Thursday, April 18, 2019

Blog Science: I Got My Brows Microbladed.

I got my brows microbladed...for science! Okay, not really. I got them microbladed because my brows had gotten thin and patchy and I was tired of filling them in every day. Could I just not? Sure, but without brows I look older and a bit washed out. Plus, it was a birthday gift to myself and I was dying to try the local artist who my (awesome) hairstylist recommended. Her brows looked amazing and I wanted in, man. 

If you aren't familiar with microblading, it's a semi-permanent tattooing procedure using a hand-held tool and pigment to lightly scratch hair strokes into your face. It sounds great, right? No? Ha. Screw it, let's do this. Here's where I started:


When I was young I had really nice, thick brows. Then the 90s happened and we all waxed our brows into oblivion. I blame Drew Barrymore. I grew them back in but in the last few years they've gotten patchy and thin. Just vanishing off my face. I was REAL TIRED of filling them in so I made an microblading appointment in January. 

Microblading is a two appointment process. During the first appointment she measured my face and spends quite a lot of time drawing in my new brows with a grease pencil.  Once I approved, the numbing cream went on: 


Then the microblading started. The tool makes a scratching noise which is weird as hell. The first pass didn't hurt. I could sort of feel it, but it didn't hurt. The next pass? It definitely hurt. Even with more numbing cream, I could feel it. It wasn't excruciating, but I was glad when it stopped. After she was finished she put a bunch more pigment on top and I sat around and let that do it's thing:


I texted this pic to Marianne with the caption, "So natural! I love them!" Finally, I was cleaned up and sent on my way with a strict list of care instructions - Do not get them wet for two weeks. Do not sweat for two weeks. Do not touch. Do not pick. Be good. Here's what I looked like right after my first appointment:


Pretty nice. They got darker and less crisp as they healed. Here's how they looked a few days later:


Over the next two weeks they flaked and scabbed and I will spare you those photos. It was a process. It's also an enormous pain in the ass to keep your eyebrows dry for two weeks but I did it. My next appointment was seven weeks later. By then, my brows looked like this:


They were okay but I was antsy to get this whole thing finished. The second appointment is a touch-up because the pigment doesn't always completely take or it fades or spots get missed. All of this is corrected in the second appointment. I was so ready for it because, while I was enjoying my new brows, I wanted MORE. I walked in all, "Remember how I said I didn't want them too bold? Ignore that. I want more." She laughed and said everyone says that. 

The second appointment was much shorter. She listened to my requests that my left brow be brought in a bit to match my right (which is my "good" brow) and she bumped it all up a little bit. This is how they looked a few days after the second appointment: 


I am super happy with them! They look really natural, which is exactly what I wanted. I am not really into super groomed, sharp brows. Here's a before and after for comparison: 


Quite a difference, right?  It was a process but now I get 12-18 months of just having nice brows. Sometimes I use some tinted brow gel but mostly they're good on their own. I am still digging my right brow (on the left in the pic) more but there's a small scar through my left brown that makes it a bit wonky. I swear I have never looked at my eyebrows this much in my entire life. 

Questions? Concerns? 


20 comments:

  1. They look fantastic. I'm seriously considering having them done. How in the heck did you keep them dry?

    ReplyDelete
  2. They do look so natural (the first Groucho pic is hilarious)! And wow, your hair looks so good close up. I didn't realize it had so much interesting color in it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It doesn't always! I let my stylist get creative with the color so it's different every time.

      Delete
  3. Funny to read this today, because yesterday I had my first session getting my eyeliner tattooed on. Same hand tap method. It felt.... unpleasant.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a very odd feeling. I'll bet it looks amazing, though.

      Delete
  4. They look amazing and so natural! I laughed out loud where I read that you blame Drew Barrymore for the thin, 90's brows. Her eyebrows were SO thin! I had eyebrows like that...I definitely tweezed them in to oblivion. Luckily, they (mostly) grew back, although they are definitely thinner/more patchy near the at the start of each eyebrow where they weren't symmetrical so I tweezed them until they matched. :/ They were so far apart that it made my nose look wider!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your brows look AMAZING. I like how natural, yet pulled together, they look. I'm a redhead and this is the first time that I've ever thought, "whoa, I need to get my brows microbladed."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! I definitely recommend if you can find someone good.

      Delete
  6. They look so good!!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. They really do look amazing. I'm really blonde and have sparse eyebrows so I'm just worried that no one could get the color right. I feel like it would be a game-changer though - I've had to draw them in since I was a teenager.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's really a game-changer. I can't tell you how nice it is to have "done" brows all the time.

      Delete
  8. Thank you for doing this for science! I want this so badly also. I also fell vistim to too skinny brows. I didnt know that they scabbed to heal. That is interesting to know. Does it feel like a cat scratch say?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep, there are different healing methods but the artist who did mine recommends the dry method - so nothing on them at all. The pain during is definitely more of a needle scratch (since that's what it is.) They were slightly tender the first day after but after that just a little itchy. And definitely scabby!

      Delete
  9. I'm wondering about the cost? Care to share?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was $500, broken up between the two appointments. I think that's pretty average?

      Delete
  10. I should add, they look amazing. Like make me wonder if this is something I should look into. I would hate to have a bad experience though! Maybe I would need to take a road trip, lol!

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.