I Tried Microblading, And My Brows Have Never Looked Better
Think back to the first time you waxed your eyebrows, or the first time you filled them in with a pencil. It was life-changing, right? Those two random strips of hair above your eyes actually had the power to totally transform your face.
Of course, getting the brows to transform your face in a positive, Cara-Delevinge-kind-of-way is the hard part. Luckily, there's a new method to achieve full, perfectly-shaped eyebrows that last: microblading.
Microblading is a semi-permanent tattoo for your brows.
OK, yes, I recognize how terrifying that sounds. But it's totally not! There's no machine involved, just a tiny, hand-held blade.
The artist will draw hairlike strokes to create the illusion of fuller brows, and it'll look super natural.
The best candidates for microblading are those who struggle with sparser eyebrows.
Still, it's a good option for anyone who wants to change their shape, enhance fullness and burn their eyebrow pencil-kit and never look back.
My microblading session was done at Better Brows NYC, a place by Madison Square Park in New York run by Kendra Bray.
Kendra is one of those insanely gorgeous, warm, friendly people that you instantly trust with your life. Semi-permanently mark my face with ink? SURE! Do whatever you want, Kendra. You're probably right.
The great thing about Kendra was she explained everything she was doing, so I was never nervous or unsure of what was happening.
As I tried to pretend I wasn't having an anxiety attack about the idea of a blade full of ink permanently scarring my face, she calmly walked me through every step.
The whole procedure took about an hour and a half, although it's a little longer for people who need a little more done.
She spent the most time taking measurements of my brows, marking where we needed to fill and what needed to be done. Since I have thicker brows naturally, she suggested we work on making the brows even and fixing the arch.
She mixed the shade of ink for me right there, explaining no shade is impossible to achieve (and she only uses organic mixtures.) Numbing cream was then applied, which took about 30 minute to set in.
A that point, all that was left was lying back and pretending I would be totally cool with excruciating pain.
But actually, the procedure ended up being fairly painless.
I'd be lying if I said my eyes didn't well up with tears. There was some pain -- it felt like someone scraping your skin with a particularly sharp fingernail.
But it didn't last too long, and it wasn't too severe. Kendra made sure to keep up a gentle, distracting stream of conversation, seemingly engaged by even the most boring detail because she's a pro.
I loved what I saw when she was done. My brows looked fuller, more even and incredibly natural. They just looked like I had done an amazingly good job of filling them in (which, trust me, is impossible).
Kendra had told me she always liked "to perfect the natural," and examining my now-flawless brows, I could see that was exactly what she had done.
There is some minor after-care: I had to put Neosporin on my brows each night for the first three nights, and avoid getting the brows wet, so as not to wash away the pigment settling in.
In four weeks, I have to go back for a follow-up appointment to do any touch-ups and make sure they healed properly. But other than that, I now have insanely perfect brows for the next year and a half.
If you're interested in changing up your eyebrows or are dying to have a fuller, more natural brow, definitely look into microblading.
It's on the pricer side (costs range from $600 to $900), but it's totally worth it when you consider the time, effort and money spent on eyebrow pencils that, let's face it, weren't really the right shade anyway. Good luck!
