All About My Eyebrow Microblading Experience

Velvet Bodysuit // Necklace // Lipstick (MAC Mehr)

Super excited to finally be sharing all the deets on my microbladed eyebrows! For those of you who haven’t heard of this procedure, it’s essentially a semi-permanent cosmetic tattoo that fills in brows, and is known for looking incredibly natural and realistic. I’ve talked a little bit about my experience on Instagram Stories, and have been getting a ton of questions from you guys about them since they made their debut two months ago— I apologize for the delay in writing this post, but the process is actually done in two steps, and I wanted to wait until I had gone through the entire start to finish before sharing!

It seems like there is a ton of interest in the subject, and I’m here to get down to the itty gritty details, and walk you through everything you need to know and expect. I want to first off say that I absolutely loooove them, and could not be happier with the job that Vivi (of Salon V in Lincoln Park, Chicago), did! It has significantly reduced the time it takes for me to do my make-up, and it makes me feel super confident rocking nothing but a little facial serum and moisturizer. I was definitely a little nervous going into the whole thing (I was worried it would hurt, that I wouldn’t be happy with the shape, that they wouldn’t look natural etc.), but it ended up being a great decision for me, and I could not recommend it any more highly!

I have always had thick and dark eyebrows (which I love!), but they definitely have always been more sisters and not twins, and there is naturally a little patchiness on the arches, as well as in the front ends by my nose. I typically fill in this patchiness, like my eyebrows to be on the bolder side, and like the shape of each to be symmetrical. Filling them in, and brushing them out so they’re in the perfect shape, is the longest (and most annoying) process of my makeup routine, and I’ve been doing it on a daily basis for… Well, a couple years at this point (I think my “on fleek” eyebrow obsession began in 2015.) I’ll go out in public without mascara, foundation, you name it, but my eyebrows are always going to get at least a little attention.

From what I had heard, microblading seemed like an awesome option for me; the brow pencil life was starting to feel a bit overly tedious and high maintenance, and I wanted to try out something a little bit more permanent. I had started researching eyebrow microblading when I connected with Vivi over Instagram— I was really impressed by her work and didn’t hesitate at all before scheduling my consultation!

Like I mentioned, I went to Salon V in Lincoln Park for my first appointment, where I got to ask all of my questions, talk about what kind of shape I wanted/the “look” I was going for, and get it drawn out over my brows, as well as decide on the shade of brown I wanted. I wanted to know:

• Will it hurt?
• How long will it last for? Is it totally permanent?
• Will it look natural? It’s not going to look like someone took a Sharpie across my brows, right?
• How many times will I need to come in?
• What is the healing process like? Are there any side effects?
• How much does it cost?

To answer all of the above, I’m just going to dive into the process and walk you through my experience 🙂

Like I mentioned, eyebrow microblading is a two-step process; after your first appointment, you’ll go back in about 8-12 weeks later for a touch-up (the color fades a bit in between sessions, and the second appointment allows the brow artist to correct anything you’re unhappy with/make sure you get the exact color and shape you want).

For my first appointment, Vivi started out by applying a numbing cream to my brows, covered them in some plastic saran wrap, and let the cream sit for about 15/20 min. Afterwards, she took a brown makeup pencil, and drew the outlines of my soon-to-be new eyebrow shape. The drawing looked a little exaggerated and crazy, but it’s just to get an idea of the actual shape; when it came time to start the actual microblading, she filled just inside the lines.

At this point, you should be as critical as possible with your artist; make some silly faces in the mirror, move your eyebrows around so you can  imagine exactly how it’ll look. If you want the tail ends to come out a little farther, or you want the arch to be a little softer, speak up!

Once I was happy with the shape, it was time to get to work. A special microblading pen with tiny, tiny little blades on the tip, is used to draw on individual strokes, one by one; your brow artist will dip the pen into a little pod of ink (the exact color you will have already decided on), and then make short, dragging motions over your brows. It is a very meticulous process, buuut this is why microblading looks so natural; you’re creating the appearance of actual, individual brow hairs, so it looks 3D and totally real!

I was definitely nervous to feel that first “stroke” and to see how badly it would hurt, but I was surprised to find that it was nooooot bad at all. And I’m somewhat of a baby when it comes to pain. I would say that it feels like a hard, scratching sensation, which is accompanied by a weird, scraping sound. Towards the end of my first two hour appointment, the numbing cream was starting to wear off, and each stoke would sting a tiny bit. Vivi said we could re-apply the cream whenever I wanted to, but it was easy enough to ignore, and I just wanted to get it done. So, even without the effects of the cream, it really isn’t that bad.

Vivi went over my brows about three times in that first appointment, and finished by coating them with this dark pigment; she let that sit for a few minutes just to really let the color sink in. After that is wiped away, she applied Aquaphor on top of them with a q-tip. And then I was ready to head out! They looked very, veeery dark after my first appointment, and the shape was soo bold and prominent. The good news is that the pigment doesn’t stay this dark, and for me, it started to fade even in the first week.

At this point in your eyebrow journey, you enter into a super fun and unique healing process, which will vary by person. For the first week, you can’t get them wet, and you need to apply Aquaphor to them twice a day. I made this work by using a tooon of Neutrogena makeup remover wipes, by only washing the bottom half of my face, and by just tilting my head back to wash my hair in the shower. I didn’t do any cardio workouts, but I did Pure Barre a few times and just had a towel on hand if I felt any beads of sweat forming. Definitely kind of annoying, but not the end of the world.

During this time, the color may start to look even darker than it originally did, and your brows can experience some scabbing and look and feel kinda gross. From what I’ve been told, they will start to look super fab after about two weeks. Personally, I didn’t see any scabbing or other weirdness— Guess I just lucked out! Mine looked amazing after a week and had faded a bit.

I booked my touch up appointment 8 weeks after the first; at this point, they had noticeably faded, and I could see a few areas and angles where I wanted them filled in more. Again, Vivi applied the numbing cream, drew out the shape, and this time only had to go over them once. This appointment was much shorter, a bit over an hour, but I will admit, for some reason it hurt more. It wasn’t anything unmanageable, and although unpleasant and a bit stingy, I made it through okay.

Currently, I am still going through the twice a day Aquaphor phase, but after that, my eyebrows will be good to go for the next two years; at that point I can come in for another touch up. The entire process can vary price-wise, but typically will run around $400-600. It’s definitely an investment; I would be wary of trying to find someone who will do your brows for less. You want to make sure you are getting the best possible, because… Well it’s your face, and it’s semi-permanent. You’ll want to do your research, and find an experienced brow artist with a portfolio you can look at and get a sense of their work. You should feel 100% comfortable, safe, and happy throughout the whole process, so if you get the sense that someone doesn’t know what they’re doing, or you think something seems a little sketchy, run the other way.

I hope this has been helpful to anyone who may be interested in eyebrow microblading! I absolutely am in love with my new brows, and the entire experience was so incredibly worth it. If you have any additional questions that I didn’t answer here, feel free to leave a comment below or shoot me an email at theblondeinpink@gmail.com