I’ve gone back and forth for years now on microblading my eyebrows and whether I should just give in and go for it. The truth is, the two things holding me back was the healing process and instilling the trust in someone to not screw up my pretty much permanent eyebrows. Note: overtime microbladed eyebrows do fade due many factors such as sun exposure overtime and oil production. I was finally convinced to go through with it after getting to know Caren, a former MAC Cosmetics Pro Artist with nearly 20 years experience in the industry, and particularly specializing in eyebrow shaping for her clients.
Caren‘s experience in the industry for so long working with all sorts of faces, features and perfecting her craft with cosmetic trends as they’ve evolved has really given her the knowledge and first hand experience she needs to understand the art of the eyebrow. Caren also has taken all courses and certifications required for microblading, including her training at LashForever Canada and her Bloodborne Pathogens training with Work Site Safety. With all her experience considered, looking through her previous work and just overall getting to know her, Caren definitively was someone I could trust with my eyebrows.
Caren and I decided to partner together for this blog to go through the entire process of microblading and share it with my followers. We have to be completely candid and share that the healing process is not a walk in the park however if you are familiar with tattoo healing, it’s something that is manageable. We’ll be sharing my entire eyebrow microblading process in a three part series to really get into the details of what to expect.
Pre-Appointment
Just deciding to out of the blue walk in and get your eyebrows microbladed isn’t really an option as there are some things you need to avoid prior to your appointment. Caren advised not consume alcohol 24 hours before, no caffeine the day of or anything else that may thin your blood like Advil, and actually sent me friendly reminders via text the day before, and morning of which I thought was a nice touch; she actually saved me from forgetting and almost having a glass of wine with my dinner the night before! Caren also made sure to tell me to avoid sun exposure and waxing a few days before my appointment to ensure the skin around my eyebrows was not irritated and in an optimal state to be microbladed.
Caren recommended I wash your hair just before my microblading appointment as you need to avoid wetting your eyebrows the first day after getting them done. And of course when you go into your appointment, do not wear any eyebrow makeup and avoid heavy face makeup as much as possible; a little tinted/SPF moisturizer is fine as your technician will cleanse and disinfect the area prior to beginning.
Eyebrows day of appointment, before microblading session.
Appointment
I began my session with Caren by going through all the consent forms outlining the process, the pre-appointment requirements and aftercare. Once we got through the paperwork, we jumped into drawing out the template for what we wanted my brows to look like. Without me having to even say anything, Caren told me her goal was to get them looking perfect, but not fully symmetrical; she wanted them to be the same shape, but shaped to each side of my face so they looked put together but natural, like your eyebrows should. I had her draw what she though my brows should look like for my face, and other then some slight touches to my personal preference of how I like my eyebrows, she completely nailed them in one shot! We then applied a numbing cream, waited for it to kick in and about 40 minutes later I was laying down to start my session.
Caren used her brow ruler to building slight symmetry between each eyebrow, and then free-handed the overall shape for a natural look.
After pulling out her one-time use Tina Davies blade, Caren started with hair like strokes following the direction of my real hairs while following her template. The best way to describe the feeling, was cat like scratches on my face. The most sensitivity that I had was actually from her amazing Glamcor lighting system and my eyes. Once she got in some strokes all over my entire brow, she then applied a second numbing solution which only works on open cuts. Immediately my eyebrows were numbed and she continued with the hair strokes to build the initial shape of my brows. By this point, I felt absolutely nothing. Caren then went in with a second tool made for shading the eyebrows, to fill in areas to create more depth.
The microblading session itself took no longer than 30 minutes which I was actually very surprised with! Once my eyebrows heal after this first session, I’ll need a touch up session to fill in any areas needing it, and then yearly sessions to rework shape and fill in any faded areas. Your yearly sessions will cost significantly less than what you’ll initially pay and overall the money saved on eyebrow products and time, make the investment worth it.
My eyebrows shortly after finishing my first microblading session.
I want to stress that everyone is totally different when it comes to pain. I personally have been someone who does well with things like tattoos, piercings and overall pain. Caren was great at making sure I was as comfortable as I could be throughout the entire process!
Post-Appointment
Caren really takes what she does seriously and her attention to detail with her aftercare information shows. When you leave your session she provides you with an aftercare kit complete with instructions, a protecting balm and little tools to apply it. The biggest take away when it comes to healing is the first few days are crucial when it comes to keeping them dry and clean. Avoiding things like long (and hot) showers, pools, saunas, excessive sweating, makeup, face masks and anything else that could cause infections is a must for at least a week. It’s extremely important to follow the aftercare directions carefully for healthily and beautifully healed eyebrows.
Wash your brows twice a day, in the morning and at night, and apply a thin layer of aftercare balm to protect. Make sure you pat dry well before applying aftercare and be gentle while washing not to rub scabs off. Avoid using hot water. The first day I was to wash with a simple micellar water and after that I used a gentle mild cleanser, like you would with a tattoo.
These were my eyebrows at the end of Day 3.
Other than having some previously committed engagements I had to attend, I did everything I could do to follow the above to a tee. The first few days after my initial appointment my eyebrows were looking great, healing just as every chart showed. Around day 4-5 I started to notice my eyebrows were still a little red around the area, were extremely itchy and the scabbing (which is normal) just wasn’t looking right. I had obsessed over healing charts for nearly 2 years so I totally knew what was to be expected. My scabs had a bit of an unusual outer crust starting, which I knew immediately was not proper healing.
I want to immediately stress that I was in no way worried about Caren’s work. Her work environment and tools were completely clean and sterile, and having seen her previous work I knew her track record. I right away went to read some blogs and forums about people having the same issues as me. I found that those with more, and thicker brow hair (both of which I have) have problems with keeping oils, water and overall moisture away from their eyebrows while healing. They all recommended lightly blow drying eyebrows after each wash and shower, using an antibacterial and drying soap, and totally avoiding using skin care products other than a light amount of a basic moisturizer (none on your brows).
Here are my eyebrows (I believe) on Day 5. I was really starting to see the signs of what could have been a bad infection, but quickly switched up my aftercare to reverse within 24 hours.
Within just over 24 hours my brows were back to healing as scheduled. With those slight edits to my aftercare, due to my hair/skin type, having put me back on the path to healthy healing I was even more reassured that this one-off situation was out of both mine and Caren’s hands. I shared my experience with Caren and she immediately took note of what I went through, and what I did to change my aftercare routine and will be including this information in an updated version of her aftercare kit. The biggest thing for me was Caren’s concern, accountability and desire to change how she operates to avoid this happening to a client who might have a similar situation in the future.
My brows are at a point currently, just over 2 weeks in, where slight scabs and flaking are at its final stages, I am starting to see the fine hair strokes and my brows are overall a better shaped and fuller. Caren however has recommended that we wait out the full 3 months to do my touch-up to ensure proper healing for the best looking eyebrows possible.
Stay tuned for my part two of my microblading process with Caren, where I’ll reveal my healed eyebrows before my touch up, and post-touch up!
* Caren provided me with my microblading session, touch-up and an additional yearly touch-up complimentary in exchange sharing my experience with my friends and followers. My review and feedback on her services, and my overall experience with microblading are 100% honest and my own as you can always expect from me. To learn more about my sponsored content, please visit my about me page.
