Everyone Is Suddenly Obsessed With Eyebrow Lamination — And After Trying It, We Can Completely See Why
If you're anything like us, then you've probably noticed that Brow Lamination — a temporary eyebrow treatment — has been BLOWING UP on TikTok. So, like the detectives that we are, we went and got our own brows laminated to give you all the info you need about the trending treatment. (And we have before and after pictures too!)
Yes, that's 1.1 BILLION views!
Although the brow lamination treatment isn't new, it has recently become increasingly popular on TikTok (as you can see based on the hashtag below) and has reignited a lot of people's interests. Brow Lamination — according to Perfect Frame, an eyebrow microblading studio — is a semipermanent, noninvasive procedure that temporarily adjusts the direction of the natural brow pattern for a fuller and fluffier stylistic appearance. Think of it sort of like a perm, but for your eyebrows!
The actual process of brow lamination takes approximately 30–45 minutes, and costs $120 at Perfect Frame (the studio in Los Angeles that we visited for the purpose of this piece!). But the price may vary based on where you are located. The effects of the procedure last 4–6 weeks — but the better care that is taken during the 24 hours post procedure, the longer the results! Premature exposure to water, sweat, and/or steam can prevent the hairs from processing correctly.
The act of brow lamination involves several steps, which include styling the hair in the desired direction, laminating them with gentle solutions, and treating the hair with a hydrating formula. We will outline these steps a little more in-depth below! Brow lamination does not impact the color of your brows, but the treatment can be safely coupled with a brow tint for a darker appearance. And the actual treatment should not cause any discomfort.
So, after conducting some research about brow lamination in the area of Los Angeles, we came upon Perfect Frame. This eyebrow studio, located in downtown Los Angeles, specializes in both eyebrow microblading AND lamination (and also had incredible reviews!), so we immediately reached out.
The space is so cute, BTW!
A little about us before we get into the procedure: Neither of us do regular upkeep on our eyebrows, and neither of us had ever had brow lamination performed before. Lara identifies as having 'normal' skin while Crystal identifies more with having 'sensitive' skin.
Lara's thoughts going in: I genuinely do very, very little upkeep to my eyebrows as you can probably tell. I use a clear brow gel (like this one from Nyx Cosmetics) most days, but I don't really pluck or ever get any sort of threading/waxing. The shape you see is what has grown back from my 2009 era of plucking the shit out of my brows. These days, I don't touch them. But I love the idea of strong brows, so I was very excited for this.
Crystal's thoughts going in: I’ll be honest. I had never even heard of this treatment until Lara brought it up to me. After some research, aka me quickly googling it, I immediately thought, Oh, YEAH, definitely want to try this. I’m low-key obsessed with eyebrows and have always thought mine were just OK. Like, I don’t hate my brows or anything, but I’m always down for a brow trend, and bushy “boy brows” are currently it. So, count me in.
So, without further ado, let's get into it!
This is what the brow lamination setup looked like right before we began:
The whole process took around 30 minutes or less for each of us, and we'll detail each step below.
First up, the artist uses an alcohol wipe to help prep and disinfect the treatment area. This step also removes excess oil and build up from the hairs, which allows the brows to absorb product better.
Crystal Ro for Buzzfeed
Next the artist applies the lifting solution — this helps to break down the proteins in the hair and redirects how they lay.
Crystal Ro for Buzzfeed
Next up we have what's referred to as "cling film" — this helps with trapping the heat from the skin to amplify and activate the effects of the solution.
Crystal Ro for Buzzfeed
This part showcases the setting solution — this helps to restore the proteins back into the hair, giving its new form and directional flow.
Crystal Ro for Buzzfeed
Then a nourishing setting solution is added, which helps restore the proteins back into the hair, giving its new form and directional flow. This is followed by the peel off for the final result!
Crystal Ro for Buzzfeed
Here's Lara's brows before (with nothing on them):
And here's another angle for good measure:
And here's Lara's eyebrows after:
And another angle of Lara's after for good measure:
And a side-by-side for extra good measure:
Lara's thoughts about the process: It was so quick and easy, and it truly caused 0 discomfort on any level. Would I do this again? Yes, but this also convinced me that I want a more permanent solution for easy brows that make me feel more powerful, so I am looking into microblading now, too. I am lazy and love the idea of only doing something one time a year! So that is my one downside with lamination; having to go every 4–6 weeks is easy in theory, but I know myself and know I want something more like one time a year. If you have some sort of special event coming up or you just want to know what your eyebrows are capable of, I definitely recommend this treatment because it's so quick and easy. Plus, I loved the way my brows look and feel.
Next, it was Crystal's turn! As mentioned earlier, Crystal has eczema. The first step for her was a quick patch test to make sure the treatment wouldn't irritate her skin.
Crystal: Knowing I have very sensitive skin (I have eczema!), I was slightly concerned the treatment might make me have a terrible reaction. From what I read beforehand, the chemicals used in the process are very similar to what they use for hair perms. As a ‘90s girl, I can tell you I definitely had a perm at one point. And because I never had a bad reaction to a perm then, I felt OK with proceeding with the treatment. Our brow artist (is that what they’re called? LOL) at Perfect Frame was super helpful and did a small test patch on my arm.
After several minutes of no reaction or burning sensation of any kind, Crystal was good to go!
And the same process was repeated for Crystal (so we won't bore you with more GIFs of the same steps!).
Crystal Ro for BuzzFeed
Here's a close-up of Crystal's eyebrows before:
And a side shot of Crystal's before for good measure:
And here's Crystal's eyebrows after the lamination treatment:
Crystal's brows after, side angle version:
And who doesn't love a side-by-side?
Crystal's overall thoughts about the process: Overall, I was surprised with how quick and easy the process was. I fully expected there to be at least some kind of tingling sensation, but I felt nothing! And I LOL'd at the fact that the treatment smelled EXACTLY like when I got my hair permed as a teen. I was very impressed with how my brows looked after. They definitely look more “flipped” and bushy, which was the goal. I still wish my brows were more even-looking, but I think that would have to be achieved by combining both the lamination and perhaps filling in some space with brow liner or (if I wanted to go to the next level) microblading. I’m not sure I’m ready for microblading, but I was quite pleased with the results of the brow lamination, so...win!
Quick note about aftercare: We were told by the team at Perfect Frame not to get our brows wet for 48 hours (which, TBH, was a bit difficult when washing our faces/showering/etc., but for the sake of our very cute brows, we did it!!).
We were also told to try and avoid sleeping on our faces as to not have the brows press into the pillow. Makes sense! We were also given a little aftercare package that included moisturizer for our brows, a wand to apply it, and also a little spoolie to keep the brows fluffed as needed. So, ya know, bear in mind there's a LITTLE upkeep after treatment!
TL;DR: Did we like getting out brows laminated? Yes!!! We did.
Editor's Note: Perfect Frame provided this treatment to us both for free in exchange for coverage, but our review of the treatment is honest and in no way impacted by this.
