The journey between your first session and 8 week top up: What to expect

If I had a dime for every time a client sent a follow up email/text/DM claiming their brows have disappeared and they're not happy after their first session, I'd be a millionaire!

Eyebrows are a two stage process, much like any other permanent makeup procedure. But, how i do things are a little different..

Especially with brows, I urge my clients to go easy on the depth, volume, thickness, length and colour of the brows. Why? Brow shock is real. I'd rather my client come back at their top up and ask for thicker, stronger, darker brows after they've lived the healing process. Once they've experienced this, they're knowledgeable in the scabbing process and general healing process hence they're able to make well informed decisions on their brows. Remember, thinner brows can be tattooed thicker, lighter brows can be tattooed darker. Not the other way around.

So, for this reason, most my clients lose 40-60% of colour after their first session. I'd rather a client come back with faded and light brows than dark, stubborn, thick and grey brows.

Essentially, the first session is a trial period. Upon your return, I get to assess how well your skin held on to the pigment, whether your skin is stubborn or your undertone doesn't help the pigment stay warm and brown, and instead go grey. As its a bit of a gamble, I like to play it safe with the shape, size and depth. The top up is always adjusted according to this. Not every client is the same, so its best to tread lightly.

Why is this a problem for clients?

The fact is that it isn't a problem. They think it is but really its for their benefit. They only realise this once they've completed their second session (8 week top up). But the build up to that can be hell. I know a few techs that are reading this will relate. Due to the factors laid out above, clients lose colour quickly and some more than others. They are so used to the tattooed perfect brows, when it starts to scab they get scared, almost forgetting that they've been warned that we're going lighter, and that they will lose 40-60% of colour, and further that its for their benefit! Again, we repeat the healing process in depth to the client, reassuring them and letting them know ''its normal!'' but some can be more persistent than others.

When does this end?

When the client eventually comes in for their 8 week top up (after urging they need to come in earlier than 8 weeks because their brows have disappeared countless times!) they'll be a lot more decisive on the brow style their after, as they've lived the best of both worlds. Some prefer a softer look, and some prefer the freshness that they had when the brows were just tattooed. Its a way of weaving out well informed decisions from a client.

The 8 week top up is a perfection visit. 95% clients will need it. only 5% of my clients don't come back for an 8 week top up. Purely because they do not need it. If you are a part of the elite 5%, please consider yourselves lucky! But the remaining 95%, its a chance for you to seal and complete the brows. You have much less colour loss at the top up, hence the final result from the top up session is more or less your end result, unlike your first session. This is when we're in clients good books, because top up sessions are shorter, hence less trauma to the skin resulting in minimal scabbing, further retaining the colour far better than the first session.

So the message here really is, to trust the process, listen to the aftercare instructions when your tech explains what to expect from now till 8 weeks later, and have a little faith! As techs, we don't want our clients to walk around with botched brows, as its a bad reflection on us as much as it is on you.

To the techs out there that are living through this and can relate, this ones for you -

Stick to your guns, you're the educated and professional in this area, not your client. If you believe you have done that piece of work for your client to the best of your ability and the rest is just a waiting game, then just explain that. The rest will fall into place (at the top up!).

Lots of love,

H x