One of the newest and hottest trends, as evidenced through social media within the past 12 months is “Microblading”, and it has taken the beauty industry by storm. You can’t go on social media, within the beauty world, without reading about it, seeing someone that has gotten it done or discovering a professional who performs that service. When I started researching about it, 18 months ago, it seemed like the perfect new service to offer my clients as the trend hadn’t quite caught on in the Rochester area just yet. What a whirlwind it has become in such a short amount of time.
I WAS 15 YEARS INTO MY CAREER
and wanted to offer my clients a fresh new service that almost all of them could benefit from. I educated myself through reading and research and was anxious to get trained professionally. It is a cutting-edge procedure and I wanted in asap. It would be life changing for my clients and myself.
As the Rochester area had yet to offer any kind of professional training in blading, I traveled to NYC for 4 days of intense education. The course consisted of two days of theory and two days of hands on. The love and passion were immediate. The amount of information to absorb and retain seemed a bit overwhelming but I was eager and determined to get everything about it perfected. Once home, I committed to fine-tuning the muscle memory in my hands in order to perfect this service by practicing on “fake skin” and fruit before I started on actual clients. When word got out and photos started circulating of what was going on, it caught on like wildfire. Soon our clients and local beauty community were buzzing about it. Shortly after that, everyone and anyone was getting bladed or they were getting “trained” to offer it as their hot new service. It didn’t take long for the many misconceptions and questions to start to swirl around about this procedure.
Still being very new to it and learning so much with each and every client, I took it upon myself to perfect my craft but also to educate people, whether it be clients or other artists. Now with a little over 12 months in performing this service I’m still learning every single day. Just like with anything else it’s trial and error and self-education takes practice & patience with lots of time and investment.
What is Microblading? It is a form of permanent makeup that provides a means to partially or fully restore missing eyebrow hair to a near perfect looking natural state. The technician makes tiny incisions or scrapes in the upper layers of the skin with a hand tool, that mimics the look of hair. Once the scrapes are made, pigment is then manually implanted into the skin. Each microblading stroke is applied individually, allowing the technician the ability to control the shape, color and density of the completed eyebrow. Microblading should be performed using aseptic technique. Needles must always be sterile and single use. The technician must disinfect the area of the skin prior to the microblading service. Microblading, although considered “semi permanent” is still considered permanent makeup and lasts anywhere between 6-18 months if the procedure is done correctly and the proper aftercare is followed and maintained. The treatment is typically a 3 step application process. 1.The consult. Where your shape is discussed, information is given, the client is educated and a deposit is taken. 2.Initial visit. Which is your first stroke implantation visit. 3. The “touch up” visit which is 4 to 6 weeks after the initial to ensure micropigments are healing properly and responding well. If you should decide to never give your brows a yearly touch up, the pigmented strokes after exposure to elements or certain skin care regimen’s, will eventually fade to be almost non existent.
Microblading should NOT hurt. If the technician takes the appropriate time to allow the skin to become numb and remain numb throughout, there should be almost no pain involved in the procedure. The most time consuming portions of the procedure include the numbing and the eyebrow mapping. After the skin is sterilized with an alcohol wipe, with the client sitting upright, brows are measured and marked creating an outline of what the fished product will look like. After the brow mapping is done, the numbing cream is then applied and you should numb anywhere between 30 and 45 mins depending on skin thickness and brow hair density. Immediately post treatment the eyebrows will appear darker than expected, but will fade 50-70% during the healing process over the following 2 weeks.
Contraindications of microblading include: oily skin, diabetes, if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, if you have had Botox less than 6o days of your first procedure, if you are taking any blood thinning medications like Coumadin or Asprin, if you have any transmittable blood conditions like HIV or Hepatitis, if you are on or taken the skin medication Accutane in the 12 months before your initial visit, chemotherapy, high blood pressure, active skin cancer, or are a hemophiliac.
Microblading is not for everyone or every skin type. It is truly an art, a trained skill, and should not be taken lightly. This is your face. If you are considering getting this procedure done, I highly suggest you educate yourself and do your homework. Certified technicians are a must. Before and after photos of initial visits AND healed work are also a must. You surprisingly do not need to be an Esthetician to be a microblader, however, It’s important that whomever is working on your eyebrows, KNOWS eyebrows. Also, an insured technician is a thorough one. Bloodbourne Pathogen certification is not a NYS law but is highly recommended. A sanitized work area and disposable products are obviously of the utmost importance. Following all of these very important guidelines should be a high priority not only for you the client, but for whom you choose to perfect your brows with, the certified “Microblader”. A professional of this new, cutting edge trend taking over the beauty industry.
