Engie recently posted about the tattoos she is not going to get and I have been thinking about it a lot.
Currently, I have zero tattoos. There was a time when I was twenty that I was obsessed with getting a tattoo. I think the tattoo I thought I wanted was some sort of Chinese symbol of the style that were so popular in the early aughts, but I can’t really remember; I don’t have the faintest idea what the symbol would have been for. Luckily, my tendency toward procrastination saved me. At the time, I told myself that if I was still obsessed with getting a tattoo after a year, I could get one. The obsession faded, and I have not seriously wanted one for decades.
Until now.
But the tattoo I’m hankering after these days is a little different. I want to tattoo my eyebrows.
My eyebrows have always been on the full side, and I’ve only ever plucked them: no waxing or threading here. And I’ve only ever plucked them lightly; somehow I avoided the Super Skinny Eyebrow Trend of the 90s and 00s.
My eyebrows are also similar in color to my natural hair color, which is kind of a mousey light brown. Plus, a few strands of brow are distinctly grey. I have also noticed more recently, perhaps in the past six months or so, that my right eyebrow is thinning. Or getting patchy, or something. There’s skin visible where brow should be.
For the past decade or so, I’ve been using dark brown eyebrow mascara to match my brows more closely to my hair. Then, in the past few years, I’ve been dyeing my brows to match my hair. The dye doesn’t last very long, though, so I have to supplement with eyebrow mascara in between hair appointments. And now that my right eyebrow has sprouted a weird bald patch, I’ve been experimenting with eyebrow pencil.
At my last hair appointment, my hair stylist revealed to me that she has a similar issue with her brows not matching her hair. But instead of dyeing her brows, she has permanent eyebrow tattoos!
I am familiar with eyebrow tattoos; I know several people who have them. But for these people at least, I’ve been able to tell that their brows were tattooed on, mainly because there has been no brow leftover. Does that make sense? Like, the only brow visible on the forehead is tattoo. This is such a great option for people with very fine brows or brows that did not survive the Super Skinny Brow Trend, or people who have no brows due to alopecia or chemotherapy or whatever. When they are well done, they look great. But since I have eyebrows, it seems silly to shave them off and replace them with tattooed ones.
HOWEVER, my hair stylist informed me that her tattoos are UNDER her brows. And I looked and looked and cannot tell that her brows are tattooed at all. The tattoo must serve the same purpose as eyebrow pencil, filling in around the actual hair. (Why do I keep wanting to say “fur” instead of hair? Yes, technically eyebrows are made up of small hairs… but I maintain that eyebrows should have their own terminology, like lashes and whiskers do.)
All this has me thinking a lot about whether I want to get eyebrow tattoos. Apparently there is also something called microblading which seems to have similar but less permanent results. (I have heard the term “microblading” for years and years and always thought it was a hair removal procedure, not a way to make your eyebrows look fuller. Yet another reason not to make assumptions, Internet!) And there seems to be a third option, which is an eyebrow transplant. I think I will leave that to people who are in REAL need of eyebrows.
Have you – or someone you know – tried eyebrow tattoos or microblading?
I’m still early in the Thinking About It stage, although I think about brow tattoos quite a lot. The main things holding me back are: 1.) Pain. I don’t even have my ears pierced, am I really going to get tattoos on my face? 2.) Permanency. What if the tattoo job isn’t good? What if it is good but I hate it? What if I do it and then still need to use brow mascara to get the color I want? What if I spend my entire life looking like Uncle Leo?
Probably, as with the previous tattoo obsession, I need to hold off for at least a year to see if it’s a real desire or a passing fancy. In the meantime, I think I will try something I saw on Instagram, which is using a clear brow gel in combination with an eyebrow pen.
I think Busy Bee Suz got microblading a few years ago – she could probably give you the details on pain, how long it lasts, etc. I remember her results were great.
I also have thinning/ patchy eyebrows, and also they are greying. I was using that brow mascara but now I mostly just use an eyebrow pencil. Sometimes it feels like it’s just one more thing to maintain, you know? I also would worry about looking like Uncle Leo on a permanent basis.
I came here to suggest Suz as a contact to talk to, as well! This post, exactly! https://busybeesuz.com/2022/09/20/eyebrow-you-brow-we-all-brow/ If you reach out to Suz, I bet she’ll tell you more information about it, too, in terms of pain, lasting effects, etc.
I get SO UPSET my grey eyebrows. SO UPSET. Why punish me this way, NATURE?!
