If you were a female growing up in the 90’s like me, then chances are that you may have over-plucked your eyebrows so badly that it just stopped growing back. Think Pamela Anderson and Kate Moss. Enter the 2000’s and the eyebrow pencil became a staple in makeup bags everywhere. Long, thin, high arched brows were all the rage.
Until…Kim Kardashian broke the internet when she debuted a thick, faded brow in the 2010’s. Celebrities, beauty bloggers, and makeup artists embraced the trend, and just like that the thin eyebrow was out, which was bad news for my terribly sparse, patchy eyebrows.
My eyebrows were in such bad condition that I even drew on my eyebrows for when I was asleep. I’ve been with Steve for over six years and he has yet to see my brows naked.
Lucky for me, sometime around 2015, a new semi-permanent cosmetic tattooing technique blew up in the United States. According to Glamour magazine, “microblading is a technique using a super-fine pen (technically, a bundle of 12 to 15 needles) to deposit pigment into skin. The tip is so fine, in fact, that it can create hair strokes that look legit. And the needles reach only into the superficial layers of the skin, which is what makes the method semi-permanent (versus permanent, like traditional cosmetic tattoos).”
I finally decided this past spring to take the plunge when a girl that had done my lashes in the past reached out with a microblading special that I couldn’t pass up. Microblading typically costs between $350-$800+. I had been stalking her Instagram account for a couple of months, and she did amazing work.
I had to reschedule my original appointment because it fell at that time of the month. Since hormones can be a little crazy at that time, I worried that I might feel more pain, so I waited a week.
I went into the appointment with my eyebrows drawn on with pencil so that she could see the shape and color that I was used to. I included a photo of my eyebrows with and without it drawn in. Please don’t laugh at my sparse eyebrows. They were over-tweezed for many years!
The first thing that she did was apply a sticky ruler to the area just above my brows and draw on the shape. She then used an app on her phone (which I thought was super cool) to double-check the symmetry. Once we both agreed on the shape, she applied lidocaine to my brows for numbing. The lidocaine took approximately 30 minutes to kick in, so make sure you bring your phone or have something to do while you wait.
She tested a couple of areas to make sure that the numbing had worked. It did, so we began. Two different sensations come from the tool that is used; one is a slight tapping feeling, and the other is a scraping. This may or may not bother you so just in case, I would bring ear pods so you can’t hear it. There were definitely uncomfortable parts, but I wouldn’t say that it was painful. Halfway through, she applied more lidocaine to ensure that I stayed numb the whole time.
After she made the little cuts in my skin, she applied the color, let it sit and then wiped off the excess. When I finally saw my brows, they were a lot darker than I was used to, but she assured me that they would fade.
I was given an ointment to apply to my brows daily. The care instructions said that I should try to avoid getting them wet for 7 days, which was probably the hardest part. I was told that it would take up to 14 days to heal, but my brows looked a little funky for about 3.5 weeks. They went through stages of being super dark, then peely (is that a word?), then patchy and then finally it faded into a beautiful taupe color.
Some parts were lighter than others which I was warned about and told that it would be evened out at my touch up appointment.
My touch up appointment was a few months later, and the process was the same. However, I noticed this time it was slightly painful and much more uncomfortable. She said that this could be due to cutting into existing cuts. Yeaouch!
I loved the way that my brows looked at the end of this appointment! They weren’t as dark as the first time, and the shape was perfect!
Pros of microblading:
It’s not permanent, so if the trend changes again, I’m set
I don’t have to worry about waking up with “naked” brows
I don’t have to draw in my brows anymore.
Saves me money in the long run
Cons of microblading:
Touch-ups are required every 2-3 years
If you’re thinking about taking the plunge, I say DO IT! You will not regret it! And if you’re in Arizona, check out my girl Krystal (@kdartistry1 on Instagram)
If you have any questions, leave me a comment below or email me at hello@xomerilee.com
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