I recently went to Arizona to have my eyebrows microbladed by Amber at Sage Organic Skincare (read more about that super fun trip here). In case you don’t know what this is, it’s best described as a temporary tattoo made with a microblade.  I know it’s extreme that I traveled from Texas to Arizona to do this but hey, I was nervous to get a face tat and after seeing Amber’s #strayhairsclub on Instagram, I was intrigued and wanted the best: her! For microblading, the artist uses a tiny little blade (not a vibrating needle like a regular tattoo) to draw/cut extremely fine hairs on/in your eyebrows using ink/pigment, thus enhancing your natural brows. They are only semi-permanent because unlike a regular tattoo, they only penetrate the first few layers of skin and only last up to about 18 months. It takes a true artist to create beautiful brows and that was Amber – she far exceeded my expectations! As a blonde, I basically have clear eyebrows. They are so light in color that you practically need a magnifying glass to see them, I swear! So I’ve always “drawn” them on using a light brown eye shadow, but this only can do so much for me. As someone who works out and sweats A LOT, perspiration on my brows presents a huge problem: they come off and I’m instantly back to brow-less (which looks really weird)! What’s worse is that sometimes one will accidentally wipe off and not the other and then I look like Ty took a razor to my forehead in my sleep or something! Anyhow, it’s always been a first world problem of mine that I’ve struggled with. Tinting them (dyeing them)  has always seemed a bit scary to me as I was afraid of some sort of super dark black scary eyebrow situation or something. Also, they aren’t super thick so tinting them doesn’t solve that issue either. Besides, tint only lasts a few weeks too, so again, more hassle. So imagine my delight when I saw Amber’s #strayhairsclub hashtag in Instagram! I immediately started firing questions at her wanting to know how this incredible seemingly magical transformation happens! And before I knew it, I found myself agreeing to “tattoo” my face in another state! 

People in Phoenix! Let me say how fortunate you are to have Amber in your town! She owns and operates the most amazing little organic skincare day spa! With a simple but wonderful menu, Amber not only can pamper you with a traditional service such as a facial, but she is a true artist, and microblading expert. She is beyond talented and an extreme perfectionist which is exactly what you want when someone is tattooing individual hairs on your face! 

The appointment varies in length due to the person and what their current brow situation is and how well their body takes the pigment, but a safe estimate is probably somewhere between 2-3 hours. The price also includes a second touch up session 4-6 weeks later. Oh darn! I’ll have to take another trip to Phoenix! What a bummer! LOL! First she put on a numbing cream while she prepared all of her supplies and we looked at colors to match my skin/hair. She has a great eye for this too and I relied on her to create a nice blend for me that was perfect for my coloring. Next, she drew an outline for where she would cut/draw the hairs. She checked in with me after the first eye to ensure she was on the right track as far as what I was looking for. Because I’m nearing 40, and trying to hold off on the Botox, lol, I had begged for as much of an arch as possible to create the illusion of an eye lift. The stencil she drew looked great, so she proceeded to make the matching one. Again she checked in with me to ensure I was happy with the shape now that both eyes were complete. Next came the fun part: the drawing/cutting! It actually wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be – the weirdest part is hearing the blade cutting your skin. It does sting a little but let’s be honest. In my opinion, running 50 miles in one day is a lot worse! Amber did several rounds on each brow over and over, and checked in with me as she went. She is very good at communicating how it is going and making sure that her clients are comfortable with the direction of her progress. She also takes her time and is very focused. She uses your face’s particular symmetry/asymmetry to draw brows specific to you that fit you perfectly (size, shape and color). It was a great experience and I couldn’t be more impressed by her! She far exceeded my expectations and I’m already looking forward to my touch up and going a hair darker (pun intended)! My only regret was not getting to experience any of her other incredible services this trip. Also, just as a bonus, she carries a very nice line of products in her shop as well as a world famous custom scented candle that is to die for! Perhaps I’ll get an extra one next trip to give away to one lucky reader! 

Here are some photos from my time with Amber. Let me know if you have questions and I’ll do my best to answer them. You can find Amber here: http://www.sageorganicskincare.com/, on FaceBook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Yelp.