Different factors, such as skin type and aftercare, play a large role in the healing process of a microblading tattoo. Read on to ensure you get the best results possible from your procedure:

1. Skin Type: Normal to dry skins usually take the color the best and heal with better hair strokes. They can usually go longer between touch ups. Oily skin types may experience more “blurring” of the hair strokes but the end result will still be more natural looking than traditional eyebrow tattoo or makeup. Many of our clients have oily skin and love their brows so much that they don’t mind coming in a little sooner for touch ups.
2. Water/Sweat: Proper aftercare of your tattoo is essential to obtaining the best results possible. You should avoid getting your brows wet and sweating for at least one week. Even if you wear a sweatband, the skin on your forehead will still get damp and can affect the scab. We know it’s annoying but it’ll be worth it in the end! Wash your face carefully without getting your brows wet and don’t splash your face- just wipe off the cleanser with a wet washcloth. You can use Tegaderm, or waterproof transparent wound dressing, to protect your brows from water in the shower or while you’re washing your face. It’s sold at all drugstores.
3. Leave the scab alone: Make sure you use your aftercare lotion and don’t pick or scratch your scabs! Removing the scab too early will cause the color to heal faded and patchy. Sleep on your back while your brows are healing to prevent friction from the pillow from rubbing the scab off. If your brows feel a bit itchy while they’re healing, resist the urge to scratch!
4. Sun Exposure: Limit sun exposure on your brows, as this can fade the color of the tattoo significantly. No tanning beds! And wear SPF 30 or higher on your brows whenever you’re outside. We recommend buying a small sunblock stick (looks almost like a Chapstick) and keeping it in your bag so you can swipe it on anytime you’re outdoors.
5. Bleeding: Excessive bleeding can cause the color of the tattoo to look “washed out”.  While most people don’t bleed much during the procedure, sometimes clients just naturally bleed a lot from cuts. The pigment won’t stay in the skin well if the blood “pushes” it out. To make sure you won’t bleed more than normal, avoid aspirin, ibuprofen, and caffeine before the procedure. You can take ibuprofen and drink caffeine after the procedure is over.
6. Smoking: People who smoke tend to heal slower and have a more “greyish” cast to their skin, which can affect the way the healed results look. We can add more warmth to the pigment color to try to counteract this but DO NOT SMOKE while you’re healing if you can help it.
7. Pimples: If you happen to get a pimple in the brow area while its healing (rare, but it happens), the result could end up in loss of color in that spot. Don’t worry, we can fill it in during your touch up. If we see a pimple or broken skin on your brow area prior to the procedure, we will ask you to reschedule your appointment for best results.
8. Scar Tissue: Many people have small eyebrow scars where hair won’t grow and microblading can help camoflauge the scars to help them blend better with the rest of the brow. If you have small scars on your brow area, the pigment may not deposit well in that area after only one session. We can darken the color during the touch up if necessary. For those with large scars or eyebrow transplant scars, microblading may not be the best option as the color may not heal well in the skin.

For more information, or if you have questions, please email Janice at xobeautystudio@gmail.com. Click here to visit our MICROBLADING page.