How long does microblading last and is it worth it?

I feel compelled to write this blog post (despite the fact that some of these points are covered broadly in some of my other posts) as this is a question that I come across repeatedly by clients thinking about whether to book.

Microblading, like any treatment where a foreign agent is introduced to the body, is going to undergo a process whereby your body will get to work to get rid of it as expediently as it can. This is the primary function of the immune system and therefore will occur regardless of whomever did the microblading. I have heard stories from clients who have experienced microblading sessions with other practitioners where they were sold a length of time that their blading was meant to last, and I'm afraid that this type of information simply could not be accurate. No microblader (or even doctor for that matter) could have a complete enough picture of the systems at play affecting your own personal immune system and as a result could not accurately ascertain how long your microblading would last.

In truth, the most comprehensive and honest answer would be to ask you questions about your life; what do you do for a living? How does your skin respond to hormonal changes/stress? How much water and alcohol do you consume? The list goes on, and the answers to these questions will give your microblader a picture of how long your microblading could last and how it will look over time. Having said this, these will be educated guesses at best. Ultimately, the way that microblading is represented and sold must change. Regulation reform must take place in order to make the industry more honest, professional and medical in nature, as it should be. The client must be aware of the maintenance involved from the outset, as is the case when deciding to have injectables such as Botox and filler. These are also metabolised by the body and need maintenance, and microblading should be viewed in the same light. Practitioners who are using sub standard colours containing a high metal content in order to provide more longevity, do so at the detriment of the future result of the microblading as it results in the pigment changing colour (the primary reason why a lot of microblading turns green/blue/red).

As always, I hope this information helps you to make informed decisions.

Love always

Galata x

This is done purely to maximise on profit and should not be a compromise your microblader is willing to make.

Will the colour of my skin affect the success of my microblading treatment?

A scenario I have come across too often is where prospective clients of varying ethnicities have questioned whether microblading is right for them based on their skin colour. This is where the world in which we live has a sinister impact on what we deem to be available to us dependent upon where we come from and what we look like.

Our skin (and by that virtue also our bodies) are not biologically different almost at all as a result of ethnicity, there are no such things as black genes, and conditions that were thought of being prevalent among certain ethnicities are now being proven to be misnomers. This is a subject that is (thankfully) getting more media awareness, but not quickly enough in my view.

Too many aesthetic practitioners (and I’m sad to say even traditional doctors) still deem there to be significant physiological differences across ethnicities, when in actual fact, the clinical study does not support this. What we have seen however is a history of societal prejudice and oppression affecting the way certain ethnicities have access to a multitude of things. Suffice to say, microblading is the least of it unfortunately.

I am proud to say that this is not the case at LondonBrowClinic. When booking a session with us, you can feel safe that the process we embark on to achieve the best results is indeed bespoke, but is based upon factors that are proven to affect the results; science! We speak in more detail about this within the consultative process prior to microblading. 

As a sub-note, I wish to add some books and bodies of text that will serve to educate you further if this is a topic of interest, these are some of my favourites:

Medical Apartheid by Harriet A. WashingtonThe Bias Diagnosis by Ivan Beckley

As always, take care of yourselves

Galata x

Have you had a bad microblading experience in the past? Please read on...

I am going to talk about something very personal to me in order to serve as an example of the principles that I instil within my business. 

Many years ago I had a breast aug operation after having my children, and unfortunately I had capsular contracture occur (which is where a hard capsule forms around the implant and leaves an oddly formed breast). As you can imagine, living with this impediment affects my confidence, not only in my appearance but also my feeling of self worth and ability to be comfortable wearing a bikini/lingerie. It has served to teach me an incredibly valuable lesson about how our confidence can affect our lives and how fickle it can be. 

I have had many clients over the years call the clinic in tears begging for advice or help having experienced a similarly damaging situation with semi permanent makeup and microblading. I wanted to write this blog to shed light on how I feel about this issue. I believe wholeheartedly in the power of empathy. Whenever anyone has this sort of issue, having a professional willing to listen to their experience and give advice can often be a source of serious catharsis and relief, even if the advice from the professional is just to wait  and give the body time to heal etc. Having someone be willing to listen; to hear their pain and draw from experience to analyse what can be done to remedy, is something that is priceless and doesn't occur often enough (in more instances than just these). I have visited some of the best plastic surgeons in the world, who have turned me away. This is likely due to the fact that it is risky to take on a patient who has had a tough experience in the past. A great deal of care has to be taken to emphasise that we can only make educated guesses based on experience, that we do not have a crystal ball and cannot guarantee how the body will react to any given solution. I have now been left with a problem no one wants to try to help me with, because of the general litigious nature of people and this problem is only getting worse. Having said this, I truly believe that if our intentions are good when we try to help, that remedies can often be found, and each party feels better for having gone through the experience - being the helper and the helped. 

So all I can say is this in response. Drawing from experience is probably the most valuable asset I can bring to the table when I work on my clients. I am proud to call myself a specialist, when a client books with me, they can feel safe in the knowledge that this is the ONLY service I provide at LondonBrowClinic. (I do charity work and cultivate other skills also, and I point this out so that everything I write is genuine and transparent as I feel that trust is an important aspect when choosing a practitioner for your microblading). The feeling of helping someone to feel happy has been transformative for me and given more meaning to my life. I genuinely enjoy it and I welcome those that feel they need assistance of this nature. Just give me a call or send an email...

Galata 

LondonBrowClinic