A wise actor once said never under estimate the power of a good brow.He was not wrong.
Eyebrows shape and frame our face Also known as powdered brows, Ombre brows and PMU it is great for any skin type and we can create a variety of looks from soft shading to more dramatic brows.
What actually is PMU brows?
pmu brows also known as spmu, ombre brows and brow tattooing is designed to create a natural and soft looking brow. Rather than using a block colour throughout the entire brow, the pmu technique uses a soft diluted colour at the front of the brow and then slowly increases the gradient to produce a darker colour at the tail of the brow. The result: a soft, misty and fluffy finish which compliments the natural shape and colour of the brow, giving it great depth and definition. The pmu technique will heal to reveal very natural results which last up to three years, providing aftercare is carried out correctly. It is great for any skin type, age or goal.
How is the procedure done?
It is similar to that of a tattoo in where we use a handheld machine to insert very little pixels into the skin to create our desired brow. The small pixels allow colour to gradually build up to reveal the ombre effect. It differs to that of a traditional tattoo as the pigment doesn't penetrate as deep into the skin and different pigment colours are used which are designed for the brows. The treatment is a 3-part procedure which means you must trust that this is a journey. At the time of your booking you will be asked to complete an online consultation form. This must be read carefully, understood and filled out to the best of your knowledge. In the following days you will also be sent an email with lots of important information on how to best prepare for your appointment, what to expect on the day and aftercare.
First you will attend a 30 minute Pre consult which is important as this is the chance for where we will get a chance to properly analyse your brows, talk brow goals, do the all important test patch and do a simple brow wax to get you the best start to your pmu journey. We recommend fthat you book both your pre consult and first pmu appointment at the same time with 3-4 days in between starting first with the pre consult.
At your first pmu appointment we will go straight into the treatment with what we've learnt about you and your brows. Firstly, starting by creating a pre draw on your brows. We use a heavy black pencil to draw a stencil of your potentially new brows to show you how the brows will sit and it also creates a stencil for us to tattoo over when the time comes for it. This stage can take up to 1 hour and is super important. Only once we are both happy with the shape then we go onto the actual tattoo, so don't worry you'll have a chance to speak up before you commit* Then we will mix a bespoke colour with our pigments that we will use when tattooing. once mutual agreement of the pre draw and colour choice* only then will we go ahead with the tattoo. Now that we'eve got the shape and colour decided will we begin the tattooing phase! This part takes up to 1.5 hoursdepending on your skin and how many layers are needed. We work in layers and usually brows need 2-3 layers.
Then 6 weeks later you will attend a top up/ retouch appointment were we wil re touch any bits which have disappeared, change the colour slightly (if required), perhaps touch up the shape and so forth.
Aything i need to know before app? as in do's and dont's?
DONTS:
arrive with make up on the brows unless we ask.
arrive with sun tan on the area or be sun burnt
have caffeine or alcohol on the day of the procedure. Avoid alcohol consumption 24 hours prior.
trim or touch the brows before the appointment.
Apply any product to the brow areas, arrive with the brows fresh and clean.
be tempted to tweeze or do any brow hair removal on the day or 24 hours leading up to your appointment. This will be dealt with at your pre consult and top up.
DO:
ensure you have attended your pre consult, this must be carried out at least 48 hours before the procedure. At this appointment not only will we test patch you, but this is also an opportunity to find out if you are a suitable candidate, if we need medical consent before proceeding and also a chance for the technician to find out your expectations and concerns.
avoid alcohol 24 hours leading up to your tattooing procedure and re touch appointments. More info will be sent in the email once you book.
your research, don't do this on the whim unless your absolutely confident this is for you.
be prepared by reading this whole blog post if you can so you have a good idea of what your in for
trust the process, this is a journey.
Prepare for your appointment in good time following the document sent to your email. Be prepared to follow simple but strict aftercare.
feel free to have lamination or tinting done a couple of days or more before appointment as this can make beautiful results too. If unsure, book a telephone consultation and we'll be happy to advise.
Trust the process and trust us. Your in good hands!
Does it hurt?
