It’s no secret that the eyebrows are the most essential part of the human face. Our brows help shape our faces and they also play a key role in how we communicate with others and express our emotions. Since bold eyebrows have become the beauty norm (thanks Cara Delevingne), women go to great lengths to get insta-worthy brows. One of those methods is called microblading, which is a procedure in which hair-like strokes of pigment are tattooed into the skin to make eyebrows look fuller. However, if you plan on getting your brows microbladed, make sure you’re going to a reputable artist, or else you’ll end up looking like one Missouri woman.
According to Fox4KC, Jami Ledbetter, a woman born without eyebrows, was given a Groupon to get her eyebrows microbladed by a woman who claimed she was certified in microblading as gift from her daughters. The Groupon was only $250 and it seemed like a steal. However, once she got the procedure, Ledbetter and her daughters quickly realized that deal came at a huge price: the woman botched Ledbetter’s brows.
The cosmetic disaster shattered Ledbetter’s self-confidence. “I was devastated,” she said. “I was even dating a guy, and he stopped dating me at that point.”
Ledbetter tried everything to cover up her messed up brows including makeup and even seeing someone who claimed she could “camouflage” the botch job, but only ended up making the situation worse. Luckily, someone eventually referred Ledbetter to Kara Gutierrez, a local licensed and insured tattoo artist who specializes in permanent cosmetics. Gutierrez said she had to “hold back tears” when she first met Ledbetter because her brows were the worst she had ever seen.
Ledbetter has since been meeting with Gutierrez in eight-week intervals to remove her brows. According to Fox4KC, Gutierrez uses a product called Li-ft, which is a pigment lightening solution that gets tattooed into the ink you want to go away.
Since microblading isn’t a regulated practice in Ledbetter’s home state of Missouri, Gutierrez is worried that more women will find themselves in this kind of situation. “Nobody’s governing this,” Gutierrez said. “No one is saying, ‘This is the right way. This is the wrong way.’”
In the end, Ledbetter will have to pay at least $1000 for her eyebrow removal procedures.
Let Ledbetter’s story be a cautionary tale for anyone who wants to get their eyebrows microbladed: do your research and only go to a reputable and licensed artist, ESPECIALLY if you live in a state like Missouri where microblading is an unregulated procedure! Yeah, you may have to pay few extra bucks to go to a good artist, but you’ll be saving yourself hundreds of dollars (and your self-esteem) when you don’t have to shell out cash to get a botched eyebrow job removed.