8 tips to make sure your newly tattooed eyebrows heal beautifully

You’ve finally taken the plunge and had your eyebrows tattooed, you’re in love with them, but now what? I’ve spoken through all of the after-care with you but naturally it’s a lot to think about and you’re left wondering what you do now. How do you look after them properly and ensure they heal well and end up looking as perfect as they do right now?

1. Please follow your technician’s aftercare advise – we don’t say these things for no reason!

Every technician will have their own aftercare protocol and it is imperative that you follow exactly what they say. If you google standardised information it won’t necessarily apply to your brows as there are many things to consider including the tool that was used, the specific technique, as well as the products that were used for you. If you are ever in doubt please contact your technician (particularly if it’s me - there’s no such thing as a silly question in my eyes!). If you do not follow the specified protocol given by your artist, you will be responsible if your brows do not heal well which is not what either of us want!

2. Regardless of who did your brows, one thing I can advise it to keep your brows out of the sun - Sunshine and freshly tattooed brows do not mix!

3. Apply the aftercare products you are given and as instructed – please.

Often cosmetic tattooing does not follow traditional body tattoo aftercare protocols such as applying Vaseline, so again, ensure you follow your own technician’s instructions. They have been trained a certain way and the aftercare will relate to their method used in the treatment of your brows.

4. Keep your brows dry and clean

You will be advised of timescales for this, and it can range between 3-7 days, but you MUST keep them dry for at least 72 hours post-procedure (ideally the entire external healing time which can be up to 2 weeks). If you need to wash your hair, which I assume you will do, particularly within 2 weeks, try to keep your head tipped right back to avoid wetting the brows. People underestimate how important this fact is, but it really is essential. Please do not attempt to cover them with cling film as this can result in pulling off any flakey skin which we need to heal naturally and do it’s thing! Dry shampoo is your best friend at this stage!

5. Please don’t put any make-up on the brow area for a minimum of 3 days post-procedure

I always advise my clients to choose their procedure around a time when you don’t have a major event or anything important coming up. We want you to get the absolute best results from your treatment so it’s definitely worth waiting for the right time as it’s incredibly important not to touch your brows during this stage. Make-up, skincare and your hands contain bacteria which for freshly tattooed brows which will have tiny wounds, we really don’t want to be adding any unnecessary bacteria to the area. We’re in this for the long game!

6. TRUST THE PROCESS

I always stress to my clients exactly what the process entails as are about to go through a strange cycle in their appearance. When I had my eyebrows done for the first time I remember wishing I was told what to expect more as I experienced a lot of concern during the first 1-2 weeks. You can expect for your brows to look great at first, then then they will start to scab, this can make them appear darker and you may feel a tad self-conscious at this stage (You can use heavier eye make up for a few days to balance out the face!). Then they will start to flake and often they will look rubbish at this stage but to achieve a good heal you will have to just leave them alone and “suck it up” - Sorry! Finally, once the scabs fall off naturally, your brows often appear to be very light. This is completely normal, please don’t panic that this has all been for nothing. Colour returns over the next 2-4 weeks when we then do your follow-up.

7. Do NOT TOUCH your brows with your fingers throughout the entire healing process and do not pick, peel, scratch or pull off any scabs prematurely.

This will lead to colour loss in places and can cause scarring or even worse, bacteria from your hands could trigger infection.

8. Your brows will feel dry and you may be tempted to apply creams before you can see the tiny scabs lifting from the skin - don’t do it!

The whole external healing period is just 2 weeks, so in the big scheme of things that is nothing in comparison to having gorgeous brows long-term, that you no longer need to worry about! If you are self-conscious that they look a mess, just laugh to people and say, “excuse my brows, they are healing”! and keep in mind how it will be worth it in the near future and that you will have perfect brows 24 hours a day!

If you really can’t cope with this aspect of the treatment then you may need to seriously think about this aspect before choosing this procedure because following the aftercare steps is a vital part of the treatment in order to achieve great results.

9. Ensure you attend your second “follow up / perfecting” appointment.

This should always be included in your original price and is considered best practice within the industry. Even if you feel your brows look fine a reputable professional will want to assess them too as it allows the artist to complete their work 100% and make any adjustments to colour or tweaks to the shape. You have paid for this appointment, don’t skip it as it is very important to ensure long-term brow goals!

10. Take a good before and after picture!

It's sometimes easy to forget what our brows were like beforehand, once your new brows are fully healed following your second appointment - snap an after picture so that you can compare the two. Depending on how your particular brows heal, try to keep on top of them, a yearly top up is (usually!) a lot easier for the technician and much cheaper for you than starting them from scratch all over again!