The Quest For Perfect Eyebrows

Since I was a little girl I have been on the quest for perfect eyebrows; growing up I was bullied because I had naturally thick and unruly dark eyebrows that I was told were making me look ‘masculine’. I would be called names and peers would point and laugh at my unibrow because I was not allowed to pluck, tweeze or thread any body hair as I was told I was not old enough. When I was a child I thought nothing of my body hair, dressing up in skirts and unaware of my facial hair and how others would perceive it. It wasn’t until secondary school that I realized how ‘different’ it made me and growing up in a predominantly white school, my heritage was seen as alien and familiar. So I discovered threading and slowly began changing who I was to fit societies beauty standards because I was afraid of being called ugly again, but more importantly because it made me feel confident. Since I started threading at the age of sixteen, I have been getting my eyebrows and lip threaded every two-three weeks to get the shape that I crave and ward away any unsightly body hair. But over time beauticians began to destroy my eyebrows and the follicles were stunted in the process. To cover up the fact I had gappy eyebrows, last year I began using powder to fill in the gaps and give off the illusion that I had thicker eyebrows than I did. As I would swipe away my makeup and leave a blank canvas I would stare at the ‘gappy mess’ that were left of my eyebrows and remember my aunties words who had warned me ‘to not mess up the natural shape of my eyebrows’. 

The skin around the eyebrows was more red and raw in real life, but the shape and definition of the eyebrows made a huge difference.

 It was becoming a game of repetition and a game I no longer liked to play. That is until one day the magic queen waved her magic wand and gave my eyebrows ‘life’ again. Meet El Truchan, a certified Permanent Makeup, Microblading, Micro-needling and Medical Tattoo Specialist trained to the highest level (Elite) by Nouveau Contour. Part of the Nouveau Beauty Group – the UK and International leading experts in Permanent Cosmetics- El was exposed to the medical industry from a young age, whose family taught El to embrace the medical profession to help others. But El is no ‘wilting wallflower’, in person her steely determination mixed with maternal concern makes her the ideal Permanent Makeup Specialist to let loose on the unsuspecting public. One look at my eyebrows and it was game on, there was work to be done and El knew it.

First we began with the consultation where El asked me a series of questions asking why I wanted semi-permanent eyebrows, how long I had been wanting semi-permanent eyebrows for, my desired outcome and what I was expecting from the treatment. My expectations were very simple; I desired bespoke eyebrows that were natural but dramatic enough to frame my petite face. I have to admit I made El laugh when I told her ‘under no circumstances can I have Scouser brows’ and thankfully she agreed that natural brows were best. I filled in two forms that asked a little about any health conditions I may have and allergies which created a conundrum; after seeing I had a number of health conditions El was hesitant to carry out the procedure because she ‘was more concerned about my health’ than getting the treatment done and it was heartwarming to see. It is not often that you see a cosmetician concerned about their clients safety and it touched me deeply to see her concern. I assured El that I would be ok and she told me that I could stop the treatment at any point if I was not comfortable enough to continue and made me sign a disclaimer to show I had been advised against the treatment but had stated that I was ‘well enough to go ahead’.

Once the forms were filled in El swabbed three different brown pigmentation’s on my forehead and told me that the middle shade ‘dark brown’ would suit my natural hair colour the most. El explained that there were no ‘black’ pigmentation shades because it would turn peoples eyebrows blue but should my eyebrows need darker pigmented shading then it can be done at the ‘retouch’ session in four weeks time. The pigmentation sat well on my skin and initially did not cause my skin to have a reaction but the next step was slightly more uncomfortable. Coating my eyebrows in anesthetic solution I began experiencing a slight tightness and burning sensation which I assumed was normal but El told me that the solution should feel uncomfortable but not burn. I was proving to be an anomaly but I assured El that I was still consenting to go ahead with the procedure and awaited the next step with eager anticipation. After showing me a portfolio of all the eyebrows she had microbladed during her career I chose a natural, slightly arched eyebrow and we began customizing my bespoke brows. For the initial template El used an eyebrow tape measure to find out how good the symmetry of my eyebrows were in relation to the rest of my face and found the top part to be aligned perfectly. The bottom of my eyebrows were another story and its damaged follicles would be a task in itself. Using an eyeliner pencil El began creating the ‘eyebrow frame’ to give me an idea of how my ideal ‘eyebrow shape’ would translate on my face , before showing me the mirror. At first I had asked for the arches to go into square features but believed it looked too big for my petite face so El used a microbrush to blur the square corners and tease them into a medium sized hybrid square, rounded corner that suited my features more.    

