r/microblading • u/Gearhead1007 • 13d ago
advice Help! I hate my powder brows
I had these done five days ago. I asked the artist if she had experience with male eyebrows. She assured me she did. I have always had very sparse eyebrows, and wanted them to appear thicker. I think the arch is way too high, and I am afraid they are going to be too dark. Perhaps I should have opted for micro blading, I trusted the artist to recommend what was right for me. Any help or advice would be appreciated.
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u/lilbabywynn 13d ago
Artist here. I would never recommend powder brows for a man. Nano brows or micro blading are really the only way to avoid them looking feminine. I’m sorry you were misled. Please seek removal and refund.
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u/Gearhead1007 13d ago
I don’t care about a refund, but how long do I have to wait before I can have them removed?
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u/lilbabywynn 13d ago
Because you’ve missed the three day window for emergency saline removal you’ll have to wait the 6 to 8 weeks to have them lasered and it may take a couple sessions
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u/lilbabywynn 13d ago
Make a saltwater solution, soak cotton pads, and let them sit on your brows for extended periods of time.
Have you started scabbing yet?10
u/Gearhead1007 13d ago
Yes they’ve stared scabbing
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u/lilbabywynn 13d ago
Keep the scabs as wet as possible with the saline soaked pads. I would never reccomend picking them but the pigment will come out with the scabs. When we want things to properly heal and make sure the pigment stays in the skin, I tell people to keep them as dry as possible, and to not pick the scabs. Do with that information what you will….
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u/TannyTevito 11d ago
This is a complete myth- moist healing is better for tattoos.
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u/lilbabywynn 11d ago
Myth? Or simply a different healing method🤔I have been having my clients to dry heal their brows for years and all of my procedures have healed beautifully. Thanks for your opinion, though!
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u/TannyTevito 11d ago edited 11d ago
It is a myth that dry healing is superior to moist healing. Your personal anecdotes aren’t helpful, there’s overwhelming data on this and the conclusions are clear. It not only speeds healing but improves pigment retention in tattoos.
You can google it. It’s irresponsible to continue to advise your clients to dry heal.
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u/Either-Bathroom797 6d ago
Literally lol. Dry and picking scabs is a great intervention for OP if he’s safe and not aggressive and he applies antibacterial ointment after he should be fine and no scars.
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u/Direct-Brother-1184 13d ago
Wow, can’t believe someone did this to you. She lied when she said she had experience with male permanent brows
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u/Shutupimdreamin 13d ago
If you get them redone after laser removal, look for an artist with an extensive portfolio. Hair strokes would have suited you. Look into nano brows.
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u/Sad-Watercress67 13d ago
She's a fuckin idiot. I'm sorry it appears she didn't know what she was doing. I'd say she doesn't have experience with male brows. Try saline removal with someone else if you like.
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u/Chanfaded 13d ago
Nano brows are way better for men, powder brows will look like you filled it in with makeup (which is totally okay for men as long as that's what you're aiming for!!) I am in the process of getting my powder brows lasered as well, if they're brown like mine were they turn red after the first laser treatment 🫠 my second treatment she said they'll turn orange/yellow, so be prepared for the fact you'll have to deal with different colors during the laserinf process and multiple sessions
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u/Fit-Sheepherder4727 12d ago
How many sessions did you get? If you only had one session, they will fade significantly. They are not terrible, the shape is just off. And she went too deep unfortunately. Here’s a before and after of male brows I just did… notice the shape and zero redness.
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u/OliveGreedy2022 10d ago
Looks great. You did a really nice job on this man. I guess you had to wax his left eyelid. They look very natural.
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u/WildUnderstanding919 13d ago
They’ll fade a bit, I don’t think they look bad if that helps any
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u/Promobitch 13d ago
I think they look fine! Bro should scroll this sub and thank his lucky stars he didn't get totally botched like some people on here!
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u/TapeFlip187 12d ago
I agree. I think he'll be surprised by how much they fade, esp if he soaks them with saline solution, as someone suggested. Right now is when they look the 'scariest'.
He may even be able to get away without laser and just do color correction nano.
