Microblading, also known as ‘feathering’ is still the most popular type of eyebrow tattoo in Australia. When you search for eyebrow tattoo images, chances are you’ll find more photos of microblading than anything else. Which leads people to think there is no other option. For such a sought after procedure, there is a surprisingly little amount of information on it. Like exactly how it is done, what it looks like healed and how long it lasts. The real answers to these questions may surprise you…
What Microblading Really Is
It is a smart marketing ploy to call microblading ‘feathering’. The word feathering brings to mind soft and gentle things, whereas microblading is anything but! The microblading procedure is done with a hand tool comprised of a row of needles, which is used to literally slice the skin. Resembling a scalpel, the microblade makes cuts into the eyebrow area in order to create lines. Pigment is put into these lines in order to simulate hairs. While this can look amazing when it is first done, the healed result is often a different story…
Microblading Can Create Skin Trauma
The above is an example of microblading done by an experienced technician. This client came to me wanting the bad result to be covered with the Soft Powder technique. This is obviously an extreme case of microblading going wrong and there are good examples of healed results out there. I'm sure this particular technician does great work too. But sadly the poor results occur far too frequently. Due to microblading being a manual method, it is far too easy for the technician to make cuts too deeply and inconsistently in the skin. Which leads to the immune system reacting strongly to the procedure. Your body reacts to the pigment as a foreign substance and tries to get rid of as much of it as possible. And the more trauma the cuts have created in the skin, the more the body will attempt to repair the area by quickly laying down scar tissue. So microblading clients can be left with little to no results and scars on their brows.
See 'Microblading Corrections' if you need microblading corrective work.
Microblading Doesn't Last
When microblading goes well, it still actually doesn’t last very long. Proper technique involves making the cuts VERY superficially in the skin. This creates less trauma and better results. However due to skin cell turnover, these results don’t last longer than around 6 months before they begin to fade. This means you need to have microblading done every 6 - 9 months in order to maintain your results. Which has not only an impact on your skin but also on your wallet.
The Safer Eyebrow Tattoo That Lasts Longer
For longer lasting results that create far less trauma in the skin, the Soft Powder or Ombre techniques are the best option. Using a cosmetic tattoo machine, a single needle places dots of pigment throughout the brow. The skin heals far better around dots of pigment, as the overall integrity of the skin is better preserved. A tattoo machine can also place pigment at a consistent and deeper level in the skin which means it will last longer. Powder and Ombre techniques last at least a year before beginning to fade. And fading happens more evenly than it does with microblading, due to more consistent placement of pigment. So even when these tattoos fade, they still look good!
Want to find out more about the Soft Powder brow tattoo or do you need microblading correction?
Book in here for a free consultation with Elise Louise, the Soft Powder brow tattoo specialist.
Elise Louise is the client certified 'brow wizard'. Seriously, she has the certificate her client made her to prove it.
Find her in her Melbourne salon, specialising in the Soft Powder Brow Tattoo, the Keratin Lash Lift and expert brow services.
Check out more of her blog here.
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