Microblading is changing people’s lives – providing beauty, boosting confidence, and saving precious off time from your morning makeup routine. Go ahead and hit that snooze button, you do not have to wake up 20 minutes earlier each day to do your eyebrows.

Social media regularly showcases influencers and celebrities with beautiful airbrushed brows, however, it fails to show the ups and downs that occur during the regular healing process of microblading which is a form of semi-permanent makeup or cosmetic tattoo.

Looking at before and after pictures of the microblading procedure can leave a person with a GAZILLION questions about the experience. The 2-hour process represents only half of the microblading experience.

We have detailed the healing process day by day for anyone considering microblading their eyebrows. Here you will find all the details about the healing process of microblading, the good, the bad, and the scabbing.

Day 1:

You walk into the brow artist’s studio with patchy, uneven brows or no brows at all. Once the microblading is complete, voilà, you walk out with the gorgeous, symmetrical brows you have always dreamt of. Your brows look restructured but quite a bit darker than you anticipated, not to worry, this is oxidation and a normal part of the healing process, you will see your brows lighten as much as 40% during the next  30-40 days.  Right now your brows may feel tender but not painful and you will want to be mindful to keep them clean and follow all of the aftercare instructions that your artist has provided for you.  

People who do not regularly fill in their brows with makeup can sometimes experience what is known in the industry as “brow shock”.   It is normal to experience brow shock because the brows will seem too dark in the first few days and if you are not used to seeing yourself with symmetrical brows you may feel uneasy when looking in the mirror.  Remember, micro-bladed brows will look darker on the first few days but bear in mind that the permanent makeup is applied to compensate for the 40% of the foreseen fading. Please relax, all will be well, most good permanent makeup artists are pretty conservative during the initial appointment, and then when it comes time to do the touch up you may find yourself asking your artist to go a little darker.

Day 2:

Your brows will feel tender and a little stiff.  You will be super conscious of your brows and will be looking in the mirror every chance you get, you may also be analyzing every hair stroke on your brows. Remember that you are more aware of your brows than those around you and that not everybody is noticing them as you are.

If you experienced any redness, this will start to dissipate today.

Days 3 to 4:

On the third and fourth days, there will not be a huge difference from the last two days. The only difference will be that the tenderness will have gone away.  You will begin to notice your brows looking a little thicker and darker. You might even start to get used to waking up with instant brows without worrying about the time or struggle to create them yourself.

If you are thinking of going to the beach or the pool to show off your brows. This is NOT the right time for that just yet. You will not have waterproof brows until after days 7-10. This is the time to avoid getting your brows wet so that your healing is nice and even and to avoid patchiness.

Day 5:

The fifth day is a critical point in the healing process. Your brows will feel itchy because your body is trying to heal itself. One of the ways it will heal itself is by forming little scabs on your brows and you will feel the temptation to scratch your brows. Please do not scratch your brows and let the healing process take place.

Anyone who has had a tattoo before will tell you that this is all part of the healing process. Let the scabs form and fall off naturally.  Whatever you do, do not scratch your brows!

Days 6 to 8:

At this time, the scabs will fall off and start to peel from the skin.  If you didn’t feel it before, you will feel the temptation to peel or pick at the scabs now.  Don’t do it, because you will negatively impact the pigmentation process and sabotage the outcome of your new brows.

If you have dry skin your permanent makeup artist may give you some salve to put on your brows.  Make sure to follow her aftercare instructions and use only the smallest amount necessary.

Days 9 to 14:

By now most of the scabs will have naturally flaked off of your skin and you will be able to really appreciate the microblading.  Although your skin has not completely healed, you can still get a rough idea of how your finished brows will look at this time. The color of your brows will still be a little off at this time because the healing process is not complete. There might be some missing spots in between or parts of your brows might not be completely filled in at this stage.

The good thing you will notice is that the hair-like incisions on your brows have completely healed. A major portion of the healing process is completed after the first two weeks of microblading.

Days 14 to 20:

To the viewer, your brows will look completely natural now but there still might be some unevenness on your brow color, this is nothing to worry about because fresh skin is growing over your microblading, in the industry they call this “ghosting”.  

Days 21 to 30:

Most people’s brows will display the final look sometime between the 26th day and the 30th day. The definition, color, texture, shape, and arch of your eyebrows will become clear at this point. This is when you should schedule a touch-up appointment with your microblading expert to address any uneven healing. For example, sometimes side sleepers will experience pigment loss on their favored side.

Getting Expert Advice

Where you get your microblading is a serious matter.  You need an experienced microblading professional like Lily The Pink, in Los Angeles, California. This is not the time to go the cheapest route.  It is better to get it done right the first time than to go through a painful and expensive removal process.