Life and Work with Ebony Barnswell

One day I said “I’m gonna do lashes,” I said this because as a bartender I come across SO many beautiful ladies on a daily basis, and with my bomb personality I knew I could gain loyal clients. I dwelled on the thought I went back and forth with myself at least ten times, and I finally talked myself out of it. About three months later I saw this girl on my Instagram who had started doing lashes when the idea first crossed my mind, and she was celebrating her one year anniversary. That day I booked my class, and I haven’t looked back or second-guessed Myself since. My best friend Olivia helped me create a logo, a visual, and even my website then I felt unstoppable. Since starting I’ve taken two more classes to perfect my craft, and I’ve also added eyebrow waxing and tinting to my services. I plan to sell certain products to help with the upkeep of lashes in between appointments, mink strips, offer classes, and also learn microblading and Lash lifts! I’m Nowhere near where I want to be, but I’m for sure off to a great 9-month start!

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Smooth road? I didn’t know those existed lol. No, it was nowhere near as easy as I thought it would be! I thought okay I will take this class, master my technique, and BOOM here comes the money! It was so much I had to learn on my own and the hard way. There is a lot of things that other lash techs won’t tell you if you are not paying them for the information, or taking their class. There are different width and shapes of lashes. Some lashes are heavier than others. There are different types of glue, and they have to remain at a certain temperature, etc. At the beginning I was HOT, so many ppl were taking advantage of my special and referring me to other people. Everything was going good until I was just leaving my glue in my HOT room not knowing that it could go bad. I was doing Full Sets of lashes and having to re-do Full Sets for free. Now not only am I wasting time I’m not making any money, but I’m standing behind my business and my work which means the most to me! So my advice is definitely to do Plenty of research, and make sure whoever you choose to learn from cares about your understanding.