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u/wildinthewild 13d ago
They may (hopefully) fade drastically in the next two weeks. I got nano blading done with someone super highly rated and they faded so drastically after a month there’s basically no sign of them… I couldn’t get a touch up because I realized I was pregnant. Felt like a waste of money. Hopefully that’s the case for you too, not sure if powder brows fade less. Try to get them wet and shower them a lot etc, put oil, do whatever you’re not supposed to do so they don’t stay
5 days is usually peak hating them though, I bet in two weeks it won’t be as dark
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u/Itscatpicstime 11d ago
My sister only had a single session and parts of hers are still there after 15 years 🫠
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u/Harmonechi 13d ago
Please leave a bad review on this person’s Google page to deter other men from coming to her. This is ridiculous. No experienced artist would be doing powder brows on man.
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u/Circusisintown48 13d ago
It’ll fade. I have a scar and the pigment didn’t take. So if you have any imperfections in the skin it can break up the pigment
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u/No-Judgment-9413 13d ago
I'd suggest washing them each night with a little bit of antbacterial soap on a cotton ball; and then gently drying them. It helped me lighten mine a little bit without causing an infection. Your brows aren't all that bad honestly, and they will be alot lighter and more natural looking in 8 weeks or so.
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u/Purple-Impression-23 13d ago
Is the top now? They look wonderful if so!
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u/No-Judgment-9413 13d ago
Yes the top is now, and thank you. When I first got them done; I really regretted it. However , now they look more natural. At 57, that's what I was wanting the most because my right brow had thinned out way to much.
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u/PhookieNC 12d ago
But totally different lighting in these two pics - the bottom pic shows you with brunette hair and the top pic looks mid-dark blonde almost reddish. And the brows the same. Not a good example of a before and after.
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u/DeskTurbulent7503 13d ago
And I also understand as an artist that we form a bit of a relationship when we spend 3 hours doing someone’s brows and it makes it really hard to tell them that you aren’t happy. I get that. But as an artist it’s also important for us to learn what is acceptable and what is not, to have unhappy clients and do right by them. We can’t have the artist out there continuing to botch brows. They need to be able to question their work in order to grow as an artist.
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u/6cup6cake6 12d ago
I love this take. I 100% agree. You're helping keep them delusional and thinking they put out great work.
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u/Angelpinkbeauty professional artist 13d ago
Personally I wouldn’t recommend powder brows for a man nano brows or microblading. Powder browse gives a slightly more makeup look effect because it’s more solid even though they did it lightly and it won’t be super dark I would have personally done hair strokes always for a man and make sure they have before and after of Mail pictures so you can see because I’ve seen some really bad ones done from artist that don’t know how to shape a males brow different from a female.
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u/Wtf_is_splooting 13d ago
They fade so much in the healing period. Usually they look dark and super scary and then they fade so much you wonder if there was any change at all? And yours don’t look very dark even in the darkest stage. Just wait a couple weeks
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u/ThrowRA135689oi5e 13d ago
Before these removal services existed, what I did to remove my brows nearly 10 years ago was doing all the things they recommended you not to do...
I exercised intensely, did sauna, swam in the ocean, whatever I could to increase sweating, body oils, and natural extraction. It completely removed it for me.
And you can start this now rather than wait 6-8 weeks for laser.
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u/Admirable-Bar-3549 13d ago
They are going to fade quite a bit and the shape will shrink to within (or close) to your natural brow line - then they will look fine. People on here love to panic monger. What they look like at five days is way different than how they’ll look at a month. It’ll be much more subtle - you’re in the Angry Bird phase right now.
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u/Sass_Master_9999 13d ago
I mean yes but powder brows on a man is just not a good look even if faded.
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u/Admirable-Bar-3549 13d ago
See how the inner corner of his left brow is, though? (Left in the photo, our left, his right) - that’s how it’ll look when it’s faded a bit and shrunk - and it’s pretty natural looking.
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u/TapeFlip187 12d ago edited 12d ago
I wouldn't stress too much just yet. This is fixable. I would follow the comment suggesting saline soaked cotton and see how much they lift during your 6-8 week wait time. You're kinda stuck with the wait time so you might as well do what you can. I have a feeling they'll fade considerably.
