed with the degree of education and support provided to me. My first bottle of FF adhesive was defective and they immediately remedied it with a new bottle. This can happen to any company selling anything! Any time I have had a question or problem they have been most gracious and gone the extra mile to make sure I was taken care of. Ms. Merszei is a Harvard graduate with a degree in Cosmetic Chemistry. NovaLash is comitted to research regarding lash extensions and continues to explore new ideas and technology. I am not paid to say this, I am simply a very happy and satisfied customer. The company continues to evolve (as any good one should) and change - hence the requirement now that licensed professionals only are allowed to purchase their products. Please remember that lash extensions are a relatively new procedure here in the USA. NovaLash is doing a great job and it’s too bad that competing companies have resorted to a slander campaign to try to gain more sales for themselves. Late last year I received an ANONYMOUS (no return address) letter, addressed to me personally, that included all the same information in the rather extensive blog entry on this site questioning Sophy Merszei’s credentials and business practices. It upset me very much that whomever sent the photocopied papers did not have the courtesy or integrity to include a return address. What did they have to hide????? When all is said and done, my advice is: Do your research, come to your own conclusions about what products you want to use, what training you want to invest in, and become the very best extensionist you can be. Don’t be scared by what this or that company say against each other. YOU decide! That’s my two cents worth!

Hi there, I am from South Africa. Wow, what a confusion! I am looking into doing extentions but now I am confused. I only want the best product for my salon. After all my salon provides my bread and butter. It is very importand to me to have the very best training available and a strong home base company to work with. If you had to choose all over again who would you choose to train and provide product to you? Regads Riana

I have been wearing Novalash lashes consistently for over a year. I’ve found them to be very realistic, and most people do not know I’m wearing extensions. My technician is extremely thorough in her application and they appear ‘real’ to anyone even in close range. I receive nothing but compliments and I plan to continue to keep my bi-monthly appointments until the end. I believe in all situations, a lot depends on the technician and their artistic expertise in application. I’ve had friends who went to other technicians and returned to mine simiply because of technique. The product is great. My technician is excellent. Regards, Angie