My First Time Microblading: Before, During, and After
Trusting, listening, and implanting God in all that I do has allowed me to be successful in businesses. I have the best clients I could have ever asked for and continue to meet so many great people who want to support and be apart of something great!
Deyonne Hallberg, small business owner, on the attributions to her success
While many of us (women especially) may feel both fearful and curiosity when it comes to cosmetic procedures - especially those on our face. That said, I’m pretty adventurous when it comes to trying new things.
While I’ve dabbled in a number of “scary” ones (read: electrolysis, Brazilian waxes, nose piercing - I even had my hair colored in a salon that spoke zero English), I’ve also re-emerged unscathed and cosmetically enlightened, every time! So this summer, for the first time, I decided to get my eyebrows microbladed.
Microblading, bottom line, is a cosmetic needling process on the skin that leaves a semi-permanent “eyebrow tattoo.” This could mean making them symmetrical, filling them in, or actually installing them for those who may not have any brows. Anastasia Soare, founder of Anastasia Beverly Hills and ultimate brow queen, explains the importance of the role our eyebrows play in framing our faces (to listen to her interview, check out this podcast episode of Fat Mascara).
Well, I tried it, and wrote this review of each phase (before/during/after), and the experience overall. (Best part: I have a surprise for you. Read to the end for a discount code to a service Huemon Beauty!)
B E F O R E
MBE owner Deyonne Hallberg of Huemon Beauty (pronounced like “Hue-man Beauty”), and I found one another on Instagram shortly after I moved to DC - which is how I’ve met other dear friends in the blogging world, like photographer Jodie Brim). Deyonne explained to me the services she offered at her salon , and asked if I’d be interested to try one.
Microblading caught my attention; I’d been curious to see what it was like. Perfectly, symmetrical, snatched brows that lasted up to a year? What’s not to love? An unfortunate waxing incident left one of my eyebrows shorter than the other, leaving them asymmetrical, too. Saving time and money on brow products definitely appealed to me, too. Why the heck not!
Huemon Beauty is a black-owned, woman-owned business, and as I’ve leaned into recent events this summer, I’ve wanted to adopt new postures in my consumer choices, and which businesses I’d like to partner with and support.
When I asked Deyonne what inspired her to start this business, she shared that she’d “started with the idea that no matter how society tries to define beauty, how we see and show up for ourselves is what truly matters.
“From our basic DNA makeup,” she said, “we all represent a version of beauty that cannot be replicated. Instead, it should support and embrace our growth into becoming who we’re destined to be. That journey in itself is beautiful.” And, rather than using permanent makeup to use as a cover up, or to feed insecurities, Deyonne instead believes “it was never intended to change who we are, but instead supports us in becoming the best version of ourselves.” #sameyoubutbetter
“From our basic DNA makeup, we all represent a
version of beauty that cannot be replicated.“
If you couldn’t already tell, the philosophy behind her business goes beyond skin deep. “Whether you’re male or female,” she said, “the hues in your skin are foundational to our identity, and it’s the canvas of art I create and tailor to my client in shape, color, structure, and personal desire.” A m e n , q u e e n ! !
While I was hesitant (and heck, I was scared) at first, Deyonne was fantastic, patiently answering all of my [many] questions over the phone and giving me all the time I needed to make a decision. Curiosity and love of this magical new convenience of long-lasting, perfect brows eventually won out - I’d spent over a YEAR making up my mind! - and I booked my appointment in late August of 2020. To keep the experience as low maintenance as possible, I was advised to avoid coffee and alcohol twenty-four hours prior to the procedure, and to expect the appointment to last three to three and a half hours.
Here goes nothing!
D U R I N G
I showed up to her Kensington, Maryland, salon for a Sunday afternoon appointment. For precautionary measures due to COVID-19, we (I’d brought a friend to film for me) wore masks throughout the appointment, signed waivers, brought in only essential belongings, and were the only appointment scheduled for the day (read: we had Deyonne’s entire facility to ourselves. Marvelous!)
Her space, by the way, is gorgeous. These are a few snaps of her clean and pristine studio.
Phase 1. The appointment began with a consultation. Together, we walked through the shape and pigment I wanted for my brows. I shared what I had in mind for them, and she also offered her suggestions on shape and color. Next, using several precise measurement tools, like a grid app on her phone to measure face symmetry, markers, and another device that looked like charcoal floss, she went to painstaking efforts to measure and mark the brow shape she would later be etching semi-permanently into my skin. She showed me everything first before starting the tattooing step.
