Technique

Microblading vs. Powder Brows vs. Combo Brows

Three brow techniques dominate the conversation, and the names describe how pigment is placed rather than how the finished brow looks. The right choice depends far more on your skin than on the trend — oiliness, pore size, prior tattoo work, and how much natural hair you have all decide what will heal cleanly and stay looking that way.

Microblading

Microblading places fine hair-like strokes with a hand tool. On dry to normal, firm skin with small pores it can look convincingly like individual hairs. On oily or thicker skin those strokes blur as they heal and can read as a soft smudge instead of crisp hair. It is also the shortest-lived of the three, typically needing attention every twelve to eighteen months. We favor machine nano-strokes over blading, because a nano-needle deposits with less trauma and holds a finer line.

Powder brows

Powder brows build a soft, diffuse shading with a machine, from a barely-there mist to a defined makeup finish. It suits nearly every skin type, including oily skin, and it is the most forgiving option over previous tattoo work. It heals more evenly than blading and generally lasts two to three years before a refresh.

Combo brows

Combo brows use nano-strokes through the front and along the top edge, with soft shading through the body and tail. You get the realism of hair detail where the eye looks for it and the durability of shading everywhere else. For most clients with some natural hair, this is the most natural-looking and most practical choice.

How to choose

• Oily or large-pored skin: powder or combo, not blading.
• Dry, firm skin with sparse hair: nano-strokes or combo.
• Little to no natural hair: combo or powder, so the shape reads from a distance.
• Existing old brow tattoo: assessment first — correction or lightening often has to come before any new work.

Every technique needs a healing period and a perfecting session before the result is final. Learn more about our natural permanent makeup work, or about correction and removal of previous brow tattoos.