The Sunday Mail
Talk of the Town with Kimberly Mhembere
Every beauty expert worth her salt considers removing makeup before heading to bed as a cardinal rule.
It’s right up there with waiting at least 24 hours to wash or shampoo one’s hair after a perm or a permanent wave.
But with every rule comes the exception, and microblading could very well be just that.
Imagine a world in which one doesn’t necessarily have to remove makeup.
Let’s take it a step further: Picture your life without having to draw your eyebrows every morning for years on end.
A world where one can wake up with that “I woke up like this” feeling every morning.
Welcome to the world of semi-permanent makeup.
If you have been thinking about a treatment that can help your brows to shape up without barely having to lift a finger, then microblading is the thing for you.
But what really is microblading?
Well, a straightforward response would be a semi-permanent tattoo for your eyebrows that can last for as little as one year and as long as three years.
In this technique, hair strokes are created using a blade mode of six to 13 prongs joined together.
This provides a natural hair-like appearance.
And, the process of using small needles to scratch your skin and deposit pigment can save both time and money.
The actual process of microblading brows may take anything from one to three hours, which translates to a second when factoring in the time the average woman takes to put on makeup every morning.
This time can be best used checking emails, text messages and whatnot.
Like any tattoo, aftercare is required to give the brows the best chance to heal properly.
Do expect the brows to darken and scab up over a period of several days.
This is commonly referred to as the “do not panic” period, where first-timers can get a bit anxious over what the final brow colour will actually look like.
To trend followers, please look for before and after photos on Instagram to better understand the process.
This may seem like an extreme makeover, but legions of Zimbabwean women look to be making the jump.
“As women juggling full-time careers, with children and home life, microblading saves us so much time when applying makeup.
“On average, when putting on makeup, drawing one’s eyebrows is the most stressful and time-consuming task.
“One can spend a minimum of thirty minutes fixing those eyebrows, and microblading looks to be the answer,” said one satisfied customer.
There are a lot of eyebrow techniques, and you must be well-equipped before going in for the procedure.
Some of the more popular include micro-shading, powder brows and Ombre brows and tinting, to name but a few.
One of Zimbabwe’s certified professionals, Deliwe Mutandiro Bobo, is on track to complete over 2 000 eyebrow makeovers.
She says “when done properly, brow enhancements can be life-changing”.
“I have had clients who have been pencilling their brows for years and never realised they could get a finished look with a semi-permanent makeup.
“Given the nature of microblading, and that it is semi-permanent, I always urge ladies to go with a personal recommendation.
“If you have ever contemplated a brow makeover, do the research and schedule a consultation with a licensed tattoo artist who specialised in the art of microblading,” she said.
