Have you ever had your brows over plucked or wax and hated the end results? Instead of enjoying your freshly taped eyebrows and going about your day, you’re faced with trying to regrow them and hope for the best. At one point, you get frustrated and turn to getting them tattooed. Easy fix right? Well, you better think twice before having that ink placed on your pretty little face. Let’s step back several years before Mircoblading was the thing to do.
It’s 2006, and my mom, my sisters and I decided to get our brows permanently tattooed. No, I’m not talking about Mircoblading which is semi-permanent and fades away over time. I’m talking about a permanent tattoo that lasts forever and later you regret ever getting. I ask myself every day, what in the world were we thinking! Back then we didn’t know much about makeup or brows and wasn’t blessed with brows like Cara Delevingne.
Photo Credit: Glamour.com
Imagine being that girl with thin and barely-there eyebrows. You wake up 15 minutes early just to get them the way you want and then later, you would find yourself second-guessing whether you can rest your head on your man’s shoulder or chest. In the back of your mind, you’re telling yourself,” Stop! Don’t let them touch his white shirt”! Ugh! Yup, I was that girl.
If I had to choose between getting my brows permanently tattooed verse filling them in every day (knowing what I know today), filling them in would have been a smart move on my part. The eyebrow industry has changed so much over the last years, and I wish I did a little more research before diving in and getting them tattooed. So before you think of getting your brows inked, here are four things I wish I knew and did.
1. Research
The most significant regret I had was not doing enough research. Getting a permanent tattoo is a lifetime commitment, and it’s one costly divorce. The machine that is used deposits the ink deep into the skin and creates a solid shape, making your brows look unnatural. I also didn’t realize the risk of potential diseases such as Hepatitis C or HIV from unsterile equipment and needles. Another is scarring. I didn’t have any issues with that, but if you scar easily, there is a risk of keloid formation scarring.
2. Brow Shape/Appearance
Forget about having a natural look. I made the mistake of getting my eyebrows done at a traditional tattoo shop and had them done with someone who was not a brow expert. I even draw on my brows and had it tattooed to my liking. Big mistake! A real brow expert would have done it for me and would have measured them to fit my face. I pretty much left the tattoo parlor with thick unnatural-looking solid lines, and thought they looked great!
3. Maintenance
Over several years, my brows faded and the color went from black to gray. They were even thinner and hazy. I ended up reverting to using a brow pencil, and it took me much longer to get my makeup because I spent time fixing them. Oh! It gets even better! Several years before the world knew of mircoblading, we had our brows retouched again by the same tattoo shop, and the price went up! We didn’t learn out lesson the first time.
4. Removal Problems
Once you get a traditional tattoo done, it changes your skin, and it will never be the same. As I mentioned above the pigment is placed deep into the dermis, and it will take several visits to get it moved. You’re faced with a “Nasty Divorce” that will cost you and cause you pain during the process.
Brows before correction
Brows after I “fixed” them
Does getting a permanent eyebrow tattoo sound exciting? I hope you said “no.” Please see a brow specialist before committing and do your research.
Did you have a horror brow story? Tell me about it and let me know if you had it removed.
