Wait, isn't this microblading?

Hi Friends!

I can hardly believe that next year it will have been 10 years since I took the leap and signed up for a Microblading course that completely changed my life. I have learned so much in the Permanent Makeup Industry over the last decade but I know there is still a lot of confusion and hesitation over these services.

I think a lot of confusion stems from the fact that there are so many different techniques names and each company is using different ones. It makes it a bit overwhelming for consumers to know which is what. Honestly, most people just call everything Microblading, regardless of the actual technique! So I'm going to break down the names from top to bottom so that if/WHEN you get your brows done, you know exactly what it is that you're signing up for.

Let's start with the overall name of these services as a whole.

• Permanent Makeup or Cosmetic Tattoo

Any and all technique of Brows, Eyeliner and Lips is considered Permanent Makeup (PMU) or a Cosmetic Tattoo. So when you call a company, you can refer to their services as either one of these vs. saying "I'm interested in your Microblading" since they may not specifically offer the Microblading technique. This also signals to us that you have done some basic research about what your getting, which is nice!

As a small side tangent, I actually don't like to refer to these services as Permanent Makeup. Seriously, check my entire site. I do reference Permanent Cosmetics for the sake of variety, but I feel like the term Permanent Makeup is outdated and a bit misleading. This is just personal preference, but just for context, these are the reasons why:

• A. Depending on what type of ink we use, it's actually not always permanent. Some inks I use actually fade out almost completely within 2 years.

• B. I actually don't try to accomplish a make up effect. My goal is to give you an amazing natural enhancement so that you that you don't NEED to do everyday. But PMU isn't always a replacement for makeup - some people wear very bold makeup that can't be replicated with ink and even after getting their brows done, will add makeup on top.

• C. Men actually do get these services as well and again so I don't want to reinforce the idea that this is just going to look like makeup.

• D. I want our clients to be fully aware of the gravity that this is a tattoo on their face. By referring to it as Permanent Makeup, it makes it a cutesy girl service instead of a permanent decision that should be seriously weighed. Shoot, even with us referring to it as a Cosmetic Tattoo during consultations and a pre-appointment, I will still have people ask me, mid-way during the tattooing process, "So, is this like a tattoo?" Girl, its not LIKE a tattoo, it IS a tattoo!

Again, this is just me, but both of these terms are completely accurate and acceptable!

Shading vs. Hairstrokes

We're about to go into detail of the name of techniques, but I want to be very clear that ALL techniques break down to TWO categories. Just two! Your work is either going to be a Shading technique or a Hairstrokes technique. This is literally the simplest way to put it, everything else that we call these techniques are just industry jargon and marketing ploys.

Powder Brows

Powder Brows is the overall name for all shading techniques. They can be soft, bold, permanent or semi-permanent, its all Powder Brows. These are typically done with a tattoo machine.

Ombre Brows

Ombre Brows is a type of Powder Brow that intentionally is lighter in the front. That's it! That's the only difference! Some companies, like myself, opted to use the term Ombre Brows instead of Powder because Ombre was just trendier at the time. But essentially, these techniques are one in the same.

Microblading

We are switching over to our hairstroke techniques. Microblading a technique that creates hairstrokes or little lines with a small tool that looks like a small blade. It's not a blade! But it looks like one and this blade would be used to cut a small incision in the skin and then ink is rubbed into the incision.

Nano Brows

Nano brows are a hairstroke techniques but instead of doing it with the microblade, the hair strokes are made woith a tattoo machine.

Hybrid/Combination Brows

And then lastly would be brows that use both hairstrokes and shading. Typically these names will be some type of word like Hybrid or Combination.

And that's it. A lot of words that all boil down to shading or lines! Depending on your area, you may come across even different technique names. I know many years ago companies were using phrasing like Stardust or 3D Embroidery brows, but just know that everything falls into those two categories (or a mix of the two) and you will be fine!

If you are trying to figure out which technique is the best, there are plenty videos out that discuss the differences. I know I have made many posts on social media about the differences and I may write a blog post with more details but for this, I wanted to keep it simple with just the difference of the names.

Hope this helps anyone that is starting out considering cosmetic tattoos. Chat again soon! xo