We often dismiss how important of a feature our eyebrows really are. Especially with celebrities such as Cara Delevingne or Lily Collins becoming increasingly popular, so are fuller eyebrows, giving a powerful look.

As a result, many women and men alike opt for different procedures, helping to achieve just that. Microblading has therefore risen as a more permanent alternative to classic eyebrow makeup. What is it exactly and how does it compare to tattooing?

 

Microblading definition

Much like tattooing, microblading is a procedure placing pigments into your skin to color it. Microblading is a semi-permanent solution to make your eyebrows look feathery and sharp all the time by creating hairlike strokes to fill in the thin eyebrows.

 

Microblading vs Tattooing

So what makes microblading different from regular tattooing? Well, a few factors:

1. The technique

While microblading is still about coloring your skin and drawing a pattern, the technique is totally different from tattooing.

First of all, microblading is not done with a machine but with tiny blades. Not only does it give the drawn eyebrows a much thinner and sharper appearance, it also requires a certain level of skill to successfully replicate the feathery look of natural eyebrows. Such precision enables the best results as the color will not blur or change over time unlike tattooing.

Secondly, the microblades will place the pigments into your skin, but they do not penetrate your skin too deep. As a result, the longevity of the procedure is affected.

2. The longevity

Microblading is the middle ground between regular makeup and tattooing. It is considered a semi-permanent technique which can last a few years.

As the ink is not placed as deep underneath the skin as body tattooing, your skin will naturally exfoliate the pigments over time. Your microbladed brows will gradually lighten and fade.

Because of this, microblading requires regular touch ups that may be more or less frequent depending on your skin type. For instance, oily skin will exfoliate faster than dry skin.

3. The pigments

Another main difference between the two techniques is the type of pigments used to color your skin. Tattooing for example is often done using black ink, often fading over time into a blue or green colored tint. Such ink is not recommended for facial features, especially as thin as eyebrows as it will gradually blur with time.

On another hand, microblading uses pigments specifically designed to fade more naturally into a lighter version than the actual color and as close to your own natural eyebrow color. Microblading artists have great knowledge of such pigments and how to best implement them into your own eyebrows.

4. The pain factor

It’s not just a rumor, tattoos are always a quite painful experience, especially on the very sensitive eyebrow area.

Microblading is different. First, a topical anesthetic (often a cream) is used prior to the procedure, making the whole experience feel closer to tweezing than actually hurting your skin.

Getting a tattoo is always a bit of a painful experience, especially if it’s your face that’s getting tattooed. The microblading technique is different – a topical anesthetic is used prior to the treatment so the whole feel is quite similar to tweezing.

Conclusion

Though they share similarities, the two techniques are clearly different. Tattooing will last longer than microblading but at the cost of precision and might even leave undesirable results for a very very long time.

Considering microblading is a technique specifically designed for eyebrows, it is safe to say that it is much better than tattooing in terms of quality, coloring and painfulness.
Interested in learning more about microblading? Contact our team!