Hello hello, Ok I’m on day 5 of my microblading journey which means any moment now they will become not so scarily dark. When I booked my appointment I forgot about Mother’s Day which meant I was sat in a restaurant conservatory on day 4 (so much natural lighting) with what can only be described as sharpie eyebrows frantically reassuring anyone who came within brow judging distance that they would be getting lighter any day now. I thought I’d blog about my Microblading journey as it really is a rollercoaster of emotions. If you thought pregnancy and birth was an eye-opening experience, wait until you are watching your brows take on a life of their own and you embark on a daily ritual of loving and hating your brows in equal measure. Each day I wake up praying my eyebrows are still on my face and not on my pillow and it’s a genuine surprise looking in the mirror. Will they be lighter? Have they scabbed? Is that bit missing? Will it ever come back? Have I paid for this head fuck?
The healing process lasts for 3 weeks and then you get three blissful weeks of #browgoals before having your six week top up and going through it all over again. Isn’t being a woman fun?
Day One
I practically skip into the salon excited to transform my non-existent brows. I have one goal. Stephanie Pratts eyebrows on my face. I am armed with so many brow pics, my camera roll is 90% brows. I’ve been so pre-occupied with being a mum that I have forgotten completely to be scared of how much this is going to hurt and I regret not bringing cake as a little reward for afterwards. Top tip. Get brows microbladed shortly after giving birth. It will feel like a walk in the park. I picked the colour and voila! The numbing cream is on and I’m vaguely aware of searing pain that my therapist tells me is her tidying up my brows with the tweezers. Yep we haven’t even started and I’m regretting not having a pre-appointment prosecco to take the edge off. Then the fun really starts. Your new brows will be mapped onto your face with a pencil and then once you are happy with the shape (I went for a soft arch) they are basically tattooed on to your skin. For someone who is scared of tinting her brows, this was a huge step and I was genuinely scared to look at the finished results. First impressions? Ultra-realistic.
I bloody love them. My main concern is scaring my baby and everyone else who works at the nursery as I dropped her off with no brows to speak off and picked her up with the boldest brows known to man. Here’s a little before and after.
Insane right?
I go to bed laying on my back and get zero sleep as I’m terrified that I might wake up on my side and find that my eyebrow has peeled off onto my pillow.
Day Two
I leap out of bed to look at my eyebrows and on first impressions they are DARK. I’ve been expecting this though as the pigment is 50% darker after application and this will fade after 5 days. I resist the urge to fire off 85 nervous messages to my beauty therapist. The pigment has caused a yellow outline which I attempt to remove with a cotton bud and a mild cleanser while being careful not to wet the actual hair strokes. I send one panicky text about the yellowness. For the price of these new brows, I’m surprised and a little disappointed that they don’t come with a counsellor or at least access to a 24-hour brow helpline. I remember I’m meeting the girls from my NCT group and fire a quick heads up via group message that my eyebrows look insane but that I’m 100% aware. I ignore the comment from my postman that they look painted on and reread the aftercare advice and proceed with a positive outlook that they will look lighter tomorrow. I chant REMAIN CALM to myself often throughout the day.
Day Three
They are not one iota lighter. BUT. I am getting over the initial shock and looking in the mirror doesn’t give me a mild heart attack like it did on day one and two. Today I’m just doing errands and there really isn’t much to report progress wise. I do adore the shape. The aftercare advice says not to get them wet for 5 days but with mother’s day looming I book in for a blow-dry (any excuse) so I can have nice hair without washing off my brows. Cue a very nervous backwash experience spent mostly shrieking DON’T SPLASH MY EYEBROWS. On repeat. Sidenote: nothing will make you question your life choices more than spending 40 minutes staring at your new eyebrows in a mirror bigger than my house.
Day Four
Again, nothing earth shattering to report apart from a slight tightness/dryness AKA living in perpetual fear that I might forget and itch them. Also, the excitement that a slight colour change might be about to occur and that the real colour that they will end up could shortly be revealed. Final thought of the day? Quite frankly shitting my pants about the scabbing that I’ve heard is a thing around day five. Have a glass of wine to take the edge off.
Day Five
They are lighter but they have a grey tinge. GREY. It’s ok though. *panics* Today is the day that I’m supposed to apply coconut balm to my brows to assist with the healing process.
Day Six
ITCHY AF. Also slightly lighter and a tad scabby. *applies coconut oil*
Day Seven
I’ve woken up with a virus so if I’m honest I couldn’t care less if my eyebrows have slipped entirely from my face. Serious scabbing has occurred and resisting to pick off the scabs is hard. Also, parts of eyebrows have disappeared (this is because when the scabs fall off, new skin conceals the ink strokes) but I’ve been promised they will make a comeback.
Day Eight
Scabby
Day Nine
Scabby
Day Ten
Scabbier
Day Eleven
Scabbiest yet
Day Twelve
Most of the scabs are coming away on their own at this point and they are way lighter compared with day one. Looking forward to day 14 when I predict my eyebrows will magically appear. Nervous. But hopeful.
Day Thirteen
One word. Patchy.
Day Fourteen
Scabby and patchy. In fact, they look a lot like my pre-microbladed brows. Was it all a dream?
Day Fifteen – Day Twenty One
All the scabs have fallen off and my eyebrows are starting to make a comeback. They are 50% lighter than when I first had them done but the biggest difference is the shape and they are no longer patchy at the front. I’m not expecting much change from now until my top up in 3 weeks time.
So, all in all, I love my new brows and while the healing process is not the quickest, it’s 100% worth it. The key is to find a specialist that you trust. Clear your diary for the first few days after the treatment and make sure you wash your hair on the day of treatment as you won’t be able to get those brows wet for 5-7 days. Voila! 12 months of minimum maintenance brows! Prices vary. I paid £325 for mine and I went to a therapist that I’ve used for years and the only person I trust with my brows. Check out their work here.
Sidenote: This is not a sponsored post, I paid full price for this treatment, I simply wanted to blog about the microblading process in case it brings any comfort to anyone on those tense first few days when your eyebrow future is so uncertain.
Have you thought about having your brows microbladed?