YES. It is just one more thing to maintain. I need FEWER THINGS. But the permanent Uncle Leo face is a real deterrent.
This is a tough one. You can see a bad brow job from a mile away, but you wouldn’t know a good one unless the person tells you their brows are tattooed. I say…exactly what you said that more research and time will lead you to the right answer.
Right?! It’s just like plastic surgery in that way, and my worry is that even if you find someone who is really good at their craft, there’s still a chance it might not work out for YOU. Or me, in this case.
I think for me the worry (not like you need another worry added to the list) would be that Eyebrow Fashions CHANGE. The eyebrows of my high school years (thin thin thin) are nothing like the eyebrow trend of late where there’s a blocky wide section and then a dramatic peak. I would worry that I would get The Eyebrow Fashion of the Day (without realizing it was The Fashion—just thinking it was Normal Eyebrows), and then have that permanently. But it seems like if you get the tattoo ONLY where your REAL eyebrow would be (and err on the smaller side), then you can still style your eyebrows around it? So maybe there is no need for this worry.
I had sort of ignored this worry because I have always had the same brows… but I think your point about not realizing I would be getting the Fashion of the Day is a good one. Because the tattoo person might be doing the Fashion of the Day without me knowing it!
Ooh. I had no idea this was an option. Like Nicole, I would describe my eyebrows as thinning/patchy. But I would also be afraid of getting something as permanent as a tattoo. I think I’ll just let you do it first, ha ha! Seriously, it sounds like if it’s done well, it’s a great solution.
Yes, the permanency is really such a tricky thing to get around.
I have seen this go VERY WRONG as the person ages. I would say DO NOT DO IT. But most of my friends microblade and look good. I think eyebrows are something that vary wildly depending on trends and you should do the least permanent thing that makes you feel the best.
(I had giant caterpillar brows, plucked them into oblivion in the 90s, and ended up with… unremarkable brows that I tweeze sometimes and then ignore, so take that with a grain of salt)
The least permanent thing that makes me feel the best. Yes, this sounds like really solid advice.
The closest I have to any experience with this is that a friend of mine shaved off his eyebrows in college, just to see how it would look– he was going for a punk look– and what he learned is that they are there for a reason. He said he kept getting dust and sweat in his eyes. But that would be temporary problem, I guess. (I’m assuming to get the tattoo under the brows you have to shave first, but I don’t know that for sure.)
I totally thought they would shave the brows, too! But I asked my stylist and she said no, they did it with the brow hair intact! (HOW?!?!)
I know someone who had it and LOVES it. She told me she spent so much time researching it to make sure the person would do a good job.
I am a little worried that I would do all that research and STILL end up with brows I hate. I am thinking of all the celebrities who presumably have endless resources to put toward finding/paying for The Best Plastic Surgeon and end up looking like strangers. Ugh ugh ugh.
I have eyebrows that look like cousins and I’m forever trying to make them look more like sisters…
I feel like eyebrow tattoos fall into that category that is either the best thing ever or the worst thing ever–no in-betweens.
Sounds like your eyebrow style is consistent, so you won’t have to worry about trends, but what if you don’t like it?
Hee hee – cousins! Love it.
Yes, WHAT IF I DON’T LIKE IT. That is the big question.
I think microblading is the way to go. I can’t speak from personal experience as I’ve been lucky with my brows I do know a lot of women (including my sister who had disappearing brows) who have had it done (it does need to be refreshed I think about twice a year). Just check reviews or ask around. It’s more common than you think. Good luck
My interest is piqued for sure, Pat!
Also, know that they will seem Way Too Dark for the first few days or week, but then they’ll fade
This is all very good to know.
I thought microblading was about getting rid of old skin on the surface of your face but I am clearly misunderstanding what microblading is. I didn’t know tattooing eyebrows was an option! A woman I work with teams’d me this week and said “I forgot to put on my eyebrows this morning!!” meaning she forgot to use her brow pencil. I did not notice and also did not really know that is a thing people do because I have never done that. Can you tell how little I do in terms of personal care??? 😉
But a tattoo sounds scary for me because it is SO PERMANENT!!
That is exactly what I thought microblading was! Or some combo of your explanation plus brow plucking?! I had no idea what it really was! Blade to me implies cutting/removal, not adding color. Who can we talk to about implementing a better name?
I really don’t wear a lot of makeup, but I feel naked without something on my brows and lashes!
They basically make a bunch of cuts on your eyebrow and fill them with ink. That’s how they do the “hairs” that you can sometimes see, instead of having it completely filled in.
