Client: “Help! My brows are scabbing”.
Me: “Perfect, your brows have started the second stage of the healing process”.
I get this message anything from day 3 to day 5 after a client has had their cosmetic brow tattoo. It is VERY NORMAL for your brows to scab and flake a few days after having microblading/ ombre brows. Your skin has undergone some trauma and its natural reaction is to heal itself after a wound.
The Process
Day 1 You’ve just finished your first treatment, looked in the mirror and laid eyes on your beautiful and freshly tattooed new brows. Yay, they look amazing! There’s no noticeable swelling, very little redness, and the colour is just perfect. So what next?...You’ll be given some aftercare instructions and an ointment balm that you will need to apply to the brows for the next 7-10 days. It’s so important that you follow the aftercare instructions provided as this will help to keep your brows looking beautiful.
Day 2 - 3 The brows may start to appear slightly darker. At this point you may be questioning if the pigment colour was the correct choice for you. Don’t worry, they will fade as they continue to heal over the next coming days/ weeks.
Day 3 - 8 The scabbing stage. “Erm, are my brows supposed to look like this?” Yes! Remember it is completely normal for your brows to scab. Whilst not everyone will have noticeable scabbing, it's important to remember that we are all different, and the same goes for the way our skin reacts to different types of products. It is impossible for me to know how your brows will heal… I wouldn’t even be able to predict how my own brows will heal, let alone yours!
DO NOT PICK OR REMOVE THE SCABS! I get it, we see something on our skin that shouldn’t be there and our first instinct is to remove it… but don’t. The scabs are there to protect the skin and are helping to heal the brows. When you pick the scabs prematurely, it will almost certainly pull out the pigment with it and is likely to cause scarring. Just leave the scabs alone and let them do their thing.
Day 5 - 10 As the scabs fall off the brows will look patchy and the pigment may look faint. Don’t panic, the skin is still healing. The majority of the time the pigment will resurface over the coming days/ weeks as our skin continues to heal and shed. Yes you read right, our skin will shed! The entire outer layer of our skin sheds every 2 - 4 weeks. Gross I know, but facts! As our skin sheds it will reveal more of the brow pigment. The brows won’t look as dark as they did when they were first done, but they will appear around 40/70% lighter than after your initial treatment.
Day 14 - 42 The brows have begun to resurface and they may look slightly patchy where some of the pigment hasn’t retained, or they may still look perfect. Either way, it is important to have your 6 week touch up to perfect and complete the brows.
At your top up appointment, we will assess your brows and make any necessary improvements. It is imperative that you understand that results are not guaranteed. Unfortunately some, but very few clients will need additional treatments to complete their brows. This may be due to a number of factors, such as skin type, lifestyle, medical conditions, medications, poor aftercare or just how your skin has healed after the treatment. Additional top ups are charged and require you to allow a minimum of 6 weeks before any further touch ups can be performed on the brows. This is to ensure enough time has lapsed so the skin can fully heal. Repeated brow treatments can cause scarring which is why we encourage no more than 3 appointments within a 12 month period.
But just think of how worth it, it will all be once you have your beautiful new brows! #WINNING
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