A look into the process, the myths, and the reasons behind them.
Microblading is one of the most sought-after, cutting-edge cosmetic techniques on the beauty business right now. One of the main reasons being that few other aesthetic processes short of surgery can deliver such amazing results in as little time.
Just two sessions are enough to radically transform your face and have the process last a long time.
Given our brain’s ability to recognized patterns and process looks, eyebrows play a fundamental role in how we perceive a person’s face and appearance, playing an essential role in symmetry, expressions, and overall allure.
Thus, when executed correctly, microblading has an immediate and powerful effect on how you look, accentuating the desired characteristics we interpret as beauty, like right proportions, fill, and coloring, that complements the eyebrow/eye shape and ratio.
However, as it usually happens whenever a technique spreads rapidly in popularity, some myths start cultivating around it, fueled by misinformation and speculation. Chief among those in the field of microblading is the wrong belief that the process can cause hair loss.
Can microblading cause hair loss?
To answer that, we must understand what exactly microblading is, and how the process works.
Put simply, microblading is a form of manual cosmetic tattooing. Used to increase the appearance of hair in order to create the effect of fuller, better-defined brows. Although not permanent, the process is long-term, exactly how long varies greatly depending on several factors (skin types, quality of pigment, etc.). However, the process generally lasts between one and three years.
Now, the word “tattooing” gets some people a bit nervous, so it’s something I want to take a second to address. Although you can call microblading “tattooing”, in so far as there’s ink being applied to the skin, the two tasks are barely related. The processes, instruments, and implementations being so different that it’d be the same as saying that ballet dancing is just like clubbing to techno music in a rave.
Yes, you are moving your body to the beat of music in both. But beyond that they are as different activities as they can be.
There’s no motorized tools in microblading, as the process is (or at least should be) done using a handful of precision manual needles that vary depending on the person’s specific needs. Each strand is drawn by hand, in a delicate and careful manner, simulating stroke by stroke the natural appearance and growth of their hair in the desired shape and contour.
Symmetry, form, coloration, thickness, all are carefully detailed elements in the microblading process, selected even before the actual application commences.
So, can microblading cause hair loss? The short answer is simply No. However, there is a substantial foundation of where this myth comes from.
Why some people seem to think it does?
Microblading is an artful, delicate process; one that should be only be performed by expert, experienced masters in the technique. It is a finesse job that needs to account and adjust constantly for symmetry, grouping, and coloring to obtain the flawless finish customers want.
Sadly, this is not always the case.
In many places offering microblading, the process is administered by amateurish, inexperienced persons who haven’t really receive any formal training in the sophisticated art. Someone like that can end up doing lasting harm by butchering the process.
When people ask me “can microblading cause hair loss?” I immediately ask them where they got that idea from after I tell them “No,” and the answer is usually the same “The internet”
The truth is that, if a person doesn’t know what he or she is doing and tries to emulate the microblading process without formal training and experience, they can severely damage the eyebrow root and the skin area, which is often a cause that keeps new hair strands from growing. Hence, the origin of the myth.
If you are looking into having microblading done to you, the first thing you need to do is make absolutely certain that you are going to be worked on by a formally trained, experienced professional that can deliver the results you are looking for, without the risks of a job poorly executed.