Ellie Furuya
- Oct 30, 2017
- 3 min read

My microblading experience in Hong Kong (photos included!)

Updated: Dec 12, 2019

[Update on Dec.11.2019] Mi Brows has since re-located to 17th Floor, 11 Luard Road, Southern Commercial Building, Wan Chai. Click here to read my most recent manual ombre brows experience with Sammi at her new shop.

Considering that much of my morning angst comes from repeatedly screwing up my brows and having to re-do them, I can't believe I had never considered microblading before. It's a procedure similar to tattooing but with a much more natural result. Unlike tattooing, though, microbladed brows only last 1-2 years max. So after seeing it casually play out on Vivian's (@gutakesworld) Instagram story, I was like -- wait it's that easy!? She hooked me up with Sammi, the part-time beautician who charges pennies for an incredible quality of work compared to what you might have to shell out for specialists with the same qualifications in Central.

Here is the before/after shot from my microblading session at @mi_brows with Sammi:

If you're thinking about getting your eyebrows microbladed, I'm going to say do it. It saves a lot of time when you're getting ready, and you don't even have to worry about your brows messing up when you're swimming. Make sure you've seen multiple works of the specialist, and even better, see the results on a friend first in person. Now while I'm saying the result was excellent, the healing process itself was definitely not all smooth sailing. No matter what anyone says, there IS some down time required for this kind of procedure, because for the first whole week, your brows will be less than ideal -- way too dark as they scab, and flaky & uneven towards the end as they heal. I tend to draw darker brows normally, which is why mine were especially noticeable and sharp for the first few days. I'll run you all through the actual procedure, then the healing time in steps:

1) Arrival. Sammi rents out a room in a building located right next to Lai Chi Kok station, and it was easy to find. She observed the way I do my brows normally, and I gave her a sample of the brow pen I use (Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in Ebony).

2) Pre-procedure. She removes my brow makeup and starts applying numbing cream. As we wait for the cream to set in, she starts mixing my custom color. After removing the numbing cream, she draws my brows for me with a pencil. This part is crucial! Make sure the shape is exactly what you want. My brows are naturally shorter and my arch starts earlier, but I wanted a longer brow and slightly curved arch - so after a few small tweaks we found the shape I wanted.

3) Procedure begins. Microblading is basically a process where the specialist draws tiny little hairs into your skin with a pen blade to mimic your natural eyebrows. It’s more natural than the other alternative of powder brows. I have a scarily high pain tolerance and the numbing cream played it’s part, but for many who can’t take pain as well, it gets steadily more excruciating as the cream wears off. Just warning.

4) Finishing touches. Periodically, Sammi will hold the mirror up for me so I can check on the shape. This part I’m also grateful for, because I could guide her to shape it the way I normally do. She then slaps on a thick clay thing on both brows to make the colours set in better (pic above lol). The entire procedure took around 2 hours from consultation to finish, and by the end, I was veritably calmer than when I’d initially walked in.

How the brows looked on the day I got them done, right after the procedure:

Post-procedure instructions:

-Try not to get your eyebrows wet for 10 days (I say try because let’s be real, it’s impossible to not get it wet once in a while)

-Avoid exposure to UV rays

-Don’t draw brows for first 7 days

-Don’t peel off the flaking skin! Never do it no matter how tempted you are!

Now for the healing process...

5) Days 2-4: This was the most torturous phase of the healing process because my eyebrows just got steadily darker with no signs of stopping! They looked like this in pics: