Microblading: how it’s shaping the industry

Beauty Concept International’s (BCI) director of training and business development, Brenda Griffin, talks about the growing popularity of microblading ahead of the company's LCN Brow Microblading for SPMU Professionals course in July.

Brow enhancement is one of the most common procedures performed by micropigmentation technicians and a particular technique that has gained momentum in the past 12 months is microblading. During the semi-permanent procedure, a qualified technician creates fine hair strokes to define the brows using a specialist hand-tool with disposable microblades.

“The technique is perfect for those who want to cover gaps or fill in over-plucked brows but with natural-looking results. It differs from the usual permanent make-up technique as the technician punctures the skin with the hand-tool – not a machine – to create the hairstrokes,” says Brenda Griffin, director of training and business development at Beauty Concepts International (BCI). “Our blades are essentially tiny rows of needles that are three to less than five millimetres in length and come in all kinds of combinations – seven, 12, 14, 16, 18 and so on.”

Clients are most commonly using the technique to make their already good brows look fuller or to fill in missing strokes on the tail, but it can also help clientele who suffer with hair loss. One of the most popular aspects of microblading is the fact that there’s minimal downtime.

“When you cut into the brow with the microblade, you’re not going as deep into the epidermis – only about 0.3–0.5mm – so when the skin heals over, it heals as a very sharp hairstroke and doesn’t bleed into the skin,” says Griffin. “It’s a treatment that once clients have had it, they can walk out and go for lunch because the hairstrokes look really natural straight away.”

And the technique is only growing in popularity but how will the technique develop in the future: “It’s still less than a year old here in the UK so it makes it hard to gauge what the forward-looking trends will be. I think using more than one colour for really natural-looking brows is the way forward,” says Griffin.  

Novalash have a range of courses, including the LCN Brow Microblading for SPMU Professionals course, happening in July.