I got my first tattoo! (EYEBROW MICROBLADING)

Hello! My name is Charlene. If you knew me personally, you’d know that I am pretty adventurous when it comes to trying out new things. For this blog post, I got to experience another first – that is getting a tattoo! Readers, let me take you into the world of Microblading.

Eyebrow Microblading

What is Microblading?

Microblading is a form of semi-permanent makeup that uses a manual technique to recreate hyper realistic eyebrows. The symmetry of the eyebrows is taken into consideration, and done according to the natural facial shape and golden proportion. It involves implanting pigment under the skin, just above the dermis, using ultra fine or nano blades to give the appearance of real hair so that it looks as natural as possible.

Who is it for?

The technique is intended for anyone who wants to correct their eyebrows or simply wants fuller more natural brows without putting makeup.  So much so that you can’t even tell the difference between your natural hair and the recreated strokes.

Some reminders

⁃ No coffee, or alcohol on the day of the treatment. If you are a heavy drinker, do try to lie low for 3 days.

⁃ No Aspirin, Niacin, Vitamin E or any blood thinner 24 hours before treatment.

⁃ No taking of salmon oil or fish oil 1 week before treatment.

⁃ No intense sun exposure 3 days before treatment.

⁃ No waxing 2-3 days before treatment.

⁃ No chemical peels, dermabrasion, laser or any other intense treatments 2 weeks before treatment.

– Discuss any products you are applying prior to the procedure. And do not come when you have your period, or the procedure will be more painful than usual.

How is it done?

Basically, the Microblading procedure follows the following steps:

1. Consult with the artist – This is where you will get to talk with your artist of the following: your desired eyebrow shape, the color, thickness, and overall style. Prior to this, they will be giving you an oral pain reliever, so make sure to eat something beforehand so your stomach won’t be empty!

They use the Phi App to detect minor imperfections from the initial measurements

2. Measuring and Drawing – The artist, basing on your initial consultation, will start measuring your eyebrows using various specialized tools. She will then draw your would be eyebrows with pencil so you could have an idea of what it will look like after the procedure. Once you’ve agreed on the look, she will draw on markings with a semi-permanent skin marker.

3. Cleansing – This will be done by a Registered Nurse. The step is crucial because Microblading involves breaking in your skin for the pigment to seep in – so it’s important to sterilize the skin. Make up will be removed (I highly advise you go in without make-up to speed up the process!) and will be cleansed with cutasept – a type of alcohol spray. Don’t worry! They make sure none will go into your eyes as they use cotton pads!

4. Application of Topical Anesthesia – This step could be skipped, and most artists actually PREFER not to use anesthesia as the skin tends to get a bit slippery! BUT if you’re not comfortable, I definitely advise doing it with anesthesia. I have a very high pain tolerance, but I didn’t want to be bothered with the pain while the procedure was ongoing because I wanted to document everything for you guys! It’s an extra 20-30 minutes but come on, it’s two years plus worth of not worrying about your eyebrows! Waiting half an hour more is okay!

All sterilized tools and disposable needles! Always ask them to open it in front of you! You can never be too sure!

“The artist started with my left eyebrow, applied the pigment (colors she customized and mixed in front of me)”

NSFW! Some kind of bleeding going on! LOL!

5. Microblading – After wiping off the the anesthesia, the Microblading can now begin! I love how my artist, Joanne Yu, made several re-checks of her initial measurements. My OC self was secretly relieved that my artist was equally as OC as me! Now comes the million dollar question: DID IT HURT? I had anesthesia, so of course, it did NOT. I felt nothing, and the only mildly disturbing thing on the whole experience was the scratching sounds the needle pen made everytime it made a new stroke. Some advise to use earphones or music to distract you from the sound, but for me, it was tolerable. Other than that, the procedure was painless! If I wasn’t chatting with my artist, I honestly could even have fallen asleep! Each eyebrow took about 30-40 minutes each. The artist started with my left eyebrow, applied the pigment (colors she customized and mixed in front of me) and did the same with the other brow. There will be some bleeding, yes, but nothing really major!

How do I look?

6. The pigment would stay for another 30 minutes or so, then the big reveal! Aaaaah! I have to admit, I was REALLY scared because I didn’t know what to expect (because the pigment was super dark!) but I was super happy with the result once all the pigment was wiped off! An antibiotic ointment was placed on my brows (they will give you a small pot of it also!) and I was done!