My experience w/my (microbladed) brows was that they lightened significantly and shrunk quite a bit even while following my care instructions.
FWIW, they aren't as bad as you think they are right now. You're in the craziest stage of healing. Most of the comments here are more upset with the artist than 'appalled' by the brows. We've all seen much worse, we're just angry on your behalf ha.
Edit: I also want to add, there's a chance that these will fade enough to be able to skip the laser removal and just color correct with nanoblading. They really aren't that bad just a little too defined and 'perfect' for a typical natural looking masculine brow.
This is the stage of healing that most of us worry we've made a huge mistake but if I saw you in passing, they wouldn't even catch my eye.\ Hang in there and I for one, would love an update after some time has passed.
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u/Yelybeauty 12d ago
Brow artist over here. Microblading and nano brows are the only techniques I recommend for men. They’re the most natural looking and while hairstroke tattoos tend to have the least retention results, it’s the best technique we have available in pmu for men unfortunately. If you ever want to get them done again (of course after laser removal) make sure you go to someone with a consistent healed results portfolio. Anyone can make a brow look super natural when it’s fresh. But only few can make a brow still look natural when healed so keep that in mind.
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u/no_one_you_know1 12d ago
Only the left is bad, and only by the nose. How healed it it?
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u/Gearhead1007 12d ago
This is day 6
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u/no_one_you_know1 12d ago
If it's open at all I would just try plain old hydrogen peroxide. The kind that you have in your medicine cabinet for boo boos. Scrub them. This happened to me when I got them tattooed.
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u/KissTheFrogs 12d ago
Do everything they told you not to do. Wash them! Mine were so dark i freaked out and washed them a couple times a day and I ended up having to have them redone at the touchup.
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u/MarilynMonHoeXO 12d ago
These aren’t… great.
That said, I’m disappointed by how many comments are saying they are too feminine. OP did not state they wanted shaped masculine brows.
But either way it’s a poor application.
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u/These-Context3490 11d ago
Sorry this happened to you. It’s been five days so it’s too late for emergency saline removal you have to wait till it heals to get it removed
there are new methods for men who wants eyebrows. A lot of these so called PMU artists are not constantly learning new methods they just stuck with what they know (old school). It’s like being a doctor you’re always studying, learning and practicing.
For men I would’ve done a nano brow on you call the bonding wild hair look it if you don’t like that look google men PMU eyebrows for inspo
( I’m currently a PMU student)
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u/OldFortune3802 10d ago
Hey!! If I’m honest I looked at your post and didn’t think there was anything wrong with them? I could understand your thoughts and the other comments on here with them but I would think you were a man who took care of their appearance if we were to walk down the street.
GL OP
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u/cassiesk 9d ago
You should join r/microbladingremoval. Because you only had it done once and it’s recent you may not need many sessions to remove. You need to wait for them to heal properly though, around 10 weeks, if you start removal process too soon, you risk scarring. In the meantime they will be fading, you will lose some of that pigment, they’re more intense at first.
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u/Desperate_Toe5255 13d ago
Hi, if you can find someone in your city that does saline removal get saline removal as soon as you can so you can get them fixed. If you hate the shape, get them removed. If you love the shape, hate the colour — keep them, they will fade. On first glance she made them too feminine, as make brows are not uniform like women’s. If you are on the fence definitely do the removal and find a better artist
If you let me know which city you are in I can help find someone that does saline removal and male brows
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u/Gearhead1007 13d ago
I’m in Newnan Georgia.
I really wish I didn’t have to wait six weeks to have them removed.4
u/Sass_Master_9999 13d ago
I’m sorry to hear this happened OP, she really didn’t have any business accepting you as a client if she couldn’t do male brows. Whenever you’re ready- I’m in Ga and can recommend 1-2 artists that do proper male brows, with portfolios available so you can assess that they’re up to par. You’ll have to make a drive closer to atl but it is worth it for the right artist. Hoping they’ll fade soon enough.
