EXPERIENCE | Getting my Eyebrows Microbladed with The Brow Revolution!

Microblading procedure was complimentary in exchange for my honest review. 

Two weeks ago, I had the amazing opportunity to get eyebrow microblading done with Anna at The Brow Revolution. I knew Anna from my previous life in the beauty biz and after seeing her work, especially with Asian brows, I knew I was going to be in good hands. When I shared on my social media channels that I was getting microbladed, the reaction I received was one of curiosity and wonderment. Some people expressed how fearful they were for me, some had always been curious about the procedure and others who had had the procedure done, SWORE that it was THE BEST thing they had ever done. I have to say, I'm inclined to agree with them!

Eyebrow Microblading Review

When Anna first approached me to have microblading ($500 for 3 hours and includes: after-care kit touch-up appointment) done, the first thing I needed to find out was "What is microblading?" This is a semi-permanent cosmetic tattoo, but not like the tattooed eyebrows of the 80s and 90s which look more like "blocks of brows". Not to mention that those faded to that funny grey colour you've probably seen on older ladies. Microbladed eyebrows are done with literally a tiny micro blade to simulate the look of real hair giving the appearance of an incredibly natural set of eyebrows. Your artist will literally be drawing in hair that you don't have to give you not only fuller brows, but ones that are bolder and darker.

About a month or two before my appointment, I filled out a Medical History Pre-Screening form so that they could determine if I was a suitable candidate for microblading
 and if I was doing anything with my skin that would impact the procedure. I have dry to normal skin which is the ideal skin type to have as oily skin types do not retain the pigment quite as well during the healing process. I am also a huge AHA user so I needed to stop using my lactic and glycolic acid peels about a week prior to the procedure. I had originally scheduled my appointment in August, but I totally forgot to look at my calendar properly and realized that I was going to be having my period when I got the procedure done. Some of you may know this, but just prior to and during your period is when things seem more painful. My pain tolerance is pretty good, having had a couple of tattoos done, but I wanted to be as comfortable as possible which is what led to the November appointment.

The Brow Revolution had just moved to their new location in the swanky area of West 8th which was a lot better for me than their previous location closer to UBC. The total time for a first appointment is 3 hours. When I first saw this, I was under the impression that the tattoo process would take this long, but in actual fact, it's only about an hour. What DOES take the longest is the mapping of your new brows! Anna spent about an hour with a ruler making sure my brows were even down to the degree of the arch. I had no issue at all with the time spent mapping since this was to be a guideline for the microblading process so BRING SNACKS. I brought a granola bar and some nuts because you WILL get peckish.




After many looks in the mirror and fine tuning, Anna and I agreed on the best set of brows which involved moving my arch over just a teensy bit as well as fixing my wonky left brow by raising the arch slightly and adding more hair growth on the top to mirror the right brow. Keep in mind that even tattoed brows are not twins! If you use more muscles on one side of your face, one brow might naturally be higher than the other so it is up to the artist to either raise or lower the appropriate brow. 


Eyebrow Microblading Review

Just like starting to polish your nails, go pee before the actual tattoo procedure! We started off by deciding on a pigment colour. The tattoo pigment used is a semi-permanent iron oxide pigment and I went with a dark brown with slightly reddish undertones. Anna asked me if I needed some music to hide the sound of the microblade, but I said no. The FAQ page says the sound is similar to being at the dentist, but it's actually not as loud. At the dentist, the sound of the drill is MUCH lounder, but it took me a couple of minutes to figure out that the microblade sounded more like metal scratching on metal and was far quieter than what I had imagined.

Before Anna placed the first "hair stroke", she numbed the area with a 5% lidocaine cream that worked within just a few minutes. I've heard of some numbing agents taking up to 30 minutes to work so not having to wait like that was nice. Once the tattoo process started, I was totally fine. The biggest question is "Does it hurt?" and it all honesty, it hurts less than a Brazilian and has a pain level that is very tolerable. What was actually the most uncomfortable was that after a couple of strokes, Anna would need to use an alcohol wipe to clear the surface of blood and pigment because, you will probably bleed during the process unless you are some sort of alien. The constant wiping on the raw surface was probably the most painful and leaves your eyebrows feeling bruised. I didn't need a Tylenol for pain though it was offered. When I had my final look in the mirror, I was VERY pleased! The before and after was amazing (HERE)!

