What is Brik and Pearl?
Brik & Pearl: What Elleebana's Hybrid System Actually Does, and Whether You Need It
If you've seen Brik & Pearl pop up since it launched in the US on September 8, you've probably asked some version of this: what is it, and do I need it if I already have One Shot and Elleeplex Profusion? Short answer: Brik & Pearl is Elleebana's new three-step lash lift and brow lamination system, and it doesn't replace either one.
It's a hybrid. That one word is the whole story.
And if you read my Korean lash lift post, you're about to catch me in what looks like a contradiction. Stay with me.
What Brik & Pearl Actually Is
Three products, three jobs. Two of them will look familiar. The third is where it gets interesting.
- Bond Flex (Step 1) breaks the bonds. This is the hybrid part. Instead of one reducing agent, Bond Flex combines ammonium thioglycolate (ATG) with cysteamine HCl. ATG brings efficient reducing power. Cysteamine brings the flexibility and wider processing control you know from Profusion. The viscosity is controlled, so it stays where you put it across traditional, freestyle, glueless and approved Korean-inspired techniques.
- Bond Lock (Step 2) sets the shape. A hydrogen peroxide-based neutralizer that reforms the disulfide bonds and locks the lash or brow into its new position. Nothing exotic here. It just has to be reliable, and that's its job.
-
Lash Life Volume Filler does three things. It's a peptide-rich, hydration-focused treatment that shows up more than once in the service:
- Step 1.5: a quick on-and-off between Bond Flex and Bond Lock that helps clear leftover Step 1 product and rebalance pH before you set.
- Monofusion™: it's part of Elleebana's approved Monofusion techniques.
- Final step: a leave-on filler that conditions and softens the lashes or brows.
Step 1.5 is the part I'd pay attention to. Anything left from Step 1 is still a reducer sitting on the hair when you go in with your setting lotion. Clearing it first gives you a cleaner handoff between breaking the bonds and resetting them. That handoff is exactly where I want the most control.
Wait, Didn't You Say Thioglycolate and Korean Lifts Don't Mix?
I did. In my Korean lash lift post, I said fast-acting thioglycolate systems are a risk with the flat, extended processing the Korean method calls for. That's still true for One Shot. ATG is ammonium thioglycolate, so yes, it's the same chemical family.
The difference is that Brik & Pearl isn't a straight thioglycolate lotion. It pairs ATG with cysteamine in one controlled-viscosity formula, and Elleebana built it for approved Korean-inspired techniques from the start. One Shot was never designed for that job.
What hasn't changed: chemistry still decides the outcome. Use Elleebana's processing times chart and assess the hair throughout the service. Processing times are a guide, not a timer you walk away from.
Brik & Pearl vs. One Shot vs. Elleeplex Profusion
|
System |
Active chemistry |
Lashes |
Brows |
Korean technique |
Reach for it when |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Elleebana One Shot |
Thioglycolate, fast-acting |
Yes |
No |
Not my pick |
You want speed and consistency on traditional lifts |
|
Elleeplex Profusion |
Cysteamine HCl, no thioglycolate |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
You want the gentlest, most forgiving processing |
|
Brik & Pearl |
ATG + cysteamine HCl hybrid |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes, approved techniques |
You want one system across traditional, freestyle, glueless, Korean and brows, with conditioning built in |
None of these is the "best" one. They're different tools, and the hair in front of you decides which one you pick up.
Weighing whether to carry all three? I broke that down in Do I Need More Than One Lifting System?
Who Brik & Pearl Is For
- Artists running several techniques in one day: a traditional lift at 10, a Korean lift at noon, a brow lam at 2. One system covers all three.
- A wide range of hair: the hybrid chemistry is designed to give you control across fine, medium and resistant lashes.
- Brow lamination clients: Lash Life works on brows too, so conditioning is part of the service, not an afterthought.
- Not a shortcut for new artists: a new system doesn't replace the fundamentals. Get trained on it first. Elleebana launched the Brik & Pearl Lash & Brow Lab for exactly that reason.
- Not a must-have if Profusion is working: if your Korean lifts on Profusion are coming out beautifully, you don't need to switch. This is another option, not an upgrade you're behind on.
Bottom Line
Brik & Pearl is a hybrid system that gives you ATG's efficiency with cysteamine's control, plus a conditioning step built into the service. It earns its place if you work across lashes, brows and several lift techniques. It doesn't make One Shot or Profusion obsolete, and it doesn't excuse skipping the processing chart.
Pick the system for the hair in your chair, not the one that's newest on your shelf.
Not sure which system fits your clients? Ask Ellee, our product expert in the Polymorph Beauty app.
Shop the products mentioned
- Brik & Pearl Bond Flex: Step 1, the hybrid ATG and cysteamine lifting lotion
- Brik & Pearl Bond Lock: Step 2, the setting lotion
- Brik & Pearl Lash Life Volume Filler: the peptide-rich Step 1.5 and leave-on finish
- Online Brik & Pearl Lash & Brow Lab Course: get trained before your first client
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