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While microblading has only been a service offered in the United States for less than ten years, permanent makeup has been popular for decades. Luckily, the technology and ingredients used in inks have improved, as have the techniques used to provide these tattoos. Often, when we think about permanent makeup or cosmetic tattooing, we have visions of the dreaded solid pink or blue eyebrows. While that is still common among clients of inexperienced artists, it’s luckily something that is easily avoidable if you and your artist have the accurate information you need before having your brows done.
Let’s start with why the brow ink ages to be a red tone. Ink used in permanent makeup typically have either carbon or iron based pigments. Iron based pigments have a very high chance of aging red, as yellow and black iron oxides are unstable and weak, leaving behind a red hue similar to rust.
Another common color we see brows fade to is a grey/blue. This can be caused by a number of factors, and is typically the artist’s inexperience or client’s inability to follow proper aftercare. Ashy hues in older brows can be caused by the artist going too deep into the skin, the client using retinol products, the client being exposed to UV rays with no protection, or from the artist using an ink color that was unsuitable for the client’s Fitzpatrick level.
So, what can you do?
What do you do if your brows are solid pink or blue but you want microblading?
Unfortunately, most clients who come to me asking for their previously tattooed brows to be microbladed have so much scarring, even machine shading would be a risk. I ask that all clients who have had previous work done to send me photos or come in for a consultation. Microblading over a solid pink brow will lead to blue/purple healed hairstrokes. That is, if any hairstrokes make it through the 6-8 week healing process. As most work done by other artists that come through my door have immense scarring (due to the artist being unaware of proper depth and overworking the skin), the skin becomes thin like tissue paper. This alone leads to an extreme risk of ashy healed brows, as the needle easily slices through the epidermis, and far past the papillary dermis. Even to the most experienced and steady handed artist, this is a huge risk. Microblading over your solid brow tattoo will not give you the results you wish. You will end up with blotchy, discolored brows, even worse than what you had before. However, you wouldn’t know this by looking at before and after photos of “corrections”. Always ask to see the healed result. The best plan of action is to have laser tattoo removal. Laser tattoo removal is a better option than saline removal, as laser removal will break up scar tissue and cause less trauma than saline removal (licensed laser tech here!). After the tattoo is lightened and/or removed, your artist can then reassess your brows and offer you a service that you will be happier with once healed.
“But what if I don’t want removal?”
While removal is time consuming and can be costly, it is the best option on the path to having the brows you really want. If this isn’t the course of action you want to take, occasionally the brows can be corrected through machine shading. I personally won’t microblade over old work anymore, but I’m sure you can find a less experienced artist who would be happy to take your money and do it anyway! If I choose to take on a correction, I use a machine. This method provides a more even distribution of ink, which will create a more successful and true correction. Here are a few examples of what you can expect if you are looking for a color/shape correction.