If you’ve been following along with my digital diary (aka blogposts documenting all things wedding prep) you already know Jon and I have decided upon an international wedding venue that we’re in love with. Now, we’re on to all the little details such as our florals, tablescape, invites, welcome party planning … and the list goes on. So much fun but also daunting at the same time! If you’re a fellow bride-to-be you know what I’m talking about.

Once we decided on having a destination wedding I starting thinking of ways that I could streamline my beauty routine so that when we get there, I won’t have as much to worry about. For me that meant researching and finding treatments that would even out the skintone on my face, discovering a great self tanner (trying to stay away from tanning beds, but a girl wants to have a glow on her wedding day) and lastly, having the perfect brows.

If you’re like me and plucked a bit too feverishly in your teen years, then you’re most likely spending 5-10 minutes every morning filling in your eyebrows with a pencil, powder or liquid type brush. I was never able to master the art of the powder or liquid brush eyebrow technique so I had to go the pencil route which takes way longer. Having your eyebrows done was a must for me because I could instantly tell a difference after doing it. It really helped shape my face. This ranks higher in status than blush or even mascara.

Being in the world of fashion I kept hearing about this thing called ‘microblading’. I was super intrigued after friends and colleagues told me they went from 10 minutes of eyebrow prep in the morning to zero prep time. After doing some research and getting over my fear of someone slashing away at my eyebrows (microblading is a semi permanent tattoo that lasts anywhere from five to ten months) I reached out to a trusted friend of mine in my hometown who owned a salon, Michelle Waugh of The Standard Hair. Lash. Brow. in Lansing, Michigan.

Michelle ensured me that the minor discomfort experienced through the procedure was well worth the results and I’m happy to say she was SO RIGHT.

Now. Before I go into my experience I want to emphasize the importance of getting a referral when you’re looking into doing this service. Reach out to friends that have had it done and that you personal like the results of – get the contact info of their aesthetician. These are your eyebrows we’re talking about. Don’t skip out on doing your due diligence. It’s well worth your while to research and find someone who you can trust and who knows what they are doing.

On to my personal experience with microblading and some additional tips:

Appointment: Make your appointment at a time of the month when you’ll have a 3-4 days after the appointment to let your eyebrows heal.

Pre-appointment prep: Find some photos of eyebrows that you really like and save them in your phone to reference with your aesthetician. This will help you to get the shape you want.

Arrive early: Your aesthetician will need time put numbing gel on and around your eyebrows 15 – 30 minutes before the procedure so arrive early. Unless you have a pretty good tolerance of pain I recommend doing the numbing gel. It definitely helps!

During the procedure: What my aesthetician (Linsi) did was inform me of the process. She said she would be going over each eyebrow three times. One run through, a little break, second run through, another break, third run through. In-between, she would put an additional bit of numbing gel on. I’m pretty sensitive so even with the numbing gel it was a bit painful. I recommend bringing a stress ball or something that you can hold onto when you’re getting the procedure done. Sometimes you also need to do something called ‘shading’ where they fill in leftover open spots within the desired brow shape. This can be due to the fact that you’re filling in a space that virtually has no hair so you have to do a bit more to fill it out. I had to do that.

Post procedure: Your eyebrows are going to appear about two times darker than the end result (after healing) right after the procedure and for the following 5 days. Also, depending on your skin type and natural sensitivity you’ll be a bit red around the brow area afterwards. Totally natural and nothing to worry about. There are some important post-procedure rules you have to follow though. Each aesthetician has these written up but beware that you shouldn’t get into heavy workouts or do any other facial treatments within at least 2-3 weeks of getting microblading done. So if you’re going to run a marathon or get an IPL photo facial done plan out your treatments so they don’t overlap. Oh and stay out of the sun.

The peel: Your eyebrows are going to naturally peel when healing. DO NOT pull or force peel them. Let them shed naturally. Don’t worry, your eyebrow hairs are not going to fall off when this happens. You’ll keep all the ones you had previously. A lot of people say the healing process is similar to a tattoo healing. I’ve never gotten a tattoo but that may help you understand what it’s like.

Follow up: 6-8 weeks after your initial appointment there’s a follow up appointment where you’ll fill in any additional areas of the eyebrow that didn’t take the initial ink. This is a lot faster than your original appointment.

Check out the pics below to see the before and after. It’s crazy!

To sum it up, I am SO glad that I got this done when I did (I wish I had done it sooner!). It’s saved me hours of time and I’m so excited to be in France for our wedding without having to worry about getting ‘photo ready’ every time I walk out the door. If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment below or get in touch with my amazing girls at The Standard Hair. Lash. Brow. Salon and they will help you!

The Standard Hair. Lash. Brow. | 517.253.7508

thestandardhairlashbrow@gmail.com

Facebook | Instagram @thestandardhlb

BEFORE & AFTER PHOTOS

Jewelry shown with pink gingham dress: Evil Eye necklace, Double Dipping necklace, Claw Cuff, Hammered Band Rings

Jewelry shown with red dress: Female Symbol necklace 

xo, Katie