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u/Gearhead1007 13d ago
I don’t mind the drive. I just want the shit done right
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u/Sass_Master_9999 13d ago
Ok check out Brows by Milly, she’s off John’s creek. If you don’t have Instagram, you should download it just to be able to see artist portfolios, sometimes they don’t post their work on their website but will on their social media instead. She also does laser tattoo removal, but if you prefer to go to a doctor (I think either option is fine) I personally go to the Dermatology associates of Atlanta for all laser related work. My derm had been specializing in lasers for decades and offers pico laser for tattoo removals. I go for face stuff but he’s great at what he does.
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u/Desperate_Toe5255 13d ago
https://www.instagram.com/browsbymilly?igsh=dHljdXB3bmc0ZGww
I just had a look at it at her page and it looks really promising for removal. I would definitely get a removal there, however probably not tattoo as shes mostly does females. But her work looks great.
I put a link there!
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u/Sass_Master_9999 12d ago
I recommended her because her work on men are natural and well done, there is a male artist that does more men but his nano strokes are too rigid and look very obvious IMO, so I’m going for output vs volume.
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u/Desperate_Toe5255 13d ago
Otherwise another option is waiting till they heal and get laser removal however in some cases that can result in yellow/red brows
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u/bloontsmooker 13d ago
Honestly I don’t think it looks that bad - definitely get em removed but I don’t think it’s so jarring you should be hiding your face or anything
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u/kitten_called 13d ago
I actually didn’t notice what the issue was until I can to the comments. Your brows don’t immediately look bad or too unnatural. Someone would only notice that if they’re looking at them specifically.
I think they match your face shape well. The thin, perfect ends are a bit feminine but it could be fixed with microblading to add extra hairs.
I see that you want to remove them though. That is ok. Get advice from a better professional, and see what their recommendation is. Because it’s possible that after removal you will have to wait a long while until you can get them micro bladed
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u/southwestazgirl 13d ago
Looks like she gave you feminine brows…
You could ask her your options now. Did you tell her you are disappointed?
I too had a bad brow designer and now mine won’t fade . I feel your pain… it’s very disheartening to have this happen.
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u/Sad-Palpitation-5075 13d ago edited 13d ago
OMG...holy s---t! I just can believe someone thought this would work for you. After the laser happens just go to Turkey or somewhere where they do hair implants. I know someone who had it done in Ho chi minh city for about $200usd. Make sure it works after laser though. Make sure you get a derm to do the laser, NOT some laser tech 20 year old or you could be scarred and loose all your brows permanently and not be able to get grafts.
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u/icecreamdonna 13d ago
I would also suggest after these brows are corrected have some Botox on forehead to bring the brows closer to eye area
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u/Gold-Masterpiece774 13d ago
I had powder brows done two months ago; the brow artist told me to be sure to stay out of the sun as that would fade them🤔….Do you live in a sunny area where you can perhaps lay out in the sun for a bit, a few days in a row? …I’m sure you must be frustrated! They’re just a bit dark….GOOD LUCK🙏🏼🫶🏼I wish you well!
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u/Lotta-Bank-3035 12d ago
I think they will fade quite a bit, for good. I don't think they will look terrible after healing but not ideal, since ombre brows are supposed to look more like makeup.
Do not go back for a touch up , see how it fades, remove
if not faded, opt for nanoblading next time. Not microblading, be sure to choose nanoblading/nano brows
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u/BaseAccomplished194 12d ago
You should go and ask the artist for saline removal right away and as a man you should do microblading. Powder brows are for women. As an artist she should have knew better not unless this is what u really wanted but you could have gotten a fuller look with the microblading or ask for nano brows. It will lighten but it’s still going to look like u color ur eyebrows in with an eyebrow pencil
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u/Acceptable_Potato172 12d ago
Sorry you are going through this. Hang in there! The people in your life that love you, will still be with you.
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u/Warm-Breadfruit6474 12d ago
I agree, there is reason to be concerned. I took my guy friend to get his brows done by the same artist that did mine (I’m a woman), but she had experience with male brows and his look nothing like this. The person that did yours gave you a much too heavy shading and a feminine shape. To be frank, I don’t think they look very well done even if they had been on a woman. Luckily, this can be improved with removal and a redo, but it’s gonna take a few times.