Mostly no. We work on 'layers' on the skin. When we do the first layer at the start clients tend to feel nothing. Then once we reach the middle and front of the brow that's when some clients report a warm, scratchy feeling. The intensity of this differs to each person as things like pain tolerance, skin type, medications, lifestyle factors and more play a role in how intense the feelings are. One thing we would recommend though, is not to worry. We are trained to a high level and will carry out an in depth consultation to ensure nothing goes wrong and everything runs smoothly. Also, as long as you follow the pre care (i.e .avoiding alcohol beforehand etc) by being prepared this will massively help. This is also why we never do pmu appointments last minute.
Is it safe and what are the risks?
Provided you go to a reputable technician who is educated properly it is safe. We recommend doing your research and be careful as there are many who are untrained or untrained to a suitable level. One thing to bear in mind is cost. The cost shouldn't be cheap. Paying more for a reputable, correctly qualified tech is worth it. The cheapest option isn't always the best option. Unfortunately, those who are not a good candidate for spmu brows are those who are pregnant, nursing, under 18 years old or have used Accutane or Retin-A in the past year or are currently using it. If you have used/are using Retin-A or Accuatane you must have stopped using it for one year to then become a candidate for spmu brows. This is where we need you to be honest with us at the consultation as we will not tattoo you if it is unsafe to do so. Your safety comes first and if necessary, we will ask you to seek medical consent if required. Lastly, we'd like to say that we have been trained to the highest standards and your safety is our priority.
Is there any aftercare? if so, is it high maintenance?
Yes there will be aftercare and no it isn't high maintenance. Like most of our other treatments you will need to strictly follow the aftercare given to get the best heal and results. We have made a page on all aftercare here. Also, please note that if you have super oily/acne prone skin and pigment doesn't hold well you may need to attend a second top up.
What is the difference between this and microblading?
microblading is one of the other major SPMU techniques used in the beauty industry for brows. The main difference is that microblading use a blade instead of a machine to mimic hairstrokes. Here are the reasons we prefer spmu ombre tattooing brows over mircroblading:
Ombre brows last 3x longer than microblading
Ombre brows are less invasive and is reported to be less painful than microblading.
Microblading is not suitable for people with that of oily or combination brows whereas ombre can suit any. The reason being the pigment will not hold in the skin.
Tattooing isn't just ombre but you can get hair stroke method, ombre and combo of both! Currently we only offer ombre but will look into the hair stroke method later down the line. With microblading you can only get the hair stroke method.
This is not us saying we don't like microblading, no. But we just prefer tattooing as there's way more pro's. Truth be told, we were going to offer microblading before we found out about tattooing method but the pros of tattooing definitely outweighed microblading. We love how it doesn't exclude anyone and the possibilities are endless for us as we can create different techniques and even do smpu makeup techniques such as lip blush down the line if we wanted!
How does it work? How do I book?
Simply book the pre consult toe begin with via our online booking here. This is where we will do the important test patch, a simple brow wax for the best results for the tattoo and take some pictures so we can study your brows before the actual tattoo procedure. We will also either in salon or over the phone do an in depth verbal consultation talking all things brow goals. We recommend when booking the pre consult to then go back and book the pmu appointment for a minimum of 3 days prior. We strongly recommend booking these two appointments at least 3 weeks in advance to get the slot you want and also have time to prepare for your appointment as we will send you out a preparation document to your email. f you are stuck you can contact us and we can help by booking this in for you.
Living with ombre brows...
Once both sessions are completed and healed, it is super smooth sailing from here. You will now have beautiful brows for a couple of years with yearly top ups to freshen the colour! The thing to note is that, any maintenance such as shaping your brows will need to be maintained and tinting if your brows naturally grow a slight lighter shade. We do try to blend the tattoo with your hairs as possible but depending on if at the tattoo app you like them darker and we did the tattoo darker. but your brows grow in blonde that's an example of when tinting would need to be done. The great thing is you could definitely go longer between tint apps as you already have your tattoo there. Another example is if you like fluffy brows to blend in with your tattoo you can get lamination which could look so dreamy. If your unsure what will look best please bring this up at your consultation/patch test app so we can guide you on what we think will be best as it really depends on your natural brows, personal style and goal.