Eyebrows are one of a person’s most prominent facial features because of the many functions they perform. They help accentuate the eyes, shape the face, and play a powerful role in communication.
But as it turns out, gray hairs and crow’s feet aren’t the only thing we have to look forward to as we get older. Our brows can show signs of aging, too. When we blow out our birthday candles each year, our eyebrows age with us too.
Disappearing eyebrows are so gradual you barely even notice it happening, but the result is weak, skimpy brows that make our faces look undefined, tired and old.
I’ve never been blessed with thick full eyebrows. But in the last few years around the age of 45, I noticed them thinning and by age 55 they were non-existent. So, I started the quest of researching why and possible solutions.
So, for my research I found out that hormone changes can play a part, and dermatologists believe the same reasons that cause hair loss from the scalp, a common problem for women as they age, may contribute to thinning brows. Abrupt hormone changes can cause sudden hair loss that recovers over about six months' time. It happens postpartum to many women and can happen at menopause as well.
Eyebrow hair loss is also a common symptom of thyroid deficiency. If you’re losing hair from your brows, making an appointment with your doctor to get your thyroid checked might be a good place to start.
Sparse brows could also be caused be a nutritional deficiency—though that’s not usually a problem if you eat a relatively healthy, consistent diet. In addition to hormone fluctuations, this type of hair loss happens when there is a drastic dip in protein in the diet or sudden weight loss. For example, if you are sick and can only consume liquids for a month.
Although I rarely ever plucked my eyebrows growing up, it turns out thinning eyebrows can be a result of too much tweezing or waxing earlier in life. If the hair follicles suffer trauma and die out as a result, a permanent thinning of the eyebrows can occur. So ladies, if you do wax or pluck try to go as long as possible in between waxing appointments, or completely give up the habit.
Genetics may also dictate the age you’ll start to notice a change to your brows (if at all). That may be out of your hands, but you can still take action going forward to make sure your eyebrows look exactly how you want them to.
So what’s a 40+ gal to do about disappearing eyebrows and bring her face back to life? Well you could pencil them in. There are certainly a ton of products on the market and online tutorials. It takes about 10 to 20 minutes on average to do this but honestly it’s not how I like to spend my time, and time is a valuable resource. And, although on special occasions, I will take the extra time to shoot for a more polished look by applying more make-up, I typically don’t as I like to focus more on skincare than make-up.
After many discussions with friends and colleagues, extensive research and debate, I decided to give microblading a try for a more permanent solution. Microblading is a semi permanent way to fill in brows that looks more natural than permanent makeup or tattooing. Microblading differs from tattooing and the traditional form of permanent makeup in that it is typically done by hand versus a machine and doesn’t go as deep into the skin. In the past, tattooing and traditional permanent makeup usually resulted in a solid line and the color could change significantly with time.
As several people were considered, I decided to go with Whitney at Tattoo Icons located in Perryvile, MD as she was highly recommended for her artistry as a tattooer and microblade stylist. The first time I met with Whitney was just a initial consultation. I'm not going to lie, I was kind of nervous about the whole semi-permanent part of this procedure but at the beginning of my appointment, Whitney reassured me that'd she'd draw in my brows first to make sure I was into them. She put me at ease and I knew I was in good hands.
Whitney discussed the eyebrow shape that will be drawn on. While you can bring in pictures like a haircut, Whitney says that in order to create a true natural-looking brow, she likes to follow the direction of the natural brow hairs and takes into consideration the client's face symmetry and age. She also consulted me on the pigment of the ink, which she explained is chosen based off of the natural color of the brow hairs and the skin's undertone. Whitney answered all my questions and we set a date to come back for the procedure.
Upon arriving back for the first go round, Whitney sanitized and numbed the area. Then, she moved onto drawing the strokes in using the microblading pen, which can take anywhere from 30-40 minutes, depending on the eyebrow area. After the eyebrows were finished, she applied an aftercare ointment to help healing and a follow-up appointment was scheduled for five weeks later. The whole process took about an hour to complete.
Touch ups are recommended around 5 weeks to tweak the appearance after the microblading has healed and lightened. Since my eyebrows were so sparse, it took 3 separate touch-up attempts to get my final result, all of which were included in the initial price. I started getting worried that my eyebrows were never going to come in. Whitney assured me that microblading is a process and I needed to trust the process. It would take time since my eyebrows were so sparse to start with and there was nothing there to hold the pigment in place. And in the end she was right. I now have have eyebrows. It just took a little longer in my case. So ladies, would I recommend microblading? You bet. I am thrilled with the result.
Touch ups are also recommended about once a year after the end-result. Microblading normally costs between $300 and $1,000, and the results should last for one to three years. Your natural brow hair will continue to grow, but you likely won’t need to get waxed as often.
The cool thing about microblading that I learned from Whitney is that you can have zero brows, blonde ultra-faint brows, no brows - like me, or just need a little help filling your arches, all can be enhanced while creating the appearance of naturally full brows. And the other cool thing is now that I’ve got natural eyebrows it’s much easier to fill and shape them into better more fuller brows on special occasions or nights out, when I want to dress up or want a more dramatic look.
