Here is a list of questions that i have been asked by my clients throughout the years.
A consultation is offered prior to treatment either on the day or in advance of your first appointment Here we will discuss the whole treatment procedure and what you want regarding shape, colour and fullness. Colour is determined by your natural hair colour. Shape is measured according to your own facial morphology and symmetry is calculated digitally on the PhiBrows app.
You will be more sensitive around you menstrual cycle, otherwise the treatment is comfortable. It is not recommended that you take any pain killer as this will thin the blood & lead to poor retention of pigment.
Brows The skin is not completely numbed before the treatment due to the affect anaesthetic has on the skin and you should not apply any anaesthetic to the area before coming for treatment as this can affect the results. For clients who are very sensitive a numbing cream can be applied for 10 minutes prior to treatment. Local anaesthetic is applied after we make the first drawing of hair strokes. During this time you will feel a slight scratchy sting although it only lasts for a short period of time. Then the anaesthetic is applied and you will be completely pain free.
For lips unlike brow treatments a numbing cream is applied on arrival and reapplied throughout the treatment for your comfort.
Allow 3h for your first treatment
Follow up appointments 1hr 30mins
This allows plenty of time to explain the procedure and not to feel rushed.
Your skin will be prepped. This involves cleaning and sanitising the eyebrow and forehead area. Before pictures will be taken. The brows will be measured and mapped. You will be taken through the procedure as we go along and shown the designed brow drawing before we begin. We then begin the first drawing of hair strokes called the “first pass”.
Anaesthetic is applied and we continue to make more passes to build up the colour and fullness through the brow. After each pass the pigment is rubbed into the skin to ensure good absorption of colour and a colour mask is left on for 5-10 minutes at the end of treatment.
The skin is then cleaned, any stray hairs tidied away from the eyebrows and a soothing balm is applied. Some more “after” pics will be taken and the treatment is complete.
After treatment you will be shown what to use and how to use it, you will be given an aftercare pack, no need to purchase anything use only this and follow for the first 10 days. It is extremely important that you follow all advice given. See how to prepare for your treatment and aftercare.
The healing process takes 28 days which is why we do not top up before 4 weeks. Everyone heals differently. During this time the skin and brows will go through some changes. In the first few days the colour will become darker.
The area will look 40% darker and 10-15% thicker. The skin through the eyebrow area may flake and peel. Although keeping them hydrated with the balm reduces this. Around day 5 the colour will begin to fade and may even look like it is disappearing completely. Around week 3 you will see the colour beginning to return, it may look patchy in places and this is completely normal.
Semi-permanent makeup is a two treatment process and all corrections will be made on your touch up appointment. Remember to be patient and trust the healing process. In very oily skins and skins that are hypersensitive and bleed excessively a further top up may be required.
Microblading is a semi permanent treatment lasting anything from 1-3years depending on your skin type and other factors For best results a colour fresh top up is not recommended any sooner than 12 months.
Unfortunately you cannot have the treatment done if you are pregnant or breast feeding. This is due to hormonal changes which occur in the body during pregnancy and affect how the colour is accepted and retained in the skin.
The skin will be examined prior to treatment to make sure it is in healthy condition. We do not cut, tweeze or shave away your own eyebrows before treatment. Only stray hairs outside of the treatment area are removed and very long or unruly hairs are trimmed.
With all semi-permanent makeup there is always a risk skin trauma due to the nature of the treatment. Following all Pre & aftercare advice is very important will ensure that any risk of skin trauma is reduced to a minimum
Heath Questionnaire You will receive a health questionnaire prior to your consultation. Some of the questions may seem random, but it’s really important to be honest with your answers.
Certain Medications can affect how the pigment is accepted and retained in the skin. The questionnaire is discussed during the consultation stage.
Certain medical conditions may require GP consent such as autoimmune conditions like Rheumatoid arthritis and others like diabetes, haemophilia, epilepsy, heart conditions(pace maker) high blood pressure, blood clotting disorders and cancer patients.
Herpes simplex (cold sores)
If you have an active cold sore we cannot carry out the treatment until 4 weeks after making sure it is fully healed. Lip blush Treatments can still be carried out however you must follow pre & after care.
Active acne, psoriasis, eczema or any other skin condition on or around the working area. We must wait until the area is clear before treatment due to hypersensitivity, higher risk of bleeding and poor healing and healed results.
I am not medically trained therefore I need to know all medication and medical conditions so that they can be checked with a fully qualified Doctor within the Phi Academy.
Any redness is temporary, it is vital that you do not apply makeup or any other products other than your aftercare over the treated area but you can apply makeup carefully around the area if needed. The same with your normal skincare, just work carefully and avoid getting wet in the shower or bath as best you can during the first 10 days.
Sometimes although not in every case oily skin may require additional top up. Oily skin naturally secretes more oil and in some cases can also bleed more therefore the pigment can become diluted by the oil secretion and fade more quickly and in some cases the strokes can expand slightly.
No it is not advised 24h before as it will thin the blood causing bleeding this will diluting the pigment which will cause poor retention and likely additional touch up.
If I feel that microblading, or this technique alone is not appropriate for your skin type I will tell you, explain why and may suggest some shading or powder brows, which is suitable for all skin types. (Shading can be performed alone or in combination with microblading. It can be done manually with a hand held tool or with an electric pen type device).
“ sisters not twins” Asymmetry is relative and varies for each client, we will measure everything and discuss you options at your consultation. There are many things to take into consideration when assessing the area; asymmetrical, brow hair, facial anatomy, bone structure, muscle mimic and skin tone. It’s important to know that we are not symmetry we all have little differences, that’s what makes us unique.
So can we fix it?
Depending on the degree of asymmetry and the reason behind it, In most cases yes. But we can certainly improve on it.
This is one of the reasons clients want to have these treatments. In more severe cases of asymmetry where there are differences in the bone structure and/or the muscle and skin tone , this is more difficult. It’s not as simple as just mapping it out and measuring it on an app, this is where the aesthetic eye also comes into play and creating brows/lips that are in proportion to the clients face and that look as even as possible.
It’s important to understand what is achievable. Sometimes with brows this does involve taking away natural hair from one side and may involve taking away quite a bit or even half an eyebrow. This hair must be maintained in order to achieve a good result. It may require and additional treatment or shading to build density through an area that has no hair and the hardest part is making that eyebrow that has little to no hair look the same as the one on the other side that does have hair.
I always explain this in detail to the client before starting a treatment like this. They must be happy to maintain the excess hair that has been taken away and understand that there may still be little differences. Again this is why our consultations are so important for me as well as for the client as I will only take on treatments if I am confident that I can create and deliver results that not only you will be happy with but that I will be happy with too.
I can only take on correction work on a case to case based to achieve best results, your best options will be discussed at your consultation. Correction work is 1 option for those with old unwanted spmu brows & lips however it will depend on may factors saturation, colour & placement of old pigment, unfortunately in most cases removal will be suggested.