Permanently Pleased...

One of the most rewarding things in the beauty industry, is making a difference, and although it is satisfying to perform a beautiful service on  clients and create an immediate improvement, it is even more fulfilling when that change is absolutely imperative to someone's confidence and wellbeing.

Such is a story of our case study with Gerogina, a client that sought our permanent make up expertise and help correcting previous eyebrow work done by another artist. Anyone in the PMU industry will know, that correction work presents various challenges such as; difficulties covering undesirable pigment shades or asymmetrical shapes that may be impossible to rectify completely. Many artists often refuse to take on such clients, due to the high pressure that dealing with complicated cases creates. Such challenging clients can often put a strain on the artists skills, tools and knowledge, not to mention their reputation if such cases are not dealt with properly. Rightly so, majority of correction work is not for light hearted and especially when accompanied by alopecia universalis. 

Our case study, Georgina, has had alopecia since the age of 3 and was officially diagnosed at the age of 7 and although she has managed to live and deal with the condition alongside weak immune system, her lack of eyebrows and hair would eventually lead to Georgina being bullied in secondary school.  Needless to say that experience had caused a whirlpool of various emotional responses such as lack of confidence, deep upset, low self esteem and even anger. 

We have prepared an interview with Georgina so that our readers can join in on her journey. 

How did you decide to go for a PMU first time?

I first decided to go for PMU when I was 16 years old. I was told about it by a friend who’s older sister had been and had the treatment. I told my grandparents who agreed with me that it would be a great idea as at this time, I was hand drawing my eyebrows on every single morning which would take around an hour to two hours each time and to be honest was just hard work haha! It causes a lot of stress and upset as well as they wouldn’t turn out the best somedays which lowered my self esteem further.

Experience with the first PMU work, how it was the work & treatment?

Where to start…It was HORRIBLE! I am partly to blame as I should have done more research into where I was going and maybe looked at some other options but also I was young and excited! Up to two extra hours free every morning! My first experience with PMU was pretty bad as the artist didn’t really take any interest in anything I was talking to her about, there was no brow mapping involved and no numbing at all. It hurt to the point where I was crying through the treatment, she got agitated because I was moving a lot. I hated the finished brows! They didn’t suit my face shape and they appeared grey and dark, as soon as they were healed enough i started drawing over them which just caused me more stress.

From Everlasting: First 2 images above were taken at the beginning of 2018, when we first met Georgina. Her eyebrows had grey undertones which she wanted to soften and also work on the shape that wasn’t balanced for her face and age. Monika, Everlasting Brows founder and international educator, created an action plan. The final result will take approximately 3 sessions. First appointment is always used as a test session, we would create sparse look to see how the new colour is working on the previous pigment and how the skin is changing the healed result. Normally for correction work we would choose powder brows, but Georgina was against it and wanted a hair stroke look. Below you can see her eyebrows immediately after her first session.

How did you find Everlasting Brows and how did you decide to go ahead with the treatment?

I thought my brows had faded enough to be covered (this was when I was 18 years old) so I did some research into clinics. I found Everlasting Brows on Instagram one days and really loved their work. I had also noticed they had previous experience with clients with alopecia and their brows looked amazing. I called them the same day and booked a consultation.

How did your first treatment compare to Everlasting Brows treatment?

They just don’t compare! At Everlasting everything was done so differently (the right way!). Before even starting the process Monika sat with me and we spoke about the treatment, what would happen, what my expectations were etc. Once happy with a plan I was numbed and my brows mapped, colour matched to my skin tone. Everything! I was told everything I needed to know before and as it was happening and was made to feel very calm as I was extremely anxious going into to it due to previous experience. 

Healed brows after 1st session with Everlasting Brows

From Everlasting: During the second session we could see that the pigment we chose during the first session was responding well and had banished a lot of the greyness in the eyebrows. Monika also noticed that Georgina’s eyebrows have shrunk considerably once healed, therefore you can see this being reflected during the second session and wider, bolder look created:

     

Normally 2 sessions would be plenty for regular clients, but for clients with difficult skin or those without any eyebrow hair, we always plan for 3rd session as any little imperfections and any faded hair strokes will be more visible than on a regular client. When Georgina returned for her third session, as expected, healed eyebrows were 80% perfect. The colour was warm and pleasant, the shape improved and majority of previous greyness was now covered (images below). Therefore Monika only needed to add final touches, repeat any light strokes, add additional where greyness was still visible and result was exactly as anticipated.

       
Healed Brows after 2nd session with Monika L.                                                                        Right after the 3rd session with Monika L.

How do you feel with your new brows?

Once done I was absolutely in love with my eyebrows for literally the first time in my life lol! Still Love them now! They have made my life so much easier and I feel more confident in myself. Most people think they are my real brows which I think speaks highly of the work for itself! They have also given me more confidence to go out without wig on as well as i don’t feel so…..well bald I guess.

From Everlasting: Georgina returned 14 months later for a “boost” session mid January 2020 (images above). During the boost session we would repeat the hair strokes, make the colour more visible and prominent, this is important as previous permanent make up may begin to show again, this is due to technique and pigments we use are formulated to fade over time so that clients are not left with unwanted grey tones or shapes that no longer suit their face as they age. Therefore as our pigment begins to fade, the previous permanent make up (done employing outdated products and techniques) begins to protrude. Image below shows how brows looked immediately after her most recent "boost" session.

We have spoken to Georgina since her last appointment with Everlasting and her brows have since fully healed and looking vibrant. 

For any artists attempting correction work or work on clients without any hair, consider the pigment you will be using, grey tones will require you to use warmer pigments and on the contrary warm tones will require you to use cool pigments to correct/neautralise them. Make sure you are fully familiar with the pigment line you use and that you know how the pigments will behave. With Everlasting Brows we have taken all the “guess” work out of the range and the colour you see in the bottle is the colour you will see inside the skin, therefore making it super easy for artists. Consider your eyebrow shaping skills and ensure you are fully confident in brow mapping. It is important for all regular clients, but even more so when working on someone who does not have any eyebrows. The pressure is on to ensure the eyebrows look as symmetrical as possible, as any imperfections /differences will be clearly visible.

Yours Truly,
Everlasting Brows