Hi friends! Meet Jodi.

Jodi and I went to high school together. She is one of those people who is just cool and completely comfortable showcasing her individuality. I’ve always admired that about her. Life after high school has taken us on different paths and I hadn’t seen her in a few years until I recently heard she had just moved back into town from New Orleans to pursue a career in microblading. Like Jodi, her twin sister, Jill, has recently ventured outside of her comfort zone as a makeup artist to venture into another creative beauty endeavor as a hair stylist. It’s so fun to see women I adored in high school, who are both so creatively inclined when it comes to areas of beauty, go after their dreams and just kick butt at it!

When I was catching up with Jodi one day, after finding out she was back in town, she invited me to come check out the whole microblading hype is all about! As you may know, if you follow me on IG stories, I let Jodi at my brows … to tame them and make them easier to manage on a daily basis, alleviating my need to ALWAYS do them without them looking ‘undone’, if you will.

After sharing the experience with you all, it was clear you all have been curious about this procedure for yourself so I thought I’d ask Jodi all of the questions that you sent in about it and have her share her knowledge and expertise to ease your mind over all that it is, does and entails!

What is microblading?

Microblading is cosmetic tattoo-ing but is semipermanent. They implant pigment beneath the skin with tiny needles clustered together to mimic a blade. Through this, we’re able to replicate hair strokes by making tiny cuts into the skin.

How long does the procedure take?

The length of time varies on a client to client basis. Not everyone’s eyebrows are exactly the same. Some are very thick, very thin or non-existent. Some appointments can take one a half hours to up to three hours. This depends how much needs to be done or discussed prior to the procedure starting.

Does it hurt?

Everyone’s pain tolerance is different so this will just depend. We use two topical anesthetics to minimize discomfort during the procedure. Getting tattooed when you’re on your menstral cycle can elevate discomfort and weaken your pain tolerance so it’s highly recommended to schedule around your menstrual cycle.

How long is the healing process?

Healing can take up to two weeks. Right after your procedure, your eyebrows are going to appear very dark due to blood coming to the surface of the skin. Once you reach six to ten days, you’ll experience peeling and patchiness. Once you get to two weeks, your peeling should have stopped. Your eyebrows might appear on the light side, which is normal. Once you get to week four, you’ll notice the pigment get darker again and the eyebrow appear fuller and more natural.

True or False: No working out for 7 to 10 days afterwards.

True! You absolutely must avoid heavy physical activity, excess sweating, and extreme heat for five to seven days after your procedure. Light exercise and minimal sweating is okay but you’ll have to clean your eyebrow area immediately after. The salt in sweat can actually fade the pigment resulting in less color retention.

Are there are any skincare products I need to stay away from during the healing process?

During the healing process, you do not want to use any acne cleansers because they typically have salicylic acid and glycolic acid in them, which can compromise your pigment and color retention. If you do wash your eyebrow area, using Dial Gold is highly recommended.

After everything is healed, can you get your eyebrows waxed still? Can you still fill them in a bit with a pencil if you want?

Waxing can take speed up the exfoliation process around the eyebrow as well as increased skin cell turnover leading to your pigment fading faster. Threading is a great alternative that will give you a perfect, clean shape without causing trauma to the skin.

How long does the semipermanent pigment last? 

It can last up to one to three years but also varies on a client by client basis.

I got my eyebrows microbladed and it didn’t last as long as they said it would. Any idea why that could be?

Contributing factors include pigment color [the lighter the color, the faster it will fade], lifestyle [sun exposure will speed up the pigmentation fading process; always put SPF 30 on your eyebrows], and iron deficiencies [if you’re iron deficient, your body can absorb the pigment as an supplement which will cause the pigment to fade faster], age [if you’re young, your skin cell turnover is faster so the pigment will last longer].

Do you have any follow-up visits? If so, how many?

Following your first session, it’s required to get a touch up within 6 to 8 weeks. This is to ensure that your eyebrows healed properly and to refine and darken any pigment in any places that need perfecting. Any follow-ups after the first one depends on your personal preference and depends how sharp and defined or soft and natural you want your eyebrows to look.

Is it safe for all skin types?

Absolutely! The only contradiction that would keep you from being a candidate is if you had a compromised eyebrow area like sunburn, dermatitis or on Accutane [can’t for 12 months because it thins the skin] or getting chemotherapy. Can slow down healing process and comprises your healing process. As a precaution, if you are pregnant or nursing, you cannot be microbladed. Anyone with liver disease is at a higher risk for infection.

Jodi requires a doctor’s note for anyone with diabetes, high blood pressure, autoimmune disease and thyroid or graves disease – if you have allergies, a patch test can be performed upon request in order to ensure that you won’t have any reaction to products used during the microblading process.

The tail on one eyebrow is shorter than the other and will not grow. Would micro blading be suitable for filling it in and how natural would it look compared to the rest of the eyebrows having no work done to them?

Absolutely! Your microblading artist should provide you with more information and realistic expectations on your first visit.

I’m from Jacksonville and would love to know who you would recommend for microneedling!

Well, after reading this, I hope you can tell that Jodi is very well-versed in this industry and, after my experience, I wouldn’t recommend anyone else. There are other people you can go to, sure, but Jodi has an artistic edge. She aims to make your eyebrows as natural as possible but is more than willing to work with you if you’re wanting a particular look for your brows. She has plenty of experience in tattooing and, to be honest, I wouldn’t have let anyone else take a tool like this to my eyebrow except Jodi. Highly, highly recommend! To book a consultation or an appointment with her, send her direct message on Instagram HERE.

I’d love to tell you a little bit about her twin sister, Jill, as well! Her and I became fast friends in high school. She’s super girly and easily excitable and fun to be around. Her and Jodi just have this ‘easy’ way about them. They just make you feel super comfortable and at ease. Jill has worked in the beauty industry for almost 15 years now between working at the beauty counter of a department store and managing a Jacksonville location of Ulta. She recently became certified as a hair stylist and she’s been absolutely killing it! If you need hair or makeup done in the Jacksonville area, I can’t recommend her enough! Send her a DM via Instagram HERE.

For reference, both Jill & Jodi work at Studio Sage in Jacksonville Beach.

Do you have any before and after photos?

Yes! Jodi was really good about doing this and she does this with a lot of her clients. Please excuse how sleepy I look in these photos. I never went to my appointments with makeup on – like none at all – so yeah, that’s why!

If you have any questions about microblading, please feel free to leave them in the comments section below and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can! If you do book with either Jill or Jodi, be sure to let them know I sent you! 🙂 Have a great day lovelies! xo.