Microblading & Eyebrow Tattoo Peeling: What Is Normal & What Is Not?

When you hear the term Microblading or Eyebrow Tattoo, you may think of the old, tattooed look super dark block eyebrows, but it’s actually a much more sophisticated treatment today, with visible hair strokes done with microblading, or a soft powdery effect achieved with powder brows.

Microblading, powder brows, nano brows, combination brows etc and any other version are still brow tattoos, when you get a tattoo, there is a healing period, which includes scabbing and peeling.

Here is all you need to know about eyebrow tattoo peeling – how intense it is, and also how to care for your brows, what’s normal and what’s not.

How Long After the Treatment Does Eyebrow Tattoo Peeling Start?

The Microblading or eyebrow tattoo peeling starts somewhere between 4-7 days. It is all individual, how intense the peeling will be and when it will end, it varies for everyone, timescale is just a ballpark figure.

How Much Eyebrow Tattoo Peeling Can I Expect?

Some minor flaking is normal, but heavy scabs can be problematic.

Small, light flakes will take some pigment with them and that is completely normal. It’s important to let them fall off on their own, so avoid picking and scratching your eyebrows, they will feel itchy as the skin starts to dry out in this area.

Some people may notice heavy, chunky scabs. They can be normal for some skin types, but they can also be easily avoided. It’s extremely important to follow the aftercare instructions.

Keeping your eyebrows dry is super important; we want that scab to form. If your brows remain too moist or wet it will delay the healing process.

How Long Does It Take for Eyebrow Tattoo to Peel?

The peeling period lasts approximately until day 7-10, but again, it’s individual. It can last a bit longer or shorter than that for each person.

Also, some people will experience only minor peeling. They may be worried that something is odd, but that is completely normal, even if there’s no peeling at all. It’s rare, but those of you who got lucky to experience barely any peeling, can expect great pigment retention.

How to Care for Your Brows During Eyebrow Tattoo Peeling?

Your eyebrow tattoo artist will prescribe certain aftercare. You need to follow it for 2 weeks after the treatment.

When the eyebrows start peeling, the most important thing is to let the flakes fall off on their own. If you pick them, you risk pulling out too much pigment, and ruining your eyebrow tattoo.

A lot of clients who follow the aftercare routine are worried about whether they are allowed to remove a flake that is barely holding on. It’s okay to gently remove it but only if it has come away from the skin, but it will probably be gone when you wash your eyebrows anyway.

What Happens After the Eyebrow Tattoo Peeling?

After the eyebrow tattoo peeling stage, your eyebrows will probably look much lighter than immediately after the treatment. The eyebrows are supposed to lighten by up to 70% until the healing period is over.

After the eyebrows peel, the surface healing is over and you can stop with the aftercare routine. Pretty much everything goes back to normal while you are waiting for your touch up appointment. You can start wearing makeup and feel free to fill in your eyebrows if they are too patchy.

Just be careful with your skincare routine – some ingredients are exfoliants  and they shouldn’t be used around the tattooed area, for example glycolic or lactic acid. Remember that the brows are not completely healed yet – the entire healing period is 4-6 weeks long.

But My Eyebrows Disappeared After Eyebrow Tattoo Peeling!

It’s  possible that your brows are too light after they’ve peeled. They may look like there’s no pigment left at all.

It may just be the ghosting phase, which is of different intensity for different people. Some will notice their brows are just a bit lighter, others will notice they’ve completely gone! The ghosting phase is a normal part of the healing process.

The skin is recovering and the new skin covers the pigment. It takes time until the pigment reemerges again. That’s why we say the healing period is not over after 2 weeks, and the best time to assess the brows is between 4-6 weeks later.

But what if the color doesn’t come back? Well, this is also possible for different reasons.

something went wrong during the aftercare or it’s just your skin – some people’s skin retains pigment better than others’.  Remember it is a 2 treatment process and brows are not complete until 6 weeks healed after your topup (2nd appointment).  In some cases a 3rd topup will be required, but mostly 2 treatments is usually sufficient.

To Sum Up

Eyebrow tattoo peeling is the most annoying and unattractive stage of the healing process. If you are lucky, you will experience as little peeling as possible. Make sure you don’t touch the flakes and follow the aftercare routine, to ensure great healing results.