Sure I was born in the 80s, but I am 100% a product of the late 90s early 2000s. And there’s nothing that is more telltale of this era more than an overplucked brow.
When I mean overplucked, I mean my childhood best friend used to tweeze my brows down to 3-4 shapeless hairs across my brow bone. You see, I was actually born with beautiful bushy brows. The kind that stand up in the middle and then lay their thick gorgeous hairs perfectly above your eyes, right past the corners. Although, even for today’s standards, I was plagued with a few hairs shy of a unibrow. I can remember pleading with my mom to take me for an eyebrow wax in 5th grade. I was desperate for Christina Augulaira brows and I could not live another day as Oscar the Grouch. I couldn’t! So she complied and for the next decade not a single hair had a fighting chance of calling my brows home.
Sound familiar?
Something about all that waxing and plucking from 10-21 that left me pretty sparse by the time I graduated college. To the point where my brows were just that pencil thin line I had first shaped them into. No plucking or waxing required. But it wasn’t until a few years later that my eyebrows took a real turn for the worse…. right in time for Cara Devilenge to come onto the scene to make eyebrows not just a thing… but THE thing. The brow movement devastated me. Worse, I was going through a serious bout of gastronomical issues that wreaked havoc on my hormones.. causing my eyebrow hairs to start diminishing on the ends. Truthfully, I didn’t even really notice right away. I had just become so accustomed to coloring them in with an array of Anastasia and Benefit products to make them appear fuller, longer and darker. But when I was at a conference in Flordia, I got out of the pool only to have one of the speakers ask, “Have you checked your thyroid?” Puzzled, I explained that I was suffering from a thyroid disorder and asked how she knew. And with that, she slowly brought her finger to the end of my eyebrow. They were gone.
This is the perfect point to mention that while I consider myself quite the hair and makeup guru, I SUCK at doing my eyebrows. Maybe I’m lazy? Maybe my brows are unruly and such drastically different shapes? Maybe I chose the wrong color? I have no idea.. but they have never once looked good from me coloring them in.
That week I got home and visited a doctor for two bottles of Latisse. I was determined to have my eyebrows come back in time for my bachelorette party and wedding. No way was I going to jump in another pool and have my face be gone when I get out.
And so the Latisse application began. Every single night for 6 full months. And I sprouted THREE new hairs. Honestly, just three. Defeated, I gave up and headed back to Anastasias for another $50 in purchases. I even started getting my eyebrows dyed dark so that the dye would stick to my skin for awhile where the hair should be. Anything to help give me that fuller, youthful brow I longed for.
But wouldn’t you have it, they made it illegal to dye your eyebrows in California! And now only 3 weeks before my big day. I remember going home and complaining to a neighbor, who looked at me with shock. Why don’t you just get microblading? Like me? WHAT?! Her beautiful hairs were TATTOOS?? Her eyebrows were stunning, and they really 100% looked like a bunch of little hairs. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was too afraid to experiment right before my wedding, but vowed to look into it the second I returned home.
A few months later, and I found myself excitedly chatting up Amanda from Primp and Glitter while she micro-bladed away. Two hours after I walked into her salon, I left with brows. Just like that. And when I say I left with them, I mean there’s no down time. I went shopping, got a coffee, hung out with a friend. The next day I had a photoshoot and just asked the makeup artist to avoid my brows. No one was the wiser. But the best part? I went to sleep last night and woke up with eyebrows still on. Swoon.
You want to transform your face with a few strategically placed micro-blading strokes? Follow these 10 easy steps:
- Call Amanda (424-262-7697) at Primp & Glitter to make an appointment. Tell her Chels sent you.
- Stop taking fish oil a week before your appointment & refrain from waxing or plucking
- DON’T go in with a picture of a celebrity eyebrow you want. DO go to your appointment with your brows drawn on. I think this gives the blading wizard an idea of your particular eyebrow dreams.
- Your brows will be wiped clean and numbing cream is applied. Wait time: 20 minutes. This is your chance to frantically google celebrity eyebrows or micro-blading mistakes to psyche yourself out. Or just relax and have a glass of water, whatever.
- Then sit back and let her draw on the brows that your face asks for. She will measure your brow bone and create a natural shape.
- Look in the mirror, decide if you’d like to change anything about the shape. The beauty of cosmetic work lies in having no one suspect you’ve had anything done. Don’t get all Beverly Hills housewife and demand bigger and darker. You can always add more later.
- Sit back and relax. Amanda will color match your natural hairs unless you specify you’re looking for a different shade.
- It won’t hurt, but you will feel it. Little tugging on the skin while she blades 10 or so lines then a tingling sensation from the dye and numbing cream entering the wound.
- Once the drawn shape is achieved (30-45 minutes), you will sit up and express if you want any changes.
- Back down for another 15-20, a little vaseline, and a print out of after care instructions and you’re done. Ready to walk right out of the studio and get on with your day. The only thing peculiar about your brows is a little gloss from the vaseline… that and people might not be able to take their eyes off your PERFECT brows!
Aftercare is simple besides that you can’t sweat for 10 days and you should avoid direct sun for even longer. No hot yoga, no Barrys Bootcamp, no housework (well at least that’s what I told my husband). That and you’ve got to apply vaseline ointment every couple hours to keep the brow moist while it heals. Lasts approximately 2 years, so no worries to my commitment-phobes who are waiting for the barely-there-brow to come back. Also important to note that the color will fade a bit from the initial color over the next two weeks.
And here’s my proof:
Day After:
And 1 month later before my touch up here’s how they ended up:
I went in for a touch up 5 weeks after my first visit. The touch up lasted 1.5 hours and actually hurt a tinsy bit worse (maybe because aunt flo was in town?), but nothing to squak about. Here’s the puppies a few days after touch up 2:
Couldn’t be happier! xo
