Talk to me about nanoblading

[LancreWowhawk]

A couple of weeks ago, I looked in the mirror and was horrified to realise that my eyebrows are falling out. They're very significantly sparser than they were when I was in my 20s and 30s (I'm now 49), quite uneven, and one of them is over a centimetre shorter than the other.

I don't really fancy drawing them back on every day with a pencil, so I've been looking at nanoblading, and I have so many questions.

If you've had it done, can you tell me:

• Are you happy with them? Do they look natural and not slug-like?
• How did you go about choosing someone to do them? I keep reading to do my research and choose carefully, but I don't know what that actually entails.
• How much did it hurt?
• Did they look nasty and scabby afterwards, and if so for how long?
• What is the aftercare really like? I've read about keeping them dry for 14 days, how did you manage things like washing your hair? How the hell do you make yourself sleep on your back?

And honestly, anything else that you want to tell me about the whole thing would be very much appreciated.

I'd look into ombre brows, I've just had mine done, cost about £350. I didn't feel anything, however you do get numbing cream, and you can get them wet after 24 hours. They scab off after a few days , will lighten up to 50%, cream should be supplied for the aftercare. Top up normally 6 weeks after. It's really natural looking as well, you won't regret it!

Hi, I have no nanoblading experience to share but sparse eyebrows, particularly the outer third, are potentially a sign of an under-active thyroid. If you’ve not had your levels checked, or you have any other symptoms, it might be worth getting a blood test. Sorry to bring doom, but this was one of my symptoms before it was picked up.

I have been doing microblading for a few years now, thank you 90s over plucking… The results are amazing! Very natural. But because they are semi-permanent they fade, for me they last about 9-12 months so I need to have them touched up. I did loads of research because I didn’t want to have someone non qualified tattooing my face! So I go to the best place I could find (Tracy Giles in Knightsbridge) and I pay £400 per session once a year. I absolutely love my brows and I don’t have to worry about penciling them in.
in terms of aftercare, i was told to keep them dry for 48 hours, then I can wash my hair but no face soap for 14 days, just water on the face and it’s ok if some shampoo falls on them. Pat dry only with a clean cloth. They are scabby for about a week, they look quite dark for that time and then they tone down to what they are intended to look like. The pain is tolerable, sometimes the technician puts numbing cream on which helps loads. The session lasts about an hour. You can sleep however you want, it doesn’t affect them. It was the best decision I ever made!! But I didn’t realise that they fade, I wish they didn’t! So now I save all year round because I know I need yearly touch ups. It’s different for everyone though, your skin maybe more robust!

I had my brows done in November & they are beautiful. I really like them. They’re hair stroke so look very natural. It didn’t really hurt. She didn’t use numbing cream for the beginning of the brows because she said it would affect the results. She did use it for the outer part because she said it was more painful because of the nerves so they must be different in different places. I went back for a top up at the beginning of February but didn’t need anything as the colour was intact & the shape didn’t need adjusting. It was £375 for the initial appointment & the top up. Subsequent appointments are £250.

They didn’t scab so you could see it but you could feel it & she gave me some aftercare balm to use. She also gave me brow shields to use in the shower so they didn’t get wet. She didn’t say anything about sleeping on your back so I didn’t do that.

I spent a long time looking at pictures on facebook / instagram of various practitioners work to ensure I liked their results. I had to wait 6 months for an appointment with her because she was booked out so far in advance. She says send her pictures in October & she’ll be able to see when I need an appointment for top up.

She did say people travel hours to see her & the day before someone had done a 4 hour journey to see her. Perfectstrokes_glencora on instagram

I had my brows ombre shaded over two years ago and they are still going strong. This gives a softer effect than microblading.

They are one of the best things I have had done. I followed the post care instructions and used the aftercare cream very generously. I had minimal scabbing.

I trusted my beautician to do a good job. She blended three colours. They are darker to begin with, but do fade down over time. My three year anniversary will be in September and they may need refreshing then.

They cost me £360.

How does it work with your actual eyebrow hair? My brows are pretty thin (another victim of 90’s tweezering), but a lot of the hairs I do have are thick, long, curly and sometimes grey. And they seem to appear daily. Do you just have to keep plucking?

I got nano brows 4 weeks ago and absolutely love them. They are very natural. Mine didn't scab, just dry skin really. Would highly recommend.

I got hyperealistic nano brows. A+ 5 stars, would do again. They need redoing after a year. Stung a little but look amazing.

I had hyper realistic brows. They are like the ombré but a different technique where the do individual strokes. I love them! Had them a year and average time for a top up is every 3 years.

I couldn’t go to the gym or sweat for about 3 weeks and I have to use sun block on them to prevent fading.

Only down side is I found it very painful. Much more painful than a normal tattoo even with numbing cream.

I wanted thick bushy natural looking brows and that’s exactly what I got.

Thank you SO much for this. This is definitely the pattern - general thinning, but one of my brows is missing the outer quarter.

I had a blood test when I was pregnant that detected markers that I was told might indicate future thyroid issues, and looking at the symptoms on the NHS website I do have many of the ones for hypothyroidism. I’ve booked a gp appointment to get it checked out.

And thank you so much to everyone for sharing your experiences - I guess even if the cause of my brow issues is my thyroid, I’ll still need to fix them!

I had hair stroke brows done about 10 years ago and I’d never do it again.

i never had them topped up but they didn’t disappear, just faded to red and blurred.

it was really painful even with numbing cream.

They looked awful for the first week, like I had massive slugs on my face but when the scabs came off they looked lovely, but only for about a year.

I’m so glad it was useful! I didn’t want to derail your topic, but when my eyebrow need more work it’s always a sign for me that my levels are off! Good luck with everything x

I’ve had micro blading done. Had my last top up back in the summer. They are semi
permanent and last around 2 years. They are the best thing I have ever done! They are so natural you would never know.