Eyebrow Makeover - Microblading and Microshading

Let's talk about microblading. It's one of the biggest beauty trends right now. In addition to microblading, there is now microshading. So what's the difference? Microblading is a technique that creates hair-like strokes. Microshading is a technique that creates a powder-like finish similar to the look of filling in your eyebrows with a pencil. Both are semi-permanent and generally last 1 to 2 years. Since these techniques are not permanent, you will need to get a touch-up periodically.

I've been thinking about getting my eyebrows microbladed for a couple of years, but I was a little scared. It is semi-permanent after all! Over the last couple of years I noticed that my eyebrows were getting thinner and thinner. I felt like I couldn't go anywhere without filling them in. Even though I didn't fill them in heavily, it still took forever. The worst was accidentally wiping part of an eyebrow off. Have you ever had that happen? With summer quickly approaching I knew that uneven and smudged eyebrows were going to become a huge problem, and I was tired of feeling self-conscious about it.

I researched for several weeks - I looked online, read reviews, followed social media accounts, and everything in between to find someone that I was comfortable with. I finally decided on Kaylen Vo Beauty, and I highly recommend her. It's worth traveling to Greensboro to see her. The moment I stepped into her beautiful salon, I knew I made the right choice. She doesn't just do microblading either. She offers other services like eyelash extensions and teeth whitening.

After meeting with Kaylen we decided on the Signature Combo Brows. It's a combination of microblading and microshading. Getting it done was virtually pain-free. Kaylen applied a topical numbing cream, and she continuously applied it throughout the procedure. I won't lie - there were some twinges of pain here and there, but overall, it really didn't hurt.

First let's start with the before pictures. I do want to point out that none of the pictures below are edited in any way. Other than the before picture where I show I how would typically fill in my eyebrows, I'm not wearing any makeup other than mascara. As you will see, I have very thin, light-colored eyebrows. Over the last couple of years I noticed that they've been getting thinner, and thinner. I never did too much as far as filling them in because it takes so much time. I just made them a little thicker and a little darker.

Kaylen warned me after she finished that they would look really dark, but not to panic. Even with that warning, I have to say, I panicked a little. They were so much thicker and way darker than I anticipated. But Kaylen assured me that they would lighten by 30% - 50%. She also told me to trust the healing process. I'm glad she gave me a heads-up of what to expect because they don't heal the way you would expect. They get darker, then they get flakey, then pieces peel off. Then they're lighter, then darken up some again. There were several times that I thought to myself, "what did I do?" But by the end of the 2 week healing process, my brows looked amazing. The picture at the beginning of this post is about 6 weeks out, and I love them!

Below is a daily picture journal of the healing process. You can see how dark they start off, then you'll notice around days 6 and 7 that some areas are lighter where they were peeling. Days 10 - 12 they looked much lighter than before. On days 13 and 14 they darkened again.

Most people generally need a touch-up about 4 to 6 weeks after the original microblading. Luckily my eyebrows seemed to have healed really well, so I may wait a few months before getting them touched up.

Overall, getting my eyebrows microbladed and microshaded was a great experience, and I am so glad I finally did it. I would definitely recommend it to friends and family. My biggest piece of advice is to do your research. This is on your face and is semi-permanent. You want to make sure you feel comfortable and trust the person who will be doing your microblading. I am so glad that I was able to find such a great artist in Greensboro, and I would highly recommend Kaylen Vo Beauty. 

I'd love to hear your thoughts on microblading in the comments below!