HOW DOES EYEBROW MICROBLADING WORK?

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Microblading your eyebrows can feel like a huge decision. It's one thing to apply brow pencil each day, knowing you can wash it away at night, but something else entirely to open your skin, deposit color, and let that skin heal over. This is especially daunting if you're totally tattoo-less, like me. In this post I'm going to talk about my decision to microblade my brows, from doing my research to getting it done. You'll even get to join me for the procedure itself! (read more)

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MICROBLADING EYEBROWS YOUTUBE

As with most of my blog posts, I try to make a video, just in case you're not interested in reading. You can watch my microblading eyebrows video here, but I do recommend at least scrolling through the post as I've included pre-procedure pictures here that I wasn't able to easily include in the video.

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WHAT DOES EYEBROW MICROBLADING MEAN?

Basically, when you microblade your eyebrows, the technician makes small cuts on your brow line (or even outside your existing brow line, as was my case) to enhance your current brow situation. 

If you're like me you might have plucked your brows like crazy in high school, leaving the shape and thickness forever altered. Maybe you think your brows are too thin, maybe they're too far apart, or maybe they don't travel down your face as far as you'd like. 

The reasons for microblading your brows are endless, but whatever that reason, microblading can help you out, as long as your goal is to have thicker, more defined brows.

For me it was simply a decision based on wanting to look more put together. I didn't love using brow pencil each day, I didn't feel like I was particularly good at it, and I wanted to feel less self conscious about my thin, patchy, barely there brows. 

Here's a before shot.

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Even in that picture my eyebrows are darker than they normally appear. I had just applied a coat of Latisse (which I use to make my lashes thicker) so they were wet.

I started using Latisse on my brows years ago in an attempt to get them to grow, and it sort of worked. Some of my brow hairs were long, so long that they actually curled, and I'd have to trim them down.

Unfortunately it didn't really stimulate new growth.

After a few years of penciling my brows in, I started thinking about having them microbladed professionally. Most of the ladies at my nail salon had their brows done, so I knew what it was about, but still, the thought of permanent ink, or rather semi-permanent ink, was really freaky.

Let's talk about the process.

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HOW DOES EYEBROW MICROBLADING WORK?

What is eyebrow microblading? Simply put, it's the process of using a small blade to make tiny cuts in your skin, depositing color beneath the skin that the skin then heals over, leaving the pigment intact and visible. 

What does eyebrow microblading feel like? Is eyebrow microblading painful? I'm sure this will vary from place to place, depending on how well they numb you, but if you go to a good place (do your research), there is no pain. On a scale of 1-10, most of my process was a 1 or 2. I say 2 only because there is a noise to the procedure. Kind of a velcro scraping sound that can set your teeth on edge if that sort of thing bothers you. 

If going to the dentist and hearing them clean your teeth bothers you, you might have the same reaction to microblading.

Is eyebrow microblading permanent? Does eyebrow microblading fade? No, and then yes. Microblading is not permanent, but it is semi-permanent. My technician told me that it can last up to three years, with fading happening enough to really notice around 18 months. She also told me that if I go back at the one year mark to have it redone, it costs me less because they don't have to do the same amount of initial mapping and measuring. (I'll talk more about that later)

Does microblading eyebrows look natural? Not at first, no. I plan to take a video each day (or close to each day) up to day 30 of my healing process so you can see the progression. At first it doesn't look natural at all, but as your skin heals it begins to look very natural. I'm currently on day 13 of my healing process and there is no way you can tell my brows have been microbladed.

Is eyebrow microblading good? Is eyebrow microblading dangerous? Is eyebrow microblading safe? As with any procedure that involves breaking the skin, there are risks. You definitely need to do your research. Ask a friend who has great brows, see who they used. If you're like me and you're the first in your group to get your brows done, head over to Yelp. Once you find someone in your area you are thinking of using, check them out on Facebook. Text or call and ask them to send you before and after pictures (if there aren't any on their FB page or site). 

If it's a good place, they will be happy to share their results with you, and chances are they'll have a load of before and after pictures on their FB page from happy clients. 

