What is the Microblading Process? Know The Pros and Cons

Curious about microblading? Well, you’re not alone! Microblading is still a relatively new concept, but one that gives amazing results! Microblading will save you time because you’ll no longer need a brow filler, one treatment will last you a while!

With microbladed brows, you can truthfully say that you actually woke up looking that glorious! Clear skin, drool-free face, and a full, sculpted and unsmudged set of brows.

The old mantra “beauty is pain” can really be felt when undergoing the process of microblading. It is like a tattoo after all. But let’s find out just how painful it is and how the process really works!

We’ll go through all the pros and cons so that you’ll get the full picture without any surprises;)

Semi-Permanent Eyebrow Treatment

Microblading is a type of cosmetic surgery for your eyebrows. It’s not invasive but it still comes with its own set of pains before you achieve full-looking eyebrows.

You’ll be lying on your back reminding yourself over and over that the pain is worth it until it’s over! If you’ve ever gotten a tattoo, the feeling is the same. It’s a rough journey that you must tread if you want to come out looking and feeling reborn.

Microblading is all about creating the best-shaped eyebrows for each individual face. No two individuals will have the same set of eyebrows for the minute details.

Microblading technicians spend a while drawing and stencilling the best eyebrows you can have in regard to your bone structure and physical angles. Sometimes, the drawing part takes longer than the actual microblading process.

Microblading vs Eyebrow Tattoos

Microblading, unlike tattooing, is not in the deep layer of skin, but more on the surface. It’s also not permanent, and the colour fades within 18 months up to 2 years depending on how well you follow the aftercare instructions.

Unlike tattoos, microblading has more aesthetic qualities, like faking hair strokes. A really great microblading technician can create far more natural and finer hair strokes than any tattoo artist.

This is because they undergo training that really entails all there is about eyebrows. The kind of strokes, the forms, and how those fit well together in unique face shapes.

What they both have in common is that each process uses a handheld needle/blade that is used to etch the ink on your skin. And believe it or not, microblade needles are far thinner than your average tattoo artist’s smallest ones.

There is, therefore, more of a scratching noise and feeling that goes with it instead of the grungy, buzzing and scraping sensation that comes with tattooing.

They both also entail meticulous aftercare steps if you want your skin to age beautifully. But unlike permanent tattoos, whilst the process is very similar, microblade eyebrows aren’t permanent. You’ll have to ride along with it until it fades and you can decide to have it again or not.

What’s nice about that is that can you can choose a different eyebrow shape every couple of years, which works well with the ever-changing eyebrow trend! It also means if the technician made a mistake you know you don’t need to live with it forever!

The Process

1. Your technician will brief you on all the steps. Before you even sit down on the chair, you’ll experience common clinical steps like being asked about any medical conditions, or allergies. Your technician will evaluate if it’s safe for you to undergo microblading.

When all of that is good, assuming you’re now snuggled and ready for the rollercoaster ride, your technician will start measuring your face and shaping your eyebrows on paper.

2. Then it’s time to clean up the brow area by threading the hairs and removing strays. Of course, they will also sanitise the area to prepare it for treatment.

3. Anaesthesia/numbing. Sometimes, you’ll get more than one application of anaesthesia depending on how well you can tolerate pain. Your technician will determine this during the first step. But normally this is the third step.

This takes 30 minutes up to an hour using a topical ointment. While this is working its numbing magic, the technician will ease you up a bit and interview you about what you’d like your ideal brows to be.

They’ll show you swatches, and samples, and advise you on which styles are possible and which ones will actually suit your unique features.

During this stage, it is important that you have chosen a good clinic and technician. You’ll also have to have trust in their aesthetic opinion, because, while this isn’t being said enough or out loud, sometimes you can’t always see or judge what brows will look great on you (even if you’ve been drawing them on for the past 10 years!).

They’ll likely fill in the holes and angles that you can’t see beyond your reflection in the mirror.

3. When the anaesthesia has fully numbed your eyebrows area, they’ll start working and use their tools to begin measuring the area around the brows, taking into account face shape, symmetry, facial features etc.

Then they’ll draw, and measure, over and over. During that process, of course, they’ll also show you what the sketch looks like and hopefully, you’ll be satisfied! Once it’s on, you won’t be able to alter them for the next year or so!

4. If you’re satisfied with the brows and they’re equally confident that “this is it! These are your eyebrows!”, they will begin the needling process. After thoroughly sanitising their tools, they will start gently implanting the pigment via featherweight strokes.

Each stroke is a superficial line in the skin where the colour pigment seeps in and settles. If there is any discomfort at this stage they can add another quick layer of numbing cream to the area which will become effective after 5 minutes.

This process goes on for 15 minutes to even 1 hour, depending on the uniqueness of the client; the face shape and the brows.

5. When the brows are done, they will add a final layer of pigment that stays, clean the area and voila- brows on fleek!

6. In 2-4 weeks, you’ll get a top-up session to fill in any gaps where the pigment hasn’t worked or healed properly. But this is optional for some individuals, some people have it lucky that the pigment stays perfectly on their skin in the first critical weeks. Some may need the top-up to really get the pigment going for as long as possible.

Note: The aftercare instruction may vary in steps, but normally, the clinic will give you an ointment and a list of things not to eat or do and information regarding habits concerning your eyebrow area at least until it is fully healed.

Pros and Cons

When it comes to the pros and cons, I don’t think you need to stretch the imagination too far to see the most obvious ones!

The most obvious pro is that you get beautiful, long-lasting, realistic-looking brows that won’t need touching for a couple of years and that no eyebrow filler can quite replicate.

And as for the cons, well, the obvious one is that it’s painful! Another con is that microblading is pretty pricey. While you can find good deals every so often, remember the most important thing is to find a good technician or that good deal will be wasted.

If microblading isn’t for you, check out our other blog posts on what you can do to get beautiful eyebrows!

Final Thoughts

I hope you’ve learned what the microblading process is all about, and I hope I’ve answered some of your questions. Microblading is truly awesome and the results are super realistic! The healed brows look natural and beautiful.

I really believe the brows frame the face, and if doing your makeup every day is a challenge for you, microblading is the solution you need!

Hollie xx

About Hollie

Hi, my name is Hollie, and I own BeautywithHollie.com. I love everything to do with beauty and love sharing my knowledge, advice and beauty finds! Makeup and beauty are here to enjoy, and Beauty With Hollie is here to take the stress out of it!