Tuesday, October 10, 2017

My microblading experience

It's been almost 3 months since I got my eyebrows microbladed so I thought now is a good time to share my experience.

History: I got my eyebrows tattooed roughly 10 years ago (the old technique). They were completely faded prior to the treatment (as seen below). I had to fill in my brows every single day. It can be a daunting task. I knew I wanted to give microbladding a try but couldn't find someone that I am comfortable enough near where I live. A few months prior to my trip to FL, I did some research and finally settled on South Florida Microblading by Trish. You can see her amazing work here. Our trip was jam packed with activities and the only time I can get my brows done was at 7:00 p.m on Sunday 07.16. We texted back and forth and she was very accommodating. I got to her place around 7:00 p.m and 2.5 hours later, I walked out with my new brows.
Before

What is microblading? Microblading is a form of semi-permanent makeup. A tiny blade is used to create hair-like feather strokes to mimic hairs.
How much did it cost? Microblading can run anywhere between $400 - $800 (for both the initial procedure and touch-up) depending on where you go. Trish charges $550. However since I knew I won't be able to go back to her for the touch up appointment, she only charged me $380 for the first appointment. I eventually found someone locally to do the touch-up and her price is $400 for both appointments.
Pre-care instructions:
- Do not pick/tweeze/wax one week before the procedure
- Do not tan or have any type of facial peel 2 weeks prior
- Do not have Botox 3 weeks prior
- To avoid bleeding, do not take Aspirin or Ibuprofen before the procedure (this thins the blood)
Does it hurt? No it doesn't but it stings really bad. I did not have any numbing cream (more info below). It feels like a paper cut but 100 times worse.
How long does it take? My initial appointment lasted 2.5 hours from start to finish. Trish took the first hour working on the drawing. The actual microblading procedure took about an hour as well.
The initial appointment: I had a few pictures on my phone but honestly, I just let her do her thing. After seeing her amazing work, I trust she knows what she's doing. The pigment: I believe we went with Phibrows "brown 2" mixed with one drop of Phibrows "brown 3". Trish is a certified Phibrows artist. Phibrows is probably one of the world's leading experts in the field of permanent makeup and microblading. They have training classes all over the world. I felt very confident that I made the right choice. She spent the 1st hour taking before pictures, drawing, perfecting every little detail and making sure we were happy 100% happy with the shape. Before starting the actual microblading process, she told me she prefers not to use numbing cream if I can tolerate the pain for the first 30 minutes. The reason is that numbing cream numbs your skin and it's harder to create natural-looking strokes. I agreed to go through with the process without numbing cream. After the first pass, she put a topical numbing cream on my brows and it helped tremendously.

Aftercare: After the procedure, she gave me some ointment along with aftercare instructions. The most difficult part of the healing process was avoid getting my brows wet for 10 days. I was sweating like a pig the next day at Disney (July is no joke in Florida). I brought a small towel with me to dap my brows throughout the day. Other than that, I did follow the instructions, applied ointment religiously and did not get my brows get for 10 days straight. After 5 days, the scabs started to peel off. This is when some of the "hair strokes" disappeared (see below)
MicrobladingExperience_SydneysFashionDiary

Touch-up appointment: After 5 weeks, luckily, 80% of the pigment has retained but I did have some patchy spots. I called a couple of places and ultimately, booked my touch up appointment with Kelly @ Enduring Enhancements. She used the same pigments to fill those patches. My touch up appointment took roughly 30 minutes and she only charged me $50. I filmed a short clip to show you a closer look at my brows after 5 weeks.


Is microblading worth it? It really depends on your expectations and what you're trying to accomplish. For me, I basically had no brows prior to the procedure and spent 10 minutes every single day doing my brows. Now, I don't have to do anything with them on a regular basis. However, when I go out and wear more make up, I use this powder to touch them up. Regardless, they take me less than 2 minutes. If you expect those fine, crisp hair strokes to stay then you're in for a disappointment. They will fade and blend together over time. Depends on your skin type, the average length that brows last ranges from 12 to 18 months. Microblading delivered what I was looking for and am happy with the results. I hope you find this post helpful. If you have any questions regarding microblading in general, feel free to leave them below. If I have enough questions, Kelly said she will do a Q&A post.

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