I know for sure that I'll be talking about my procedure on Facebook, and I'll be tagging Flawless Skin Lounge when I do. 

The important thing here is to do your research. Don't rush into it. Make sure you've picked the best person for the job, and be prepared for the cost, after care, and any downtime from makeup you might need to adhere to.

I'm going to tell you about my specific procedure, from start to finish, but if you have any questions once you're done reading, please feel free to ask.

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HOW IS EYEBROW MICROBLADING DONE?
MY EXPERIENCE

The first thing I did when I decided for sure to have my eyebrows microbladed, was hit the internet. I didn't have any friends who'd had it done, so I spent a lot of time on Yelp. Once I found someone on Yelp, I would go over to Facebook and try to find them there. 

Once I found them on Facebook, I would scroll through their before and after pictures, making sure the eyebrows I was seeing were eyebrows I could picture on my own face. 

What I mean by that is only that I had a certain look in mind. Not too big or bold, nothing overdone. There are plenty of ladies who want big, bold, and overdone, because it's not overdone for them at all. So if the place you're looking at doesn't seem to have any brows on display that make you think of what you want, it might be time to look elsewhere. 

Also, give them a call, talk to them about what you're looking for. Make sure you have a good rapport with the person on the phone. Are you going to feel comfortable calling back and asking questions? Does it feel like they're understanding what you're looking for? If not, don't book there. 

One of the many places I checked out ended up like that. The brows she displayed were nice, but a bit bold for my taste, so I called to speak with her. English wasn't her first language, and it's my only language, so right off the bat I had a hard time communicating. I knew for certain that I didn't want to have anyone tattooing my brows if I couldn't tell them precisely what I wanted, while being absolutely confident they were understanding. 

This is your face, take it seriously.

Let's talk cost.

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WHAT DOES EYEBROW MICROBLADING COST?

Obviously your mileage may vary here since there are a billion different factors. 

I don't know where you live, so I can't really give you a general estimate. What I can do is tell you the price differences among the places I called.

On the low end, the cost was $200, but I was never able to clarify if the procedure involved a touchup. 

On the high end, the cost was over $500, with a touchup included. 

I went with Flawless, and they were $350 with a touchup at one month that was an additional $100. 

So, as an estimate I would say that around $500 wouldn't be out of the ballpark. You can pay less, you can pay more, but I feel like that's an average.

Be sure to ask if a touch up is included in the price you're given. If there is no touch up (even if it costs a bit more), and you just have to pay for a new appointment, you probably want to try another place.

The touch up is very important since the technician can only make a certain number of cuts during the initial procedure. If she tries to make cuts on top of cuts, the pigment is going to bleed and blossom, making things look muddy instead of sharp.

I like sharp.

​What can you expect at the procedure? Get ready for all of my fabulous pictures!

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WHAT HAPPENS AT A MICROBLADING CONSULTATION?

I cannot say specifically what will happen at your microblading consultation, mainly because I didn't have one. I called Flawless, spoke to the office manager, then set up an appointment. 

She did ask me to come in early as there is some paperwork to fill out, and she needed to numb me. I was happy to oblige because if there's one thing I would hate more than wonky brows, it's wonky brows that I suffered to achieve.

Suffering is a no go.

I would assume that a microblading consultation would focus on you spending a little time with your technician, talking about the shape and effect you're going for, etc. You might choose a color (which my technician achieved by putting paint on my head), a shape, talk about what to expect during the procedure, etc. 

You might be asked to pay for the consultation, and I don't think that's out of line. When the technician is spending time with you, she's not spending time with paying customers. So it might be that you're asked to pay a consultation fee, which then will be applied to your procedure. 

This wasn't how it worked at Flawless, but I didn't ask for a consultation since I was ready to go.

Once you're totally sure you're going through with the procedure, you can expect to show up, fill out paperwork, get numb, sit a bit while the numbing takes effect, then head in to get mapped. 

Here are a few pictures.

First, the office manager applied a numbing cream while I filled out paperwork.

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Then she stuck some plastic strips on my brows to keep the cream in place. She did also tell me that some people feel like it's dripping, even though it's normally not, so she gave me a tissue just in case I felt like I needed to dab the phantom drips. I appreciated that.

