I was given the honour of creating a pair of microbladed eyebrows for my client who suffers from Alopecia.
She is an inspiring lady and I am grateful to her for sharing her story below:
I Am Free to Be Who I Am.
I have alopecia universalis which means that I suffered a total hair loss. It happened over ten years ago. Since then I have accepted my condition. While some aspects of my life have changed, overall, alopecia is not an obstacle to living a full life, and does not require much of my attention on a day-to-day basis.
With one exception: eyebrows.
As anyone who lost their brows knows, replacing them with a drawn outline or synthetic hair is a disheartening business: however much I tried, my efforts never look natural, let alone even. What is it about the eyebrow shape that makes it so difficult to draw on one’s face? I stared at shapes on faces of models but my attempts to replicate them on my face were futile. Not only are we all different but the two sides of our face are asymmetrical making it nigh impossible to get things right. Add to that the lack of hairline serving as a guide as to how high or low the brows should sit, and you risk looking like Earnie from Sesame Street, and not in a good way.
The alternative – no brows – is equally unappealing. Yes, it has recently become fashionable to shave eyebrows but, I daresay, there is a difference between choosing to shave facial hair, and not having it at all. My face without brows looks washed out, and somehow simultaneously older but less mature. In my mid-forties, that’s not the look I want.
I found Razia at New Brows after searching the Alopecia UK suppliers list. She replied to my message immediately, and after a short WhatsApp exchange, it was clear that she knew her stuff. What made her stand out above other suppliers, however, was the care she offers her clients. For our introductory session, she had studied the shape of my face and prepared several designs of the possible shapes that would suit me. When I saw them, each individual hair visible and looking natural, I could cry with joy. A few years back my eyebrows were tattooed as a block of black colour, with me having very little input or knowledge of the process. In contrast, Razia explained the whole process to me, we talked about the shapes, the shade flattering for my skin tone, how to prepare for the procedure, and how to look after the brows afterwards.
When it came to the microblading, I was so well prepared that I felt no fear or hesitation at all. I was so excited! Razia used her magic to draw my brows with mathematical precision. We looked at the outline from various angles and positions before the procedure started. And then, she turned on some nice tunes on the radio and started microblading. It was a very comfortable procedure and I felt as if I was finally regaining my face.
I had to try to be patient because it takes about 10 days for brows to settle, and then it is important to book a top up appointment as this extends the colour retention. My patience paid off! These days I get up and can be ready to face the world in no time at all. Gone are brow products, powders and pencils. I am free to be who I am.