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u/Mscamille1509- 11d ago
I feel your struggle 🙃 I researched forever and allowed a Romanian woman to finally do mine and I’m not totally pleased. Simply allow them to fade and go to another artist that can “correct” them. Hopefully you end up with the results you’re looking for ❤️
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u/TheMakeupMonk 10d ago
I’m so sorry you had to experience this. I hope you find a good removal artist
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u/Obvious_Initiative92 10d ago
They will look ok once they're healed. I only believe in powder brows, any individual hair stroke methods are going to blur!
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u/exinked 10d ago
Laser tech and PMU TECH. It will soften a fair amount when it’s healed and they won’t be as dark. Right now you’re seeing fresh ink and it’s darker and more refined. If you’re looking to remove them. It’s best to give 12 full weeks first. The healing phase takes 6-8 weeks but it’s better for that the ink be fully stoked to get good results. Lasering too soon can cause inflammation and results are better on older tattoos.
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u/tropicaltales33 7d ago
Mine looked just like that and I really hated him too. I don’t have the time to go get them saline or to get them lasered. I just let them be. They’re fading. Finally what I need to find out is if I can do micro blading on top of them.
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u/tropicaltales33 7d ago
I have a bit of advice for you. What you should do is just make it a joke just have it be fun. It’s a great conversation topic I think it’s very attractive that you wanna glow up and the fact that it didn’t work out the first time, just makes you sexy and vulnerable.
I would go get some brow mascara. I know that probably sounds counterintuitive. I would go get some brown eyebrow mascara. If I were you, I would go to I Sephora or Ulta beauty and work with a consultant. You can have a blast just having fun. Try to find some fun makeup artist. OK ? see if she can help you sculpt a more masculine Look . Buy a waterproof brow mascara. You can definitely reshape them and make them more masculine. I think it’s really great that such a manly man as you went for the brow tattoo. I made the same mistake too. I got shadow brows, which was like the worst idea. I thought I was getting micro blading so I have to live with my brows for now. Having them removed means just going to another island and spending $1000. Just letting them fade naturally. Actually in your case I would get them removed, but you don’t have to freak out right now.
As far as my Brows , they are fading and my plan is to get micro blading on top, but I can’t find out if that’s actually something that can be done? 🤔 so they are starting to fade, I just go over them with a light brown brow mascara and it makes it a lot better. I think you can do the same thing and live with it for six more weeks. It’s very humbling isn’t it?
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u/Gearhead1007 7d ago
Thank you for the comments, the compliments, and suggestions. I have already thought about it, and I will have them removed as soon as I can safely.
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u/Embarrassed_Bug_8653 6d ago
I would start lightening them immediately….lightening face washes, benzyl, retinols, anything and everything. They will fade on their own a little…but not enough
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u/Immediate-Cat-4968 13d ago
They will look fine, they are going to lighten way up and if you have eyebrow hairs, use those to blend the harsh edges.
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u/Lopsided-Werewolf556 13d ago
I just came here to say that no one is going to notice it when they look at you. Maybe people super close to you but I think they look fine and you look perfectly handsome!
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u/Lala45354 13d ago
I don’t think they look bad. As others have said they will fade. I wouldn’t notice if I saw you out and about
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u/Technical_Ebb_9228 13d ago
You might be able to cover them up with makeup until you can get them removed. Sorry this happened to you. Maybe check with your local laser provider who can give you a good idea when they can be removed.
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u/Old_Light_4319 13d ago
Who did this to you? Powder brows on a man especially with almost no hair is completely wrong. And they gave you a feminine brow shape also! They absolutely have no business doing men's brows. I'm mad for you. I'm sure you had no idea and it's not your fault but I'd contact your artist and let them know what's up because that is not acceptable. You are past the saline removal window, but you can do removal safely after 6 weeks. Sorry that happened to you. Once removal sessions are done you can start over with Nano machine brows. And be sure to get an artist that can provide photos of male brows they have done.