​I felt very sexy, but there was so much more sexy to come.

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It was time to choose a color for my eyebrows. My technician (her name was Shea, and she was also an owner) was very thorough, trying out lots of colors so I could pick the best shade. 

I ended up asking her to pick, simply because I figured she'd have a better idea of what the end result would look like.

She did also wipe all of the makeup off the top of my face, so you could do yourself a favor and go in makeup free, if you wanted to. Here's another color added to the choosing.

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Now we get to start the mapping process. This really took the longest amount of time, and I'm glad for it. Shea (my technician and also one of the owners) told me she is pretty OCD about this. I cannot think of a better thing to be OCD about!  

Yes, it took awhile, but I'd have gladly sat through double or triple the amount of time. I want my brows to look great, and your technician should take as much care as possible to give you that end result.

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Shea was so nice about it all, letting me take as many pictures as I wanted. I did tell her I wrote a blog, but still, it was an obnoxious amount of picture taking, but she had no problem with it.

Here you see the outlines she drew for my perfect brows! I can hardly remember them looking this way, so I'm glad I took pictures. It really is very difficult to remember that the brows I have now were not the ones I had two weeks ago.

See how she moved them in toward my nose? This made me really happy. The more I plucked in high school, the further from my bridge they got.

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Here I am getting ready to lay down and have it done. I was so nervous that it would hurt!

Shea waxed and trimmed my brows before hand (you can see the bit of redness from that), just so she could have a clean slate to start with. She did also warn me that many women who have been numbed up will feel like the eyebrow wax is crazy hot. 

It's not, don't worry, it's just normal temperature. The combination of hot wax and numb skin can make you feel things that aren't really happening. It was the oddest sensation ever.

Now it was time to lay down and get microbladed!

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HOW LONG DOES MICROBLADING TAKE TO DO?

I would block out around two hours for the procedure, but the actual microblading only took about 45 minutes. The rest was spent numbing, mapping, and making sure everything was perfect before any pigment was deposited. 

If you bleed a lot (I did), the technician will take tiny breaks to press your brow to control the bleeding. The less you bleed, the better, so stay away from anything that will thin your blood before hand (Aspirin, Ibuprofen, alcohol). 

Yes, alcohol. Don't go out drinking for a few nights (or a week) before you have this done. Yes, it might cramp your after work social life, but you'll be happier in the long run. Just don't risk it, it's not worth that glass of wine. 

I actually had mine done two days after New Years. I'm not a big drinker to begin with, but I would normally have had a glass of champagne on NYE. Instead, I went to bed. No regrets.

I'll talk more about healing time in another post, since I'm making videos each day to show you the progress, but the big thing to take away is that you need to follow your technicians instructions exactly. Don't half way do it, don't mess with their time line. Follow their procedure and things will be great. 

Not following their instructions could result in unhappy brows. 

You do not want unhappy brows.

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MICROBLAD BEFORE AND AFTER PICTURES

Here are my microblade before and after pictures. Note that the after is immediately after I had them done (just an hour or two). They do need a touch up and already look so different after 13 days. I'll update more, most likely in the post I make about the microblade healing process. I'll post a link here when that post is ready.

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HEALING - THE FIRST TWO WEEKS

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TOUCH UP

The picture below is the morning of the touch up (after my first treatment) and then post touch up.

Here's the video talking briefly about the touch up itself.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

Does eyebrow microblading work? Absolutely, 100% yes. Mine look fabulous and completely natural. I'm a lifetime microblading convert.

Is eyebrow microblading worth it? For me, absolutely. There was no way for me to achieve the look I wanted with an eyebrow pencil. Yes, I could fill in what I had already, but I could not add new brow with any sort of definition. It's the difference between having defined hair follicles and coloring in the whole area with a marker. 

I'll be going back every year so I can save myself a little money on the mapping, and I plan on this being one of those I just keep up with, like haircuts, botox, and pedicures. 

I hope this post has helped you out, but if you have any additional questions, feel free to ask. I am always happy to answer, if I'm able.

​Ty

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