Each week I receive a dozen or more calls inquiring about a fascinating new trend called “microblading.” The calls always fall into one of two distinct categories:

1. The excited caller who just saw photos online of microblading and wants to know if we do it and when we can get her on the books.
2. The disappointed caller who went to someone she found online who is unhappy with the shape or the color of her new “microbladed” brows and wants me to fix them ASAP.

Women with thinning eyebrows are being lured into getting this service because of enticing buzz words like: 3D eyebrows! Brow Sculpting! Microbladed brows! Brow embroidery! Hairstroke technique! Feathering! It all sounds amazing and most of the photos online look so good, but here’s the truth about microblading and what you need to know before getting something like this done to your face:

• The tool used is a glorified X-Acto knife, which facilitates slicing into the skin to resemble hairs. Once the skin has been cut, ink is rubbed into the wounds and left to “set.” The ink is then removed and you are sent out the door in the hopes that some of it survives the healing process.
• With a fair amount of training and practice, some techs can get those slices to look pretty hair-like. BUT… almost all of the photos you see online are taken immediately after the lines were sliced into the skin, and the reason for that is because THE FINAL OUTCOME (HEALED SKIN) RARELY LOOKS LIKE THIS! These photos are used to lure more people into doing the procedure. How do I know the photos are not of actual healed work you ask? I’ve been doing Permanent Makeup since 2004. When I’m done with my clients, their skin is slightly red from being worked on and there is a slender white halo that encircles the areas I’ve tattooed (normal blanching of the skin that occurs from the anesthesia). If you look closely at the photos online (like the one here), you’ll almost always notice red skin and/or that little white halo.
• The ink fades very quickly, and when you first get it done, multiple return trips (touch-ups) are required for two reasons. First of all, because the “field” is only about a year old, nearly all of the techs have just started doing this and follow-up visits are required for their own practice purposes. Secondly, because it’s just a flick of color in the skin, the odds are high that you won’t keep much of the color. And each time you return for more flicks, the ink migrates together more…. creating a more solid brow… eliminating any semblance of the hairstrokes you were sold on in the first place!
• But here’s the scariest fact: in the state of California, there is very little regulation over the tattoo industry. Anyone can do this! And because of the current marketing hysteria, the misleading photos online and the high prices being demanded, TONS of people from all walks of life are trying to capitalize on this as a quick way to make extra cash. And what happens when you put this blade into the wrong hands?
  1. Clients can end-up with very grey or blue-looking brows. A very dark color of ink is needed to simulate hair (the base of all black is blue), and since the technicians have little-to-no color theory training, errors in ink selection are eminent!
  2. You are put at significant sanitary risk because they most likely haven’t been blood-borne pathogen trained: tattooing is one of the leading causes of the spread of infectious disease (HIV, hepatitis, syphilis and more)!
  3. Skin tissue can be very easily over-sliced in the hands of someone whose only training was a YouTube video. They don’t know when enough is enough and can overwork an area, possibly macerating the tissue and causing scaring and other dermal issues.
  4. The shape and the artistry of the brow is a crap-shoot! It’s highly probable that your tech has no experience whatsoever in the insane-level of skill required to get your eyebrows as perfect as possible (patience, tons of practice and a bucket full of specialty tools are mandatory)! If it were my face, I would demand that a brow wizard handle the project.

I believe that my Custom-Designed Brow procedure is infinitely superior to microblading for many reasons, including my years of experience, my expert equipment and anesthesia, and the variety of techniques I use to create incredibly natural-looking brows that last! If you’d like to learn more about me or my procedures, I invite you to connect with me at 949-466-0080 (text welcome). If you’re ready to book a procedure or a consultation, feel free to find a time on my StyleSeat Calendar. If you’d enjoy reading more about this topic, check out another blog I wrote recently about Eyebrow Hair Stroke Simulation.

Kimberly Armstrong is an Award-Winning Permanent Makeup Artist; SeneGence Distributor (long-lasting cosmetics and revolutionary anti-aging products); Glamour Makeup Artist (individual and group application/instruction); Beauty Secrets Speaker (group classes, seminars and women’s events); and owner of Beauty Hideaway, a makeup clinic in Southern California devoted to beautification. For more information, call or text 949-466-0080.