Thinking of a career in Microblading?
It’s my duty to stop you right there! I’ll explain why, make sure you read ‘til the end…..
Microblading is very much a buzz word and the treatment today still remains moderately sought after by unbeknownst consumers, however, the actual process of cutting hair strokes into the skin is finally being phased out.
But before I take you down the bloody path of microblade doom and gloom, I’d like to give three cheers to microblade feathering for bringing our entire cosmetic tattoo industry into the spotlight to begin with.
When I first entered this industry (in 2013), cosmetic tattooing was only procured by mature individuals who had lost their eyebrows, or wanted permanent lipstick, and big thick 90’s eyeliners.
Training and education was very limited, resources and forums were non-existant. To learn cosmetic tattooing we were given a set of instructions, some brow templates, and were pigeon-holed into buying incredibly expensive equipment.
Thankfully, in 2015, brows on fleek became a revolutionised art, an essential accessory for a perfected aesthetic. And, microblade feathering hit the talented hands of some industry brow queens, and social media influencers; Lana Tarek, Amy Jean, Kristen Fisher, and Sibina.
Next minute, everyone wanted microblading and everyone else wanted to become a microblader.
In a sense, I couldn’t be more grateful to microblading for bringing so much attention to cosmetic tattooing as a whole, but now we have a growing issue that so many ‘artists’ are unaware of how damaging the actual treatment is.
The epic yet hidden problem here, is that microbladed brows look stunning when first applied (and even more spectacular once pics are photoshopped and uploaded onto socials). But what the artist and client are not aware of at the time, is that the cuts made by said microblade enter too deeply into the dermis and instantly damage the skin cells and create a cascade for scar formation.
Since skin cells are fluid (rather than concrete), the deeply deposited ink soon blurs the strokes together and the brows now appear more ‘blocky’. When ink is deposited deeply into the dermis it becomes permanently stuck there and the warmth of ‘brown’ tattoo pigment cannot visibly be seen at such depth so it then appears grey, violet, or blue.
When this happens, the artist will usually try and fix their work by ‘colour correcting’ with a red-orange modifier to turn the grey colour back to brown, and this transformation looks great on instagram, however, more problems are yet to come later with congested over saturated ink.
Along with the exploding popularity of microblading, the industry quickly became saturated with trainers who are not even qualified cosmetic tattoo artist’s and they are teaching beginners how to microblade.
I won’t even begin to explain what is so very wrong with this new era of unqualified trainers and artists, but I will tell you that there is an incredibly high incidence of discoloured, scarred, and permanently disfigured eyebrows as a result of microblading.
I’ve provided a perfect example below. This client had her eyebrows microbladed by a well known social media sensation. Four years later they were still there, permanent, blue and blocky as ever. She required laser tattoo removal before we could even touch them. Once the colour was out we were able to create a fresh new set of beautiful, feathery, fluffy brows with machine applied techniques. No filters!
But I digress…..
Today, the cosmetic tattoo industry has evolutionised epically! With gentle methods applied by powerful, precise machines, needles, and pigments using advanced techniques, we are able to produce stunning ultrarealistic looking effects. From pixelated fades to textured dimensional hair strokes, we can create long lasting results that will not harm or discolour the skin.
If you want to become a brow boss, then learn machine applied methods that are suitable for all skin types and brow goals. Visit our website at www.futureaesthetica.com
Talina Johnson
Head Educator & Artist, Future Aestheticà | Director, My Rejuvenate
