Am I a good candidate for micro blading?
When clients contact me generally, a lot of them ask for microblading. Sometimes without really knowing what it is, what the technique involves or what the difference is between microblading or the machine method.
Sometimes clients don't realise that microblading is still pigment implanted into the epidermal layer of the skin, the same way the machine method of cosmetic tattooing would be applied. This will eventually fade away and break down over time and fade away, providing the need for yearly colour boost appointments.
So what is microblading?
A microblade is a pen that incorporates a blade that holds up to 12-14 very fine needles usually in a row, that is used to place very fine hair like strokes into the skin, the hairstrokes are fine, realistic and natural.
So am I a good candidate for microblading?
A lot of clients come to me thinking that they had to have suffered hair loss or need to remove their eyebrows in order to be in good candidate for microblading, this is not the case at all. Microblading is great for filling out sparse brows, adding fullness and definition where it's needed in a really natural and lovely way.
Where it isn't always suitable is for clients with very oily skin or skin with large pores, sometimes in this case the hairstrokes can blur a little and I find that machine shading often suits a lot better. With this skin type, microblading tends to fade out a lot quicker and ombré shading using a machine tends to hold for a lot longer.
With normal or dry skin types microblading, typically holds a little longer without needing such regular top ups and the hair strokes tend to hold crisper without blurring as much.
Very mature skin types or thin skin isn't always suitable for microblading and needs to be assessed carefully, even with the most gentle of pressures, the pigment can enter too deeply into the skin, so this technique isn't always suitable. Again, a soft shading technique can be more suited to this skin type and heals beautifully.
Client case study:
This typically happens very often but I will call this Client A,
Client A presents with brows that they typically draw on with brow pencil every day and like a make up look and a very defined brow but still soft and natural. They like to get their brows tinted and like how they after a few days once they have settled a bit. They would like to look done and have shape to their face but still look natural and look like them.
They come in and ask for microblading as this is what they have heard of and have read about a lot.
Once I outline the differences in the two treatments, explain that microblading is very natural hairstrokes, has more of tendency to fade out quicker, not always suitable for oily skins etc, doesn't always provide the definition that they may be looking for (especially if they are looking for a defined make up look)
They tend to opt for the more defined shaded look of the ombré brow which offers depth but still very natural once healed.
Client case study:
Client B presents with brows that have been over plucked years ago and have not since grown back. They are very faint and they would like something to add a bit more back in but in a very very natural way.
Whatever they have done, they don't want it to look at all obvious to others but they want to add some natural definition to their face and add some natural brows back. They have normal/dry skin type.
This client would be an ideal candidate for microblading, if they then decided they wanted to add some more definition later on with some ombré shading later on down the line, this would also be an option.
Client skin assessment and knowledge is key here, currently I'm carrying out consultations over email and phone so I'm gathering as much information as I can via that.
The rest of the assessment will then be done at the initial treatment stage before going further with the appropriate treatment.