So you've finally decided to get your brows done. Or maybe you've seen an advertisement for brows while scrolling through Facebook and now you're interested and want to know more.
Hell. Yes! Girl you're not going to regret this decision. Having my brows done has been such a blessing to my sanity as well. as my love for sleeping in.
You know your brow struggles, you may even have some inspiration photos saved, but how the hell do you select your artist...you Google "permanent makeup in my area" and easily 20-50 business pop up.
Overwhelming right?
Well....this is my unbiased (I am a PMU -permanent makeup- artist myself) guide to choosing your artist...because like you, I was once a client and now you can learn from my mistakes.
What are the factors that you should be focusing on when choosing your artist?
Their work.
Their education/experience.
How well they communicate.
Price. Yup, this is listed last....why? Because while we all have budgets, this is a tattoo....on your face. I'm not saying don't pay attention to your budget, but if you want someone who has great-looking work, consistent results, is educated and experienced, communicates easily, and has a clean studio, you're going to invest some money in your appearance and girl, YOU ARE WORTH EVERY PENNY!
THEIR WORK
Now that you're ready to start searching for the artist who will do your brows, it's time to start focusing on your local artists and their work. This is the time you stop searching vague Instagram hashtags like #permanentmakeup #microblading #ombrebrows, and instead start searching these hashtags with your city: #permanentmakeupatlanta, #permanentmakeupcincinnati, #permanentmakeupdallas, etc. you might even be able to narrow this down further to your suburb #permanentmakeupmarietta, #permanentmakeuphenderson, #permanentmakeupyonkers...by doing this, you will get results of artists who have utilized local hashtags, making it easier for you to find their pages and scroll through their feeds seeing their work.
"But I've already Googled my artist!" That's ok, look them up on social media. In order to not overwhelm a website most artists have their portfolios visible on social media, namely, Instagram.
Ok, so now you've Googled and found a handful you like and looked through their Instagram, or you found them through Instagram because you liked their work...that's it right? Well, not exactly. Now you need to whittle it down to your top 2-3 artists.
Their pages should provide some key information:
- specifically where they're located
- what they offer
- a website or booking site
- possibly their education (usually listed as how many certifications they have - 2x, 5x, 10x)
Next, take a look at their story highlights (the little circles under the call to action buttons).
Story highlights are an easy way for you to get a quick look at their services and policies.
This is an example of what you see when you view my Instagram page.
The main things I personally like to see in story highlights are their services, this might also be a price list, highlights of their different services, and their healed work.
I refuse to trust anyone who doesn't post their healed work. Now, not everyone will have it highlighted, but you should be able to scroll throughout their feed and find examples of their healed work quickly. If you can't, you have two options: contact the artist and request pictures of their healed work, remove that artist from your list.
Healed results are just as important as a fresh "after" photo. You will only have fresh brows, while they're fresh. The proof is in the pudding when those brows heal because the fresh-to-healed results are quite different. (Healed results are generally 30-40% lighter and softer than initial results).
EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE
This one tends to be a double-edged sword.
There are some artists who are in their first month from training and have some seriously impressive talent but this is where their work will come in handy. They will be lacking healed results, but if they're honest, they will tell you that they're new and that's why they don't have any healed results to post yet.
I'm a bit of a pill and extremely particular. I am with my hair, my nails, my tattoos, my car, it's a bit ridiculous, but it is what it is. That's why I have the same stylist for 12 years, the same nail lady for 10, take forever to choose a tattoo artist*, and why I detail my car myself.
For me, I want someone tattooing my face to have experience.
I made this mistake when I got my brows done*. She was teaching other people, so she had to be experienced and have great results right?
Not so much.
She was relatively new to the industry and didn't have much in the way of posted healed work. But I didn't know any better at the time.
(The downside to PMU training is that it's highly unregulated so even those lacking experience and years of encountering different clients and situations, are able to train others who want to start offering PMU. PMU artists also don't have the same "pay your dues" process as body tattoo artists in terms of requiring apprenticeships - although some states require this which is awesome).