Eyebrow Microblading Review
Immediately after procedure

For the next week, I kept my eyebrows slathered in petroleum jelly to keep moisture from leaving as well as to soothe the soreness for the first few days. Apparently some people respond better to a "dry heal" where nothing is applied to the eyebrows other than just cleaning them with saline solution, but knowing how my skin has responded to regular tattoos, I preferred the petroleum jelly method. It also helped with itchiness once my brows started to heal and scab.

Eyebrow Microblading Review

You can see from the photos above that there are patches which is where most of the tattooing took place. It may be a little graphic, but it actually didn't look as bad as I thought it would. The 48 hours were the most important so I took extra care to not sweat, subject my face to any steam or heat and made sure to clean my brows at least 3x a day using the at home care kit provided by The Brow Revolution. I probably could have used an extra pack of gauze, but I happened to have a whole roll of gauze from my last tattoo so I was well stocked! Applying a really thick layer of petroleum also helped before going into the shower as it kept water away from my eyebrows.Try not wash your hair within this time period either. Just the thought of having something rough like a towel come anywhere near my eyebrows gave me goosebumps. Honestly, just pretend like you had surgery to ensure optimal healing.


Eyebrow Microblading Review

Eyebrow Microblading Review

I made little notes of how my brows were progressing over the next 2 weeks and overall recovery time wasn't bad. I have a co-worker who got hers done a few weeks before me and she seemed to have a much rougher time than I did. The one thing that was stressed to me was to NEVER PICK AT THE SCABS as peeling off a scab can lead to eliminating the pigment!


Jayne's Eyebrow Diary

Day 1
- Very tender and feels a bit bruised in the eyebrow area. Bled a little bit, but overall procedure went very smoothly.

Day 2 - Small blister on the tail end of right eye brow. Used lots of petroleum jelly. Brows were VERY DARK. Husband referred to me as "Bert" from "Ernie and Bert". Reassured him that brows would lighten over time!
Day 3 - Much of the same as Day 2.
Day 4  - Blister on right eye brow died down to a large scab. Day 4 brows HERE.
Day 5 and 6 - Itchy! Scabbing has begun! Lack of exfoliation in the forehead/eyebrow area has led to congested skin and peeling above eyebrows. Used a washcloth to gently physically exfoliate forehead and between eyebrows. 
Day 7 - Colour fading a bit with some scabbing starting to fall off. Able to see scabs sitting on top of eyebrow hair. Looks almost like dust. Less itchy than previous days.
Days 8 -12 - Much less itchy, very little scabbing, using spray on rosewater for toner.
Day 13 - My eyebrows look pretty normal!
Days 14-17 - Eyebrows still feel a little sensitive in certain areas. For me it's the "tail" when cleanser is applied or I wash myself and apply pressure with my hands.

My eyebrows look really good now and the colour looks like my normal eyebrow pencil. I am grateful to have a permanent eyebrow tail now because that was something I was always drawing in. I never realized how important brows were to my face until now! My brows look full, precise, yet natural looking. You can see little hair strokes amidst my normal brow hairs and I'm even thinking of having a few more added in during my 6 week touch-up appointment! 


Eyebrow Microblading Review
14 days after procedure

Final verdict:
I can see why people who have had microblading done swear by it because it really does save you time when getting ready. Anna was very meticulous and answered all of my questions as we went along. What I like about The Brow Revolution is that information is something they do not shy away from! You can tell they want their clients to be absolutely sure that microblading is the right thing for them. They fully understand that this procedure can do more than just save you time in the morning. It's about confidence too and though eyebrows seem like a non-issue, they truly do frame your face and let people know how you're feeling. Have you seen that Jenna Marbles video where she shaves off her eyebrows and is frowning? You can't even tell! I am so incredibly pleased with my new eyebrows and I cannot sing my praises for Anna enough! Her work is flawless and I am so happy that I gave this procedure a go! The Brow Revolution truly made a somewhat scary thing very easy and I felt taken care of every step of the way.


Now, here's the best part! Would you like to win a set of brows by Anna? In honor of their brand new website, The Brow Revolution is giving one lucky person a set of perfect brows! Giveaway ends on 12pm PST Nov.30th so enter on Instagram now! Instructions HERE!

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