Microblading – is it Right for You? – Finesse Permanent Makeup

Microblading - is it Right for You?

- April 1, 2017 by Ann-Marie Furness

The goal of this article is to give you some insight into how important each person’s individual skin type and sensitivity has to do with healed colour in the skin. By the end, you’ll know whether it’s the right choice for you or not.

First of all …
Yes it is beautiful, I love it.
But – it is not for everyone.

I have been doing permanent makeup for over 20 years in a well respected Plastic Surgeon’s clinic in Oakville, Ontario, with Dr. Stephen Brown and Dr. Roger Shortt.
Over the span of my career, I’ve done over 15,000 procedures.

What major factors contribute to a successful outcome with microblading?

Answer: I have found microblading works best on skin that has more melanin (depth of colour in your skin) – therefore the more sensitive, fair, vascular skin – the harder to hold colour.

So, let’s talk about microblading on fair skin vs. darker skin that has more melanin.

I have a very unique clientèle.

95% of my particular clientèle are blond, with blue or green eyes, with fair, sensitive skin. In my experience, I have found that microblading does not hold well in sensitive fair skin. One reason for this is because a light colour (tint) is usually preferred since it better suits fair skin. But on average microblading does not hold well on light sensitive skin using light colours.

If I were to choose a much darker colour it would hold longer with microblading, but the down side is – the healed colour would not suit their colouring. Once that has happened it is hard to reverse. Then the client would not be happy with the end results. However, if you have more melanin in your skin (like I do, as I have an Italian background) microblading would be my first choice for eyebrows.

So where does that leave 95% of my clientèle?

For those who have sensitive, fair skin, and blue or green eyes. I usually do a soft powder background – to define shape, and then on touch up add hair strokes (if skin can take it). This technique will never be a problem because on the sensitive skin types the pigment is placed ever so gently into the 2nd layer or s lightly deeper and heals softer – with no bleeding or scar tissue!

What is the Microblading Technique?

Microblading is a hand tool with a blade at the end with different needle configurations. It takes a very skilled technician to master the depth and accuracy of each blade stroke that goes into the skin. A good technician will make sure the hand piece is held properly exactly at the location they are blading so they are not SLICING. (Slicing causes migration of colour – which leads to a fatter healed hair stroke, something you do not want)

How do you recognize a good Microblader technician?

In my experience – about 98% of photos I have seen on microblading eyebrows are immediately after the procedure. A good way to check this – is if there is a white hue around the brow. That white hue is a sign of freezing. (therefore the photo was taken right away) At that time the brow looks amazing – truly beautiful.

What you want to see is HEALED COLOUR! Three Months After.

Is the colour soft and what you expected – or is it grey?
Are there gaps of missing hair strokes – is there scar tissue?

That is what healed colour is all about – getting what you expected, I do most of my procedures with a machine. I use a very short needle. It’s the thickness of a dime – and I never ever go deep into the skin.

My needles are the highest quality from Germany.

(I do not use knock offs) I DO NOT DRAW BLOOD because I just graze the skin. When you see blood, usually it means the technician is much deeper into the skin.
So think about it.
When a technician is drawing blood there’s a greater chance of scar tissue, and I have found over time that if pigment is placed too deep the colour turns grey. Why? Because the deeper the technician goes, the cooler the colour heals over time. Healed grey colour is just not pretty on 99.9% of people.

Rule of thumb: First Colour in the Skin WINS.

So if you wanted to add colour to correct a procedure – quite often you are pushing that original colour deeper. It does not enhance your outcome.
Like everything else – please do your homework. There are great microbladers out there (hand method) and there are great machine technicians out there.

Always look for HEALED ‘after pictures’ (3 months).
I have just found that the more fair-skinned you are – the microblading will not hold very long into the skin if a light colour is used. There will be a greater chance of scar tissue over time, because touch-ups are way more frequent and more blood is common – because of the depth of the needle that is applied.
Also I have found that once you have developed scar tissue – good luck – the colour does not hold the same (if at all) and scar tissue is not reversible!
So, in my opinion, if the technician is going deeper into the skin and drawing blood, there’s a greater chance of healing grey and developing scar tissue over time.

Keep this in Mind.
In Canada, as a client, you have very few rights, because even if there is a mistake, who is to say that it’s not art?

Guarantees. There are none. If you find a technician that promises you it will last 6 months – 2 years – 4 years – be sure to get it in writing. Question it. Then good luck. Please send that info to me and I will post the fact that they are offering that guarantee. Because skin is skin – there are NO GUARANTEES!!!

So again – be sure to do your homework. There are some great artists out there.
These are my thoughts from my personal experience.