My initial reaction was, “I CAN’T TELL MY REAL EYEBROWS FROM THE DRAWN ONES!”

How long is the procedure?

The procedure can take around 2 to 4 hours and would require a mandatory touch up after 4 to 8 weeks. What makes the process long is the preparation phase – where the artist carefully measures and pre-draws your would be brows, plus the application of topical anesthesia. The measurement is a crucial step because here symmetry is of utmost importance! Personally, it took at least an hour to an hour and a half, but I didn’t realize the time because I was so full of questions! Protip: Don’t be afraid to ask questions and make suggestions! Talk to your artist!

How long will it take to heal?

Pigment will be very dark during the first 5 to 7 days. Based on experience, the darkest for me was the second day! 7 days later, it loses up to 40% of its intensity. If pigment appears dark to you, just be patient and wait for 7 days as it naturally fades. Complete healing is done in 28 days which is why patients are asked to return by that time.

Is the touch up session necessary?

You have to come back four weeks later because the skin may push out a bit of the pigment, depending on the skin type. And in some places the hair strokes may not be as saturated, thereby needing more reinforcements. Minor imperfections and corrections can be perfected here as well. I got my touch up after two months. This will vary but they recommend going back after a month.

How long does it last?

For how long the pigment will retain mostly depends on the client’s skin. Expect the retention to be shorter if the skin is oily. Stress, sweating, sun exposure, hormones just to name a few, also affect pigment retention. On average, expected time until touch up of pigment is 10 to 12 months. If the skin is oily, it takes up to 6 months. I’ll be updating this post with photos of my eyebrows by then!

How much is the Microblading?

As our their way to having #browsatskinhouse more reachable to everyone, they are offering it at a promotional rate of P15,000 only. This includes a touch up and a guarantee that the treatment will be performed by an Internationally Certified Artist, Joanne Yu, with training in Beauty Recipe Singapore and under Phibrows Academy London.

Joanne Yu (Artist), Charissa, and I

Why does the artist matter?

Personally, when I was searching photos of microbladed brows samples online, I immediately saw a template – and I thought THAT was norm. Until I met my artist, Joanne Yu! She dedicates so much time and effort into following the direction of hair growth to make all her works as natural as possible! The strokes won’t look like strokes at all – they will look like real hair! Ergo – no two works of her are the same. You gotta love that, right?

Post-Care Facial Cleanser + Skin Candy (Eyebrow Cream)

Post treatment preparations are as follows:

⁃ No excessive sweating and exposure to heat like working out and steam baths.

⁃ No laser or peeling procedures and creams

⁃ No picking, peeling or scratching of the treated area in order to avoid scarring of the area or removal of the pigment.

⁃ No drinking alcohol in excess as it may lead to slow healing of wounds.

⁃ No exposure to dirt and smoke

⁃ No touching of the eyebrow area except for when rinsing and applying the post-care cream with a cotton swab.

⁃ Clean the area with cotton, water and skin house facial wash and apply the skin ointment.

⁃ Make sure to apply sunblock.  Exposure to sun may cause fading.

In summary, here are the PROS and CONS:

Pros

⁃ It will save you a loooooot of time in the morning.

⁃ It looks SUPER NATURAL. People even comment how it’s better than brows with regular makeup (well, of course it is!)

⁃ You can now legitimately say, “I woke up like this”

Cons

⁃ The day after is a DISASTER. Your brows will look SUPER dark! If you’re going to get this done, make sure you have it on done a day immediately before your day off.

⁃ It will eat up a lot of your time. Be sure to allot at least 4 HOURS to cover the preparation (measuring, drawing) and the procedure itself.

⁃ You won’t be able to wet your face for 24 hours. But then again, that’s not too bad? I went without make up so I’m sure I won’t have to clean my face as much the night after!

⁃ IT WILL ITCH. A lot. It took a lot of willpower for me to NOT scratch (I only failed once!)

Is it worth it?

TOTALLY! If you think about the cost of all the products you buy for your eyebrows vs. the convenience microblading will give you for two years (or more!) this can definitely be considered an investment! Personally, getting my brows microbladed gave me at least 5-10 minutes of extra sleep time because I was now rid of the part of my daily makeup routine! That’s a huge thing for a sleep deprived Nurse like me! Haha!

If you care A LOT about the appearance of your brows and have the budget for the procedure, then I highly recommend Microblading.

Thanks for dropping by! See you on my next blog! 🙂