January 2014 after 8 shots of chemo I waved goodbye to the remaining strands of my lovely thick always in need of grooming eyebrows. I will never forget the sheer anxiety I felt as I lost my very last one. For me loosing my eyebrows was the worst part of all of the hairloss. The hairloss on my head could be disguised by a wig, with my eyelashes I could smudge my eyeliner and it became less noticeable but with the brows they were near impossible to mimic.
Eyebrows frame our face, give us character and are also a very fashionable asset. We all have different ways we like to shape our brows, thick, thin, arched, straight but one thing is for sure without them you feel a real loss of identity. Thankfully my brows grew back quite quickly however they were not as thick as before and quite patchy. In fact I ended up having one good eyebrow and one bad one. These days I probably only need to go get them shaped every 6 weeks as the growth is very slow and non existent in places. Every day I go through the process of penciling and powdering to achieve nice evenly shaped brows. Some days I have bad eyebrow days which can be a nightmare with one ending up thicker than the other or not being able to get them looking just right. I have also got into the habit of booking in to get my Make Up done when I am going to special occasions (that could result in 1 make up application a week if I am having a busy week) the main reason being is so I can avoid the stress of trying to get my eyebrows perfect and feel confident instead of selfconcious that I am not looking well.
For the past couple of years my bad brows have cost me time money and my patience well that was until now !!! 2 weeks ago I took the plunge and went for my initial consultation for EpiBrow treatment in NuEssence based in South Anne Street, Dublin 2. EpiBrow is a treatment which gives a natural brow look