She then explained to me how to treat and care for my brows while they healed for the next two weeks, and when to schedule my follow-up appointment. Deyonne also did very well describing how it might feel - pressure, but little to no pain, thanks to a bit of numbing cream. She added that everyone’s pain and discomfort tolerances vary, and to let her know if anything felt too intense.
She said the most bothersome part for clients tends to be the noise, which resembles a scraping sound. Most of her clients rate the pain, if any is felt, at no more than a three or four, on a scale of one to ten. Finally, she emphasized that if anything felt too uncomfortable or painful, to feel free letting her know right away so we could pause.
For my new brow shape (as you’ll see in the pictures), we agreed to bring in my brows closer together to align vertically with the inner corners of my eye, fill in a bit on the top arch (both her idea), and drag down the length of the tail (my idea).
In short, she did a great job keeping me comfortable and relaxed. While the setup felt a bit like leaning back into the dentist’s chair for surgery, I felt totally calm from start to finish!
Phase 2. I sat in the chair, she asked if I was ready, and I told her “Let’s do this!” I felt informed, prepared, and relaxed.
The blading itself lasted maybe 30-40 minutes. I did hear that unnerving scraping noise she’d warned about, but what I actually felt was just a bit of pressure on my brow bone area. She asked me every now and then how I was doing, while my friend took pictures and videos, commenting that if I hadn’t had on numbing cream, I wouldn’t be nearly as nonchalant about the process as I was. If I couldn’t see what was happening, I was good!
Phase 3. I’ll group together the handful of subsequent steps into phase three: installing the pigment and ensuring it stayed put. She mixed together two hues to closely match my natural brow color (Cocoa and Hazelnut), applied the mix onto my brows, let it sit (shown below right), and then removed it before going back over the new brow shape with the needle to fill any leftover spots.
Then she walked me through what to expect as they healed - some scabbing, itchiness, darker pigment for the first few days, then a gradual settling of the color - and sent me home with a little care kit: brow cleaner spray, Q-tips to gently wipe it off, soothing cream, an adhesive visor to protect my brows in the shower, and a laminated sheet with after-care instructions. Deyonne made sure I was well taken care of!
New brows, who dis
The perfect shape!
A F T E R
Woohoo! I made it! My brows were the fleekest I’ve ever seen them - the hairlike strokes drawn in looked incredibly realistic. On days one through three, the pigment stayed pretty dark, as expected. For those first four to six weeks before the follow-up touch-up procedure, the goal is to retain at least 70% of the original pigment from the first procedure, so they start darker than they’ll actually stay. As a result, I had a bit of a Groucho Marx look going because my eyebrows started to look pretty intense! But after about 72 hours, they gradually started to fade. #trusttheprocess
The first week afterward had its challenges. Avoiding hot tubs, saunas, and steam rooms were easy enough in August, but to also avoid profuse sweating by ceasing my usual workouts was tough, and made for an antsier-than-usual week in quarantine. (Yoga became my new activity of choice!) Scabbing was the most noticeable around day 7, which meant they also started to itch. Keeping my paws off my brows as they recovered from the procedure proved quite difficult! Thankfully, Deyonne had me ready with my self-care brow kit, and the soothing gel brought immediate relief as soon as I dabbed on a tiny amount. “Use sparingly,” she’d told me. I also wore an adhesive visor when I showered, to keep them from getting too wet.
The second week showed further improvement; while some scabbing still showed, it was very subtle. Until through the fourteen-day healing period, I avoided touching them as much as possible. To prevent further irritation, I also forewent applying makeup or plucking stray hairs.
F I N A L T H O U G H T S
It’s been four weeks now since the procedure. Despite their having lost the small bit of pigment that we’ll touch up during my 5-week out follow-up, my eyebrows still look the best they ever have. I no longer need makeup to fill them in - I only use a bit of brow gel to keep hairs in place (which acts like hairspray). Deyonne took great care to both follow exact proportional guidelines and make them symmetrical (which has literally never happened for me) and it absolutely shows. Her attention to detail and planning paid off and she nailed it!
Thank you for reading, everyone! Have you ever wanted to try microblading, or a similar service? Leave your thoughts in a comment below. To read Huemon Beauty’s FAQ page, click here.
And now, our gift to you: use TAYLOR20 for a 20% discount code off a microblading service of your own with Deyonne at Huemon Beauty. To schedule a consultation, click here.
Huemon Beauty is located at 4217 Howard ave, suite C in Kensington, Maryland. Follow them on Instagram @huemon_beauty / on Facebook at H U E M O N B E A U T Y / their website at www.huemonbeauty.com / and via email, at huemonnbeauty@gmail.com.
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