Also, from what I hear it’s painful.
You’re thinking of dermplaning.
That’s the best decision: to take your time and think about it and research it more. I hate the idea of anything permanent. I worry about it being botched or done crookedly and having to look at it for the rest of my life. One of my eyebrows is substantially thinner than the other and it drives me nuts.
I totally agree, Margaret. Anything permanent makes me very nervous!
The biggest barrier for me is that my eyebrows are only going to get more gray. A tattoo with my current eyebrow color would be a permanent commitment to something I know is guaranteed to be temporary.
(I say this in the context of a weird genetic quirk: my eyebrows, like my dad’s before me, are graying faster than my scalp. I have a picture of my dad at 63, in which his hair still reads as brown but his eyebrows are mostly white. I’m not sure yet how I’m going to handle that transition, since I seem to be on the same trajectory.)
You raise such a good point. Am I going to have to color my brows ANYWAY? If so, what’s the point?
So I don’t know anyone with eyebrow tattoos but I do know two people with permanent eyeliner tattoos and it looks great. (One was a Girl Scout parent and as soon as she said she had it done, we all peered intensively into her face and she was very patient.) So based on seeing that, I suspect eyebrow tattoos would also look really nice since they are done by the same people with the same sorts of skills. And I am ALL ABOUT things that cut back on my daily work and maintenance.
PERMANENT EYELINER. Jen. That sounds like the stuff of nightmares!
But you are right about how nice it would be to cut back on daily maintenance.
She said it mostly only hurt when she was doing the part right by the corner of her eyes. But yes, stuff of nightmares to have someone tattooing THERE. It really does look great though.
Permanent eyeliner would be on my list of Wants except for the idea of the application. Maybe if I could be asleep during that part?
My step-daughter had her eyebrows tattooed (she’d plucked them into extinction) and it looks fine. She claims its the best thing she’s ever done as she doesn’t have to draw her brows on anymore.
But I’m with you – permanent and Uncle Leo would keep me from doing it. As my brows continue to slowly lean toward gray, I will keep my eyebrow pencil at the ready.
Ooooooh glad to have another “it turned out well” anecdote to add to the pile!
Okay, comment just above this PERMANENT EYELINER TATTOO? Uh, can they take my eyelid off to do it and then put it back on, because OW.
Just this morning I was talking to Eve about this, and I assumed they shaved off your eyebrow and then tattooed on naked skin, but that’s kind of a weird assumption, isn’t it? Then I thought, but what if you tattoo on brown or whatever and then your eyebrow hair turns grey? And then I thought, DO eyebrows turn grey? And how does microblading put stuff back ON. In sum, I am thoroughly confused and no help at all. Also, every box of dye I ever saw counselled firmly against dyeing your eyebrows, so clearly you are a rebel badass.
RIGHT?!?!?!
And yes, eyebrows DO turn grey. And I had the same shaving assumption (because how do they do it accurately with the hair still there????). Microblading is definitely a misleading term. Rebel badass is not a phrase I would ever use to describe myself, so I am pretty pleased you see me that way (in this one very small instance, ha!).
A lot of tattoos turn blue after time………
I’m so risk adverse when I think of permanent things. I think of Hollywood actors with horrible plastic surgery or whatever, and I think, “If they can get the wrong person, so could I”. UGH. I think your approach sounds good…wait and see if you still want it in a year. If you do, research and find a place locally that people you know have had good experience with.
Did you read Ann Patchett’s book, These Precious Days? There’s an amazing tattoo story that I just pink puffy hearted for days.
I am so with you, J. “If they could get the wrong person, SO COULD I.”
I have that book and have not yet read that particular story! Thanks for the recommendation!
This is so interesting! I didn’t know it was possible to tattoo your eyebrows. I’ve always had such light eyebrows that they’re practically invisible. I used to use pencil on them, but I don’t even bother now. Glasses and bangs keep them covered up!
I follow a blogger who looks like that picture. As she’s aged, her hair has changed colors but the tattooed on eyebrows have not… she’s a really nice lady but the eyebrows look terrible and are jarring
Ugh, yes, that is such a concern!
I know nothing about this topic, but I do not have my ears pierced either. I think you are getting good advice here and I’m learning a thing or two in case I ever decide to pay that much attention to my eyebrows. Maybe everyone who knows me wishes I was paying closer attention to my eyebrows. Ha. I so appreciate the photo of Uncle Leo. Hilarious.
