Premade vs Promade Lash Fans: Is There Actually a Difference?

If you've ever tried to work out the difference between premade and promade lash fans, you're not alone.

One of the most common explanations in the lash industry is:

Premade = machine-made

Promade = handmade

Simple, right?

Unfortunately, not quite.

Today, the terms premade and promade are used differently by different lash manufacturers and suppliers. Some brands use “promade” to describe fans with human involvement in their manufacture, while others use premade and promade almost interchangeably.

So the word on the box doesn't necessarily tell you exactly how that fan was made.

What Is a Premade Lash Fan?

A premade fan is simply a volume fan that has been made before the lash appointment.

Instead of creating each volume fan yourself during the treatment, you pick up a ready-made fan, dip the base into your adhesive and apply it to an isolated natural lash.

Premade fans can save considerable application time and give artists consistent fan widths and dimensions.

What Is a Promade Lash Fan?

Promade is another term used for volume fans that have already been made before they reach the lash artist.

Traditionally, “promade” has often been used to describe fans marketed as being handmade or professionally made rather than machine-made.

But this is where things become confusing.

There isn't one universal lash-industry definition that every manufacturer follows.

Some manufacturers describe promades as handmade. Others acknowledge that premade and promade are now used interchangeably, while some distinguish them based on base shape, fan width, bonding or manufacturing method.

Are Promade Lash Fans Handmade?

They can be.

But you cannot know that simply because the product is called a promade fan.

Some manufacturers genuinely use manual processes and skilled workers during fan production and describe the resulting product as handmade.

Others use the term “promade” differently.

And this is where the word handmade itself can cause confusion.

When a lash artist hears “handmade fan”, they may picture somebody creating an individual volume fan with tweezers in exactly the same way an artist does during a treatment.

At manufacturing scale, production processes can involve varying combinations of human work, tools, machinery, bonding processes and quality control.

So if the manufacturing method matters to you, ask the supplier how their fans are actually produced rather than relying on the word promade.

Does Promade Mean Someone at the Lash Brand Makes Every Fan by Hand?

Not necessarily.

A box can contain hundreds — sometimes close to a thousand — individual fans.

Those products are manufactured at scale before being supplied to the lash brand and eventually sold to the lash artist.

If a supplier describes its fans as handmade, that usually relates to how they are produced at manufacturing level, not somebody sitting in the supplier's stockroom making hundreds of individual fans for every box.

Again, the best question isn't:

“Are these called promades?”

It's:

“How are these particular fans manufactured?”

What Is a Handmade Volume Fan?

This is where we can make a much clearer distinction.

A traditional handmade volume fan is created by the lash artist during the appointment using individual volume lashes.

The artist controls the fan as they make it, including factors such as:

• Fan width
• Number of lashes
• Base
• Weight
• Styling

This requires additional skill and can take longer than using fans that have already been manufactured.

Ready-made fans remove that fan-making stage from the appointment.

Are Promade Fans Better Than Premade Fans?

Not simply because they're called promades.

A product being labelled “promade” doesn't automatically make it lighter, better quality or better for retention.

Likewise, the word “premade” doesn't automatically mean a fan has a bulky base or is lower quality.

Modern manufacturing has changed considerably, and ready-made fans can now be produced in many different styles, widths, bases and dimensions.

What matters is the quality and suitability of the actual fan you're using, not which of the two words appears in its name.

What Should I Look for When Choosing Ready-Made Lash Fans?

Rather than getting caught up in premade vs promade terminology, look at the actual product.

Consider:

Fan base
Is it neat and suitable for good attachment?

Fan consistency
Are the fans uniform and well formed?

Diameter and dimension
Is the finished fan an appropriate weight for the natural lash?

Curl
Does it suit the set you're creating?

Fan width
Do you want a narrow, standard or wider appearance?

Fibre quality
How do the lashes look, feel and behave during application?

Pickup
Can you remove and handle the fan easily without it twisting or losing its shape?

These things tell you much more about whether a product suits your work than the word “promade” or “premade”.

Do Premade and Promade Fans Give Different Retention?

The name alone doesn't determine retention.

Good retention depends on several factors, including:

• Correct attachment
• Suitable fan weight
• Adhesive amount
• Adhesive speed
• Temperature and humidity
• Natural lash preparation
• Application technique

Calling a fan “promade” doesn't automatically give it better retention.

Judge the actual fan and its base, not its marketing name.

Why Does Ladybug Lashes Call Ours Promades?

We use Promade because it's a recognised term lash artists use when searching for this style of ready-made volume fan.

But we don't believe the word itself makes a lash fan better.

When choosing professional lashes, we'd rather artists look at the quality, weight, base, consistency and suitability of the fan they're actually putting on their client's natural lashes.

Because ultimately:

A good lash fan is a good lash fan — whatever somebody decides to call it.

Premade vs Promade: The Simple Answer

So, what's the difference between premade and promade lash fans?

There isn't one universal answer.

Different manufacturers and lash brands use the terms differently.

Both describe volume fans that have been created before your client's appointment and arrive ready for application.

Some suppliers use “promade” specifically for manually produced fans.

Some distinguish the two by base, bonding method or appearance.

Others use the terms interchangeably.

That's why you shouldn't assume:

Promade = handmade = better

or

Premade = machine-made = lower quality.

If you want to know how a particular fan has been manufactured, ask the supplier.

And if you're choosing which fans to use in your treatments, judge the product on what actually matters: its quality, weight, base, consistency and how it performs in your hands.

Final Thoughts

The lash industry loves terminology, and sometimes that terminology creates more confusion than clarity.

Premade and promade are a perfect example.

Rather than choosing a fan because one word sounds more professional than another, understand what you're actually buying.

Ask how it's manufactured if that's important to you.

Check the fan itself.

Make sure its weight is suitable for the natural lash.

And choose the product that gives you the results you want.

The label doesn't make a great fan. The fan does.