Please excuse me looking so haggard but I am wearing no make up and had zero sleep

Once the frame or the ‘house foundations’ ( as El teasingly called them) were built the pigmentation on my forehead and eyebrows were swabbed off and I was asked to move onto the bed where the treatment began. El started by putting anesthetic on the right eyebrow and gently microbladed it to ensure I did not get a reaction. It was a strange sensation and although it nipped it was a breeze in comparison to threading which always made my eyes water. Every few minutes El would make sure I could manage the discomfort and although it burned slightly the sensation was manageable. Once the pigmentation had soaked into the right eyebrow El moved onto the left eyebrow which El warned me might be a bit more painful because there are more nerve endings and she was right. It was less comfortable working on the left eyebrow but El was as gentle as possible to make sure I was ok. After applying the anesthetic to the left eyebrow it began stinging and the burning sensation was causing discomfort in both brows but by the second pass it became more discomforting.

Although El had assured me I could stop at any time I wanted to go ahead with the procedure and explained that I could withstand pain without complaint. During the second pass I found the microblading was causing more pain the second time round and we established that what I thought was an allergy was actually me being immune to anesthetic. By now most patients and that includes you my readers would be asleep because the anesthetic would numb the microblade’s sharp nips but unfortunately I was able to feel the entire procedure. El made sure that I was ok and talked me through each step to make me feel more at ease. The microblading treatment did not make my eyes water but the burning sensation was very uncomfortable so I was grateful that El took her time to give me as least discomfort as she possibly could. In fact El made the 35 minute treatment last an hour and 15 so it felt more gentle on my brows without the anesthetic. Once the pigmentation had soaked into both brows I was asked to sit up and shown a mirror which showcased my perfect ‘non scouser’ brows, effortlessly combining the dramatic arch of a power brow with the carefree ease of natural beauty. It was a million dollar brow and I am truly thankful to El for being so knowledgeable about the treatment and ensuring I was ok throughout. I was feeling extremely lightheaded by the end of the treatment and El ( qualified in First Aid) gave me a peanut butter bounce ball high in protein and energy to raise my low blood sugar levels. El knew exactly what I needed and it touched me that she had thought of every little gesture to make my experience as comfortable as possible.  While I might have been immune to the anesthetic most procedures are relatively painless and you might even catch a snooze while you are getting your treatment done.

In total the procedure lasted 3 hours and 15 minutes and once my eyebrows were primed to perfection El explained the aftercare to me. Semi-permanent eyebrow treatments always turn eyebrows 50% darker after treatment but do not worry as it will become lighter after 4-7 days. The pigmentation might disappear entirely after this period but will reappear at the 3rd to 4th week period as the true lighter, more natural colour. I cannot put any eyebrow makeup on until the seventh day is over and cannot have any more eyebrow cosmetics work during the four-six week period because the eyebrows are healing. I was given two different balms and a microbrush as part of my aftercare kit ; the coconut balm will be used once the skin around the eyebrow begins flaking whereas the second balm is to be used directly before water contact to avoid scarring. Once I have finished having a shower/swimming/washing my face I must gently dab my eyebrows (do not rub as it can irritate the healing skin) and ensure I do not touch the eyebrows at any point. Once you have had your treatment done and set off with your aftercare kit El will be in constant contact to make sure that you are ok and are responding well to the treatment. It is these personalized touches that makes El the perfect technician and I cannot wait to proudly show off my brows to all my friends and family. In need of semi-permanent eyeliner, hairstroke eyebrows, medical cosmetic work or semi-permanent lips then book El on Perfect Definition 

Have you ever had Semi-Permanent Makeup Before?