Eyebrow Microblading

Today I am continuing my series of “frequently asked questions.” My personal FAQ section is right here in this blog so I’m dedicating today’s blog to another one of the questions people ask me most frequently, “should I microblade my eyebrows?” If you missed the first in this series, “should I get laser hair removal?” go check that out now. I am not going to make you read through this whole post before finding out who I went to for my amazing brows. Her name is Purdie Baumann @purdiebrows and she is the absolute GOAT. Not only is she the best at her craft, she’s also an ex-Rockette. As in, Radio City. How cool is that??

I know you have a million questions, and I’m constantly recommending her, so let’s get down to the obvious question first:

“Should I get my eyebrows microbladed?”

Answer: Yes. Moving on. I’m kidding, of course I will tell you more. I have a long-standing hatred of my eyebrows. When I was VERY young, like 11 years old, I told my mom that I hated my eyebrows more than anything else on my body. I remember her saying that was dumb, because you could easily wax and shape them, and for the next 3.5 years I had an eyebrow sponsor: my mom. My mom had electrolysis as a teenager, so she understood the concept of unwanted hair and she was happy to pay this small amount to help me like my face more. Once I made my own babysitting money, I started paying for my own eyebrow waxes. There was a terrible moment around age 15 when I didn’t want to pay for the biweekly appointments and I had a genius idea to use the self-waxing strips from Walgreens instead. (Narrator: it was not genius). Long story short, I put one of them at the wrong angle and took off the tail end of one of my eyebrows. Ok, truth be told it was far more than the tail end. I was completely missing an eyebrow. My friends called me Mr. Clean. I had to wear eyebrow pencil for 2 months. As you may remember from previous blogs, I sweat a lot, so living in South Florida, the liner would start to drip. Mortifying. Before you ask, no, I do not have any throwback photos of this time. Thank God it was before smart phones and digital cameras. Fast forward to my 20’s in New York. Thank God waxing is extremely cheap. I always say there are 4 cheap things you can get in New York City: manicures, hotdogs, dollar slices, and eyebrow waxing/threading. This brings me to my next eyebrow discovery in approximately 2012: threading. I LOVED threading. I didn’t care as much anymore about the amount of eyebrow hair I had, but the shape. I really wanted a natural arch, but I didn’t have one. Threading could give me a more natural look, and it was less painful than waxing. Also, it was CHEAP! Like $7. The main problem with threading was that it was all about taking hair away to create a shape. Unfortunately, they were not able to add hair to make it look how I wanted. As I mentioned before, I didn’t have an arch and I wanted one! So I started to think about microblading. A few years later I finally took the plunge and I am SO happy I did!

“Does microblading hurt?”

No. Well, it didn’t hurt for me, but that’s because Purdie put a numbing gel on. If anything, it felt like little scratches on my face. The main uncomfortable part was a few days later when it was scabbed and kind of itchy, but I knew I was not supposed to scratch it. I was given a super moisturizing gel, kind of like Vaseline, to put on twice a day. This minimized the itching, and contrary to the warning I received from a friend who had it done somewhere else, it did not make my face look like a glazed donut! I should warn you, my same friend said it hurt a LOT when she got hers done. Maybe her person didn’t use a numbing cream. Make sure you ask about this in a consultation and read reviews!

“Will it look fake?”

This is a great question and the best answer I have is: it depends. Not if you go to Purdie! There are a few different kinds of microblading. Some are more of a shading (like if you were to fill in/color in your eyebrows), and personally I find those to look fake. It’s more of a solid tattoo. There is also the single brush stroke method, which is what I did, and I think it looks extremely natural. I actually get compliments on my brows all the time and people think they are natural! Be very careful to go to an artist whose work you like. The best way to know what your eyebrows will look like, is to look at previous work. This leads me to the next most popular question…

“How do I find the right person?”

Instagram. I know that sounds crazy but as with any type of art (tattoos, hair color, painting, sculpture), you want to see the work before you commit to buying. This is especially true when the “art” you are buying is going to live on your face forever! I highly recommend looking at a person’s portfolio before booking an appointment. The easiest way to see this is on Instagram. Look at hundreds of before and afters. Find people with similar skin coloring and brow shape to you to see what the end result can be. Once you have the person you trust to do amazing work, the rest is easy because you can defer to their opinion. For example, when I went in, Purdie showed me a range of colors and asked what I wanted. I thought I wanted a very dark brown. She said she thought a medium and ash light color would look more natural. I told her that from the photos I saw, I trust her expertise and sure enough, she was right. The color does fade over time, so in my touch-up, we went a bit darker. I am so thrilled with how they came out and I know if I had gone with my original color choice, they would have been too dark for my coloring and would have looked fake, or like I was wearing makeup all the time. I love how my brows now almost look like I’m wearing natural brow makeup, but don’t look like I am wearing brow makeup and nothing else, if I have a fresh face.

“How much does it cost?”

Again, this depends. Every artist will create their own pricing structure, and it depends both on availability, demand, and market. New York is far more expensive than most places, but you can also find the best people! Personally, I paid $600 for a first appointment, and $200 for the touchup. I also tipped (of course). This was more than a year ago, so she may have adjusted her pricing. I know in New York, artists generally begin at $800-$1000. I went to Purdie’s studio in Jersey City, NJ and it was slightly cheaper, and honestly I would have gone to a much further state to get her skill level! #worthit Warning. There are Groupons out there. I mentioned raving about a Groupon for laser hair removal, for this, I’d warn against it. You want someone to take their time, you want them to be so good that they have a waiting list. If you are going to use a Groupon, PLEASE make sure you know someone personally who has had their brows done by that artist/salon! Remember this is permanent and on your face! Not the time to use a discount code.

“Don’t you have to get touch-ups all the time?”

This is a tough question for me to answer because it’s only been one year since I had my first appointment! Usually, you have an initial appointment and then a touch-up 2 months later. I had my first appointment in early October 2021, and my touch-up in early December 2021. I can tell that the ink has faded a bit when I look closely at my face, but you wouldn’t notice unless you looked with a magnifying mirror, or very very close-up. I prefer how they look now, extremely natural, although I may want a touch-up at some point in the future. I could not be happier with my decision! One note of warning, be careful not to get “trendy” eyebrows. Remember they will be there forever! If you love the SUPER bushy look of eyebrows right now, get normal ones microbladed and just fill them in with pencil temporarily. You’ll thank me in 2 years when the trends change again!