Jan 10, 2018

This is a topic I’ve been relatively dead quiet about in my blog world.  But in the fall of 2017 I got my eyebrows microbladed! It was one of those things I had on my wishlist as soon as I had heard about the technique.

While I have always liked the shape of my brows, they seemed to be getting lighter and lighter the older I got.  All the while my hair got darker and darker.  Plus, like almost every other girl out there, I definitely over plucked them once or twice in my lifetime!  Thankfully they recovered fairly well and I relied more on darker eyebrow powder for color alone. Still with the better and better my skin got, I started dreaming of not feeling like I had to fill them in just to leave the house!

So once I found a local person I checked on everyday and realized this wasn’t a passing want, I made an appointment and now have beautiful, natural looking brows. No powder needed.

one. Microbladng is a semi permament tattoo.

For those of you are wondering what the heck microblading even is, it’s a semi permanent tattoo.

The certified technician will use a tiny (or micro if you will) blade to cut lines into the upper dermis of your skin so the ink can permeate. Unlike a permanent tattoo microblading doesn’t go as deep into the skin.  Thus, giving you a more natural and authentic hair line.

two. Microblading takes 6 to 8 weeks to heal.

Not just a one and done sort of thing.  Your first two weeks will be essential in the healing process, but for the entire tattoo to heal it can take up to 8 weeks total.  Make sure to keep the area clean, free of any kind of makeup and no exercising for the first 14 days.

three.  Leave the scabs alone.

Because the technician is cutting into your skin with the pigment your skin will scab before it heals.  It’s imperative to not pick or scratch at the scabs, as this can cause the pigment to not take.  Of course, picking can also leave scars!

This was my least favorite part of the ordeal because I’m pretty sure there is nothing less attractive than scabby brows.  (Even typing those words is icky.)  And quite frankly they got down right itchy sometimes. Luckily, this stage was only bad for a couple of days and unless people are super close to you tends to notice.

four. The magic really does happen at the follow-up appointment.

Your first appointment is sort of where you lay the ground work for the shape of your brows.  And once they are fully healed (somewhere between 6 to 8 weeks) you will go back in for a follow up.

At the follow-up this where the magic happens.  Your technician will be able to tell how your skin healed, adjust the strokes and you should speak up if there are any spots you would like to have a bit more added.

five. Find an artist’s work that you  a d o r e.

Guys, get picky.

Honestly I couldn’t find anyone in Bozeman that I was obsessed with so I was willing to make a two hour drive to a city to someone I loved! Luckily for me I had a technician open up right down the street from my work that I couldn’t stop obsessing over.  She tended towards the more natural side and she was willing to meet up with me beforehand just because I had so many questions and worries.

Let me put this frankly – this is a tattoo on your face, lovelies.  And most likely you are going to want it be a touch more au naturale than Mike Tyson’s face tat. SO BE PICKY.

six. Get ready for an emotional roller coaster.

New haircuts and new haircolors can have us questioning ourselves (and our looks) but changing your eyebrows gets you questioning  e v e r y t h i n g. (For those of you who don’t think eyebrows affect that much… let’s just remember these horrifying pictures.)

A quick cheat sheet for your emotions:

Day 1 – What the hell did I just do…
Day 2 – OMYGOD I LOVE THEM
Day 3 – Why the f*** did she make them so dark?
Day 4 to 5 – Ok, these are perfect and beautiful.
Day 6 to 8 – The Crusty brow stage. You will ask your loved one if they look weird.  They will say, “no.”  They are lying.
Day 9 to 10 – The eyebrow scabs are now flaking off non-uniformly.
Day 11 to 14–  You will be convinced that the ink didn’t take and Google “Microblade Fails.” You will regret that more than anything else.
Day 14+ – You will love your brows and end up trying to convince your friends that the roller coaster is worth it.

I do not promise that your friends will not block you on Snapchat after you share all your days with them… but I will promise you will love your brows!  Even through the roller coaster of emotions.

seven.  Know the difference between softap and microblading.

Sof tap is the most traditional type of tattoo! The licensed technician will use a needle (really it’s a group of teeny tiny needles in line with one another) and tap the ink directly into your skin.  The ink will penetrate much farther into the skin and give a more filled in look than microblading individual hairlines.  I did both because I prefer a more filled look than lots of space between individual hairlines.

And in my opinion compared to microblading, softap was much more painful! But I really wanted more oomph to my tails, so it was completely worth it.

eight. Keep them up!

While this is probably the lowest maintenance beauty addition, you will still need to keep them out of the sun and use at least 30 SPF on them.

nine. Your end result may vary.

Everyone’s skin is different so everyone’s result will vary!  Mature, young, oily, dry – it will all affect how long your ink lasts.  I was warned since I have oilier skin mine may not last as long or my tattooed hair lines could possibly not stay as sharp.  Luckily for me my lines are still sharp, though I’ll have to see how long they last.

If you are really worried about your skin, I would talk to a technician first.  They are the experts and can give you the most honest answers and advice!

I hope my microblading advice helps anyone thinking of trying the procedure.  For the local Bozeman girls I couldn’t suggest Nicole enough. She was so kind and attentive to me during my appointments. She even gave me her cell phone number that I definitely texted during the emotional roller coaster phase. (I am not joking about the roller coaster!)

If you have any questions or wondered about something I didn’t cover let me know below.