This week on Tiktok beauty trends that make me slightly nervous: heated eyelash curlers. The little battery-powered tools use Japanese tech (they're popular at Japanese drugstores) but have recently become mainstream in the US, being sold everywhere from Urban Outfitters to Staples. The gist of it is that, much like when using a curling iron on your hair, the addition of heat transforms pin-straight lashes into C-shaped ones and helps that curl last. But as a pin-straight lash-haver myself, let me offer an equally effective yet less terrifying solution. All you need is a traditional clamp-style curler and a blowdryer.

It's important you do this trick on clean lashes, before applying mascara—anecdotally, trying to do it after has left me with gunky, stuck-together roots. And your lash curler should be clean too, without any old mascara on the plastic pads. (You can wipe it down with micellar water and a cotton pad if your curler is really dirty.) Plug in your blow dryer, and hit your curler with hot air for a few seconds. Then, test its temperature with your fingers. You want it to feel warm, like a plate right out of the dish washer, but not hot—let it cool down a bit, if necessary. When it's at the right temperature, work quickly: place the curler close to the lashline, hold down, and count to five. You can stop there, or continue making crimps down the length of your lashes for a more rounded shape. Then quickly coat with the mascara of your choice to seal the curl. That's it! Reheat and repeat for your other eye.

Curling your lashes this way shouldn't really be an everyday thing—heat still adds stress which can cause breakage. But for more dramatic volume that lasts all day, it's the best trick in the book.

—Ali Oshinsky

Photo via ITG