My brows healed an ashy blue in the tails, and LUCKILY nothing else retained. I did laser removal....which isn't cheap....and takes multiple sessions. 10/10 don't recommend making my mistakes. I did re-do my brows and now love them so much and the freedom of not having to fill them in constantly.
The more I started looking into her work and reading reviews, the more I realized I had picked someone who was a successful business woman, but may have been lacking some fundamentals in her own training for brows. Unfortunately I realized this after the fact while I was wondering why my brows didn't look right.
Generally speaking, if the artist has attractive initial results and nice healed results you've found a good one. Pair that with their experience: someone who has multiple certifications, has been in the business for a few years, and can answer questions easily and is easy to communicate with, this artist is a solid choice.
COMMUNICATION
This service is a big decision for any client. As an artist it is my responsibility to help you feel confident in your decision to get your brows done.
What does that mean?
I will ask you questions and love for you, the client, to ask me questions.
I will HEAR your concerns and address them to help you feel more comfortable, to the best of my ability.
I will explain my services in ways that are easy to understand and also provide visual examples of the services I provide.
If you ask me for healed photos, I'll provide them to you.
I will also recommend an in-person consultation or a digital mock-up if you're hesitant and want to see what your brows will look like beforehand.
I'm also the type of person who likes to be prepared and wants to know what to expect, so because I'm like that, I know there are others like that as well, therefore I do have information available for clients to read so they know what to expect as well as how to prepare for their appointments.
PRICE
We all have budgets. Some have large budgets, others have their budget allocated down to the penny. I get it, I really do.
I'll be the first to admit I always feel guilty when I spend money on myself. So I'm super frugal and always look for a deal.
With things like clothes, a sale is great. Yeah you might have a quality control reject, but overall you'll still have a good item.
But we're not talking about clothes.
We're talking about a tattoo....on your face.
Forget that some artists advertise permanent makeup as "semi-permanent." Honestly, they're playing some legal roulette by calling it that or telling their clients it disappears in a couple years. But honestly, PMU pigments, while formulated to soften and fade without any maintenance (color boosts) CANNOT BE PREDICTED. How much someone fades is way too individualized. There are so many factors that contribute to retention, any honest artist would never tell you it's semi-permanent. And any artist who tells you it's not. a tattoo...is lying. Yes, even microblading is a tattoo.
Moving along.
When you want quality work - in anything - you're going to look for value in the price being charged. That's where points 1-3 come into play.
Can you get bomb ass brows for under $200? I'm sure you could. Is it likely? Not really.
The lower you set your budget, the more risk you're taking on as a client.
So, when you're setting your budget you need to consider - is the price most important to you, or is the quality of work most important to you? If you find an artist with phenomenal work and a seriously cheap price, you've found a Unicorn.
Artists will fall on either end of a spectrum and somewhere in the middle.
The Spectrum:
Low end: Scratchers (untrained but sometimes artistically talented, unlicensed, unsanitary)
High end: Professional PMU Artist (trained, artistically talented, licensed, sanitary).
In between you have those who lack artistic talent. They may be licensed, may have taken a course and gotten certified, and are sanitary, but their tattoos are poorly executed, lines are harsh and uneven, the outline for a powder brow is harsh and visible, their mapping is out of proportion and unattractive.
In general you should expect to pay between $450-$1000 depending on your location in the U.S. (granted newer artists will likely be in the $150-$200 range, and celebrity artists could be $2000+) for a Professional PMU Artist. An even safer average is around $450-$700.
Although price doesn't always dictate the excellence of the artist, you are likely best to receive brow work you are happy with by choosing an artist who charges $450 or more.
Another aspect that somewhat plays into price, is the time you can expect to invest in achieving your new brows.
Brows are a two-session process: your initial session + a second session 6-10 weeks later.
Some artists choose to include your second session in a flat rate fee while others charge separately for the second session. There is no right or wrong way, but definitely factor in both prices if the artist charges separately if you're stuck between an artist with a flat rate or an artist who charges the sessions separately.
In closing, getting your brows done by a permanent makeup artist is something that should take great consideration. Do your homework. Pay attention to their work. Ask questions. Book a consult. The more informed you are as a potential client, the better experience you're going to have, and the easier you'll be able to select an artist that will give you the brows you've dreamed of.
