I Got A Tattoo! And It’s Not Where You Think!

Okay, so you figured it out. I got my eyebrows microbladed, which is a fancy term for tattooed on.

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The photo above was taken a day after I had the microblading procedure done. I was at my parent’s house in Cleveland on our way to Chicago. The difference was so subtle and I had no redness, so my family didn’t notice. But I was thrilled!

Why Microblading?

So like most ladies who lived through the 90’s and early 2000’s – we over-plucked.  Teeny tiny sperm eyebrows were in, and now we are paying the price. I’m lucky to have relatively robust eyebrows, but from years of plucking and waxing I still have a couple of patches that I need to fill in with a pencil every day. I thought that I would have to do this the rest of my life.

Here is a photo of my eyebrows with no pencil-ing right before my treatment with Emily of Beauty and the Blade. Emily did the procedure at Volta + Massage Lab in Georgetown in DC.

What is Microblading?

Emily was a great teacher and explained the whole process to me so I could break it down for you all. Microblading is a semi-permanent procedure that creates the illusion of fuller brows. The artist makes tiny cuts in your skin, then fills them in with pigment so that they look like real hairs. The results last for up to two years depending on your skin type. For instance, the  results fade faster on oily skin. More on that later in the post.

The Treatment

The whole treatment lasted about 2 hours. After we talked about what I was looking for in a brow shape, thickness, and color, Emily drew on an outline. You can see from the photos above! I asked for “fluffier” brows, because I like a bold yet natural look. But if you look up the hashtag #microblading you can see that all eyebrow shapes are possible.

She applied an anesthetic cream to numb my brows so I didn’t feel any pain. Once the numbing cream kicked in, Emily used a fine blade to make small cuts in my skin. I couldn’t feel anything except for a bit of pressure. Then she filled in the cuts with pigment to create realistic-looking hair strokes.

Before and After Photos!

Now the part you’ve been waiting for! The before and after photos say it all. On the top photos you can see that my eyebrows were more sparse. The microblading made them look much fuller and more defined. It is incredible how the micro bladed strokes look like real 3D hair!

Follow-Up and Maintenance

I had to baby my brows for about 10 days following the procedure. For the first few days I washed them multiple times a day with a gentle cleanser (I liked Cetaphil) and put an ointment on that Emily gave me. They felt al little itchy (kind of like a scab that is healing) but otherwise no pain!

Since microblading is semi-permanent and not fully permanent, you need to get annual touch-ups to maintain crisp strokes. If you change your mind and don’t like the way it looks, the pigments will naturally fade until the strokes are no longer visible.

Since I have oily skin, some of the pigment has faded. I loved the way my eyebrows looked when they were first done, so I have an appointment for a touch-up with Emily in February!

I am super happy with my microblading procedure and I think it is a fabulous service that you should try if you are genuinely frustrated with your brows. Check out Emily’s instagram and website for some more of her incredible before and after eyebrow transformation pics!

Any questions I neglected to answer? Shoot me a comment below! If your question is more private feel free to email me at glassofglam@gmail.com. I read all your comments and appreciate them so much!

–Roxanne

Currently Sipping: Spindrift raspberry lime