You might have heard of the terms ombré powder brows, microblading, feathered brows, 3D brows, microshading, powder brows, the list goes on... Well, what do they mean and what are the differences between them? Continue reading to find out!
When it comes to eyebrow tattoos, there are TWO main styles: Microblading and Microshading. Due to the worldwide popularity of eyebrow tattoos in the recent years, depending on your location and artist preferences, microblading and microshading may be referred to as the many variations that are listed below
Microblading is also known as:
Feathered brows
3D brows
3D feathered brows
Eyebrow embroidery
Hairstroking
Nano brows (same hairstroke look but achieved with a needle rather than a blade)
Microshading is also known as:
Powder brows
Ombré powder brows
Shading or Manual shading
Pictured above is Ombré Powder Brows, a style of microshading/powder brows where the front of the brow is lighter than the rest to achieve a more natural look (hence the 'ombre' in its name).
Now that we've cleared the confusion surrounding name variations, let's focus on what is microblading and microshading and what are the main differences between them.
What is Microblading?
Micro blading is a permanent makeup procedure that involves the artist using a small handheld tool to manually etch (or blade, for the lack of a better word) pigment into your skin in little hair-like strokes. The microbladed hair strokes should follow your natural brow hair growth pattern in order to achieve the most blended and natural look. The result is a natural, fuller looking brow created by hairstrokes (strokes created by ink, not real hair).
See an example of microblading here.
What is Microshading?
Like the name suggests, microshading is when the artist softly shades your entire eyebrow area (based on a shape design he/she has deemed most suitable for your face). Microshading is usually achieved with a PMU tattoo pen (but sometime is done manually with a hand tool) and an ultra-thin needle that moves up and down in a stippling motion. Ink is softly deposited into the top layer of your skin in a minimally invasive way. Unlike microblading, where you will see hairlike strokes, with microshading your brows will have filled in & powdery effect that resembles makeup.
Unlike tattoos, microshading artists use an extremely light pressure in this process to create the most natural-looking and even shading. Rather than depositing the ink deeper into the skin, the colour intensity is slowly built up through many layers of shading.
Many clients shy away from this service because they believe the final result will be too "tattoo-like" and unnatural. However, often times, clients are able to walk out with an even more natural look with microshading vs. microblading due to the flexibility that shading offers.
If you are someone who prefers a natural look or if you don't wear a lot of makeup on the daily, ask your artist for light shading. This simply means the artist may use a lighter pigment shade combined with less layers of shading to give your brows an ultra soft yet defined shape.
Pictured right: Light shading. Colour will fade by 20-30% upon healing.
If you are someone who prefers a more bold look, ask for medium or bold shading. Your artist may then use a slightly bolder pigment and shade the brows with more layers of pigment to help you achieve a bold, defined look.
Pictured right: Bold shading. Colour will fade by 20-30% upon healing.
So we've covered the key differences between the two services in terms of method and result. Now, let's get into the nitty-gritty of things.
Is Microshading more painful?
In both services, your eyebrows will be numbed with lidocaine. Both treatments may be slightly uncomfortable depending on your pain tolerance, but they are not painful.
Having gone through both microblading and microshading procedures myself, I would say microshading was less painful than microblading as there was no cutting of the skin. However, individual experiences do vary. Things you can do to minimize pain: avoid booking your appointment on a day where you are on your period & avoid drinking coffee on the day of.
Is Microblading less suitable for oily skin?
Correct, microblading is less suitable for clients with oily skin, however, it does not mean you cannot get the service at all. Just keep in mind the pigment may not retain as well in your skin as the excess natural oils in your skin can cause the pigment to loosen up and blur out during healing. This means less pigment retains in your skin while more pigment may come off with the scab. The end result could be missing hair strokes which results in an uneven looking brow shape.
If you have oily skin, microshading is the best alternative. Since the entire area of your brow shape will be shaded with pigment (rather than just strokes), even with less pigment retention, your brows will not lose its new shape. To avoid the pigment intensity from fading too fast, ask your artist for more layers of shading (bolder shading rather than softer shading).
How long is each service?
With both microblading and microshading services, initial sessions can last anywhere between 2-4 hours, with the average being 3 hours. This includes numbing time (20-30 minutes), brow shaping and mapping (often up to an hour), and finally, blading or shading (1-2 hours).
Is the aftercare and healing process the same?
When it comes to the aftercare for microblading and microshading, there are no major differences. Since factors like skin type, weather, humidity, and lifestyle all can have an impact on healing, your artist should provide you with clear and customized guidelines on how you should care for your brows. Major pointers that every aftercare has includes avoid putting on makeup on the brow area, avoid swimming and heavy sweating, and avoid saunas and tanning.
With microblading, your skin may be healing and scabbing for up to 21 days whereas this number is 10-14 days for microshading. For both services, the final colour may take up to 4 weeks to see.
How do I know which service is right for me?
When clients ask me this question, the question I always ask them is: do you usually wear makeup on your brows? If the answer is yes, microshading will be a great replacement for makeup. Not only will it save you time, usually you can't even distinguish between a makeup filled and microshaded brow.
However, if you're someone who doesn't fill in your brows and would like to maintain a natural look, you could consider light shading (scroll up to see light shading vs. bold shading) or microblading.
Here are a few other guidelines you can follow to help you make your decision:
If you have oily skin, go for microshading instead of microblading
If you have brow hairs but are just looking to fill in a sparse spot, go for microblading
If you want your brows to have a makeup look (lightly powdered look to Kylie Jenner brows and everything in between), go for microshading
If you want to see individual hair strokes or more of a 3D effect, go for microblading (3D effect can only be achieved if you have real brow hairs to help the bladed hair strokes blend in)