Fun fact about myself: I actually did tattoo a brow. I used to work as a communications manager in a medical device company producing tattoo and permanent make-up equipment. For better understanding we underwent a training for permanent make-up as it is called and micro needling.
Anyways a few things I can chime in. Permanent make up is compared to tattooing a lot less invasive. Meaning you are not going as deep as if tattooing. That means it a) doesn’t hurt as much and b) depending n your skin and metabolic could fade with time.
I would definitely forgo the microblading. With that technique your skin will get cut with a color layered scalpel. Meaning you have a ton of tiny cuts that need to heal over. Those cuts can bleed into each other and make the end result look more flat and as if an entire area is tattooed.
The technique your hair stylist seems to have is the hair stroke method. Here you – as you guesses – tattoo (for lack of better word) tine hir strokes with in your natural brows. You are filling them up. You could start light and get refreshes if your brow hair is thinning.
If you are interested in how that looks, I was doing an image film about a new needle back in the day and it shows the technique https://tobia-nooke.de/portfolio_page/amiea-finest-hair-strokes-in-micropigmentation/ This technique is mircoinvasive as you are basically punctuating/pricking the skin and not cutting it. hence less blending and more defined.
If you are going to do it I would always ask since when the artist is doing it and look through their portfolio. The good ones have a ton of before and after images. They usually set hair strokes into your brow with a brush before doing so you can check the color.
I hope that helps.
OMG yes, this is TREMENDOUSLY HELPFUL, Tobia! Thank you!
I am so happy to learn that someone else never got their ears pierced. Me neither! I sometimes miss being able to wear cute earrings, but not enough to get them pierced now. (I do have a piercing in my right auricle that I got when I was in my early twenties… that was my only “rebellious” act. I don’t have tattoos either.
And my eyebrows are probably the least thought about feature on my face. I have never done anything with my eyebrows (except for plugging a stray hair)… I don’t trim them, color them, or brush them. I guess I am also lucky that I find my eyebrows ok just the way they are.
I have no advice regarding eyebrow tattooes or microblading, but done right they’d probably look great!
I know this is late but feel compelled to comment.
I have micro bladed my brows. It’s similar to a tattoo but the pigment is not as deep so it fades. Everyone is different but most people have their microblading fade away within 2-3 years. It takes two appointments to get it done the first time, then one every 18-24 months to keep it going. The microblade is not solid, it’s thin hair width strokes. It’s less pain than plucking your brows.
if you don’t like it it is very easy to laser off – not like a tattoo because again the ink is close to the surface. My brow lady just lasered hers off and started over (hers has gotten kind of solid after refreshing too frequently). She said the pain was less than waxing.
I last did mine in 2019. I have a tiny bit left- I can see it with a magnifying mirror. Just enough that I can do a perfect brow with a pencil but my brows are pretty sparse if I don’t. I am going back in a few weeks and am very excited. I don’t know anyone that regretted it.
I do know two people that have tattooed eyebrows and I don’t recommend that at all. It’s solid not hair-like strokes. Also the one lady’s eyebrows have a bluish tint.
Dermablading is where they essentially shave your face to get rid of dead skin and peach fuzz. Micro needling is when they prick you with needles to stimulate healing/new skin.
I highly recommend micro blading brows.
Despite the name microblading does not use a knife. The “blade” has several small needles that make the hair strokes. Also I looked normal that day. The next day a tiny bit pink but normal enough to go to the office., after that my brows looked fine. There was no long healing process. She did recommend avoiding sweating or swimming for a week. I had to put a cream on my brows twice a day, but it was really no fuss.
What an interesting post and fun comments to read through! I think I would consider getting my brows tattooed – I have SUPER light brows that basically disappear on my face if I don’t draw them on every day. It’s very annoying. I did dye them once but that didn’t last very long so that didn’t seem like the right option, womp. I would love to do microblading but it’s SO EXPENSIVE and you have to keep doing it, so that’s a no-go for me.
I don’t think I’m AS averse to tattooing my brows as other people. As long as you find the right artist + make sure not to OVERDO it, I think it should turn out okay?! But that’s just me.
As a victim of the Super Skinny Brows era, I still fill mine in. I use Brow Wiz from Anastasia Beverly Hills and it’s the only thing that helps my eyebrows even begin to match, and it’s so much easier (for me) than anything else.
OMG. That photo is going to haunt me.
Do you remember I did the microblading? My person said it would last a year or so, well I’m going on two years and I’m still very happy with my decision.
My issue wasn’t over plucking as well, they were just thinning and didn’t show up in pictures. Looked like I had barely a hair there. 🙂