Microfeathering: Everything You Need to Know About the New Brow-Filling Technique
By Devon Abelman. Photo courtesy of Kristie Streicher.
Now that everyone and their mother knows what microblading is, a more minimalist take on the brow trend is becoming popular. (I've lost count of the amount of times even the most random people in my life have asked me if they should get their brows microbladed.) Microfeathering is like the no-makeup makeup version of the semipermanent brow tattoos, and celebrities like Mandy Moore are visiting Kristie Streicher at STRIIIKE, a beauty studio based in Beverly Hills, Cali., to get it done.
The biggest difference between microblading and microfeathering is surface area. Microblading usually involves tattooing over your whole brow area to create fullness and shape. People with alopecia or super-thin brows often get it done so they don't have to constantly draw on their brows. Microfeathering, on the other hand, is for those with naturally full brows. The name comes from the look Streicher created called the Feathered Brow. (Not to be confused with feather brows, of course.) She helps her clients have the most lush, bold but natural-looking brows in the game. For six to eight weeks, they must avoid all forms of hair removal on their brow area, including tweezing, waxing, and threading. Then, Streicher performs her magic. If there are any naturally sparse areas, that's where microfeathering comes in.
"My main goal with this technique is to really mimic the natural hair and its growth patterns for the perfect Feathered Brow, which is soft, natural and beautiful," Streicher tells Allure. "Microfeathering is typically used on areas of the brow that are surrounded with natural hair. Gaps and sparsely covered areas can be filled in, resulting in the most natural look possible." Once microfeathering is done, Streicher says you shouldn't be able to tell the difference between real eyebrow hairs and microfeather strokes. The technique is that seamless. Plus, the ink used is closely matched to the eyebrows's true color, not to the client's actual hair color.
Amy Jean, a brow expert, uses a similar technique at her salons in Australia. She calls it the "feather touch brow tattoo" and involves "less strokes, less color intensity and finer blades," she tells Allure. Its popularity is rising, as of late, due to health concerns. "The cosmetic tattoo industry is seeing a quick shift away from typical microblading due to novice operators literally scarring clients' skin from cutting too deep into the brow line," Amy Jean explains. "People are turning to more experienced technicians who know how to maneuver the blades along the skin in a more delicate fashion."And she's really not kidding. Earlier this month, we reported on a woman whose brows literally fell off after getting an infection from microblading.
As for what to expect when getting your brows microfeathered, the technician creates "precise 'hair-like' incisions that deposit dye in the top layer of the brow skin," Streicher explains. If your first thought was "ouch," don't worry, the area is numbed first with a topical cream. Also, it doesn't use needles or a tattoo gun. Instead, Streicher uses a fine, precise blade. "Only state of the art pigments are used, which makes the fade out process merely invisible," she adds. "The hair-like strokes created by microfeathering gradually fades over the course of a year, leaving no residual pigment behind in the skin."
You can expect to shell out about $1,000 for microfeathering and spend about an hour and a half getting it done, Streicher says. She typically completes the whole process in two appointments. The second usually is scheduled for six to eight weeks after the first one. "During this appointment, the healing process is evaluated and additional hair strokes will be added and perfected," Streicher says. Once you're done, all you have to worry about for eight months to a year is plucking away strays. For anyone who's into that low-maintenance, bushy brow look, microfeathering seems like a pretty awesome option, if you ask me. As someone who never considered themselves to be a microblading candidate because I have naturally full brows, I'd consider this technique to fill in the pesky sparse spots at the front of them that I fill in every day.
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This story originally appeared on Allure.
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