With so many products and services available, we get a ton of options to have lush and thick eyebrows. However, one treatment has taken the cosmetic world by storm; it’s called microblading. This process mainly involves tattooing tiny eyebrows using a needle. By the first impression of this cosmetic treatment, you may ask yourself, “Is microblading a tattoo?”
This blog post is intended to answer this question. But first, let’s have a brief overview of microblading itself.
What is Microblading?
Microblading is mainly a cosmetic tattooing technique that creates an illusion of fuller brows. So whether you want the appearance of natural light finish or bolder brows, you can get your desired appearance with this treatment.
First off, the skin doctor determines the brow shape and color based on the skin tone and patient’s preferences. Then, they use a microblade tool to inject color pigments into the treatment area to create the look of natural hairs.
Since the injected color pigments can fade with time, you may need to get touch-up sessions to keep your desired brow look for a longer-term.
While this procedure is known to create the look of natural and more defined eyebrows, it is not a bunch of all positives. For instance, you may need multiple follow-up sessions to get near-perfect results. Generally, a follow-up session is required every four to six weeks. And the number of sessions will depend on your skin type and lifestyle factors.
Even after the treatment is complete, its results will not last forever. Generally, you get the looks of fuller brows for up to three years, after which the pigment starts fading.
Is Microblading a Tattoo?
Now, let’s answer the central question of this blog post. Because microblading often gets denoted by the terms ‘cosmetic tattooing’ and ‘microblading tattoo,’ many people confuse this procedure with eyebrow tattooing. However, both these cosmetic techniques are not the same. How? You will find it out in the following lines.
Microblading involves hand-drawn lines, while eyebrow tattooing uses a device.
The method used in either procedure significantly impacts what entails after the treatment. The microblading tool features thin needles that help create narrow lines. Unlike traditional tattoos, these lines do not bleed out with time.
On the other hand, eyebrow tattooing involves using a machine that punctures the skin numerous times while injecting the pigment. This way of injecting ink cannot create fine lines and may cause the injected ink to spread, leading to a thickened tattoo appearance after a few years.
The retentiveness of microblading is different from that of an eyebrow tattoo.
Since microblading involves injecting a tiny amount of pigment in the treatment area, the created fine lines may start fading after 1-3 years. This ink can move around in the dermis to become less prominent over time and eventually disappears.
Conversely, eyebrow tattooing involves injecting a relatively large amount of ink into the treatment area. Hence, the results of this form of tattooing remain remarkably consistent.
Microblading inks do not lose their hue.
While the overall lifespan of a microblading tattoo is much shorter than a traditional one, the inks used in this treatment do not lose their hue. On the contrary, the conventional tattoo doesn’t offer this perk as its dark color may turn blue or brown over time.
Microblading is less painful compared to eyebrow tattooing.
Another significant difference between microblading and tattoos is that the latter uses fast-acting needles to inject the pigment into the skin. The myriad of punctures created as a result may cause significant pain in the tattooed area. Microblading, on the other hand, doesn’t involve needle penetration beyond the top portion of the dermal layer. Moreover, this treatment uses thinner needles. For these reasons, microblading is significantly less painful than traditional tattooing.
Microblading offers more natural results compared to traditional eyebrow tattooing.
As discussed above, every fine line created during microblading is hand-drawn. These lines blend in with other hair strands and create a natural, fuller eyebrow look. Conversely, eyebrow tattoos have a sharpie look that becomes easily distinguishable.
Eyebrow Tattoos vs. Microblading – What’s the Catch?
When discussing tattooing options for eyebrows, microblading emerges as the clear winner due to less pain involved in the procedure and more natural results. However, the choice of the practitioner administering this treatment plays a vital role. You have to make sure that you get this treatment from an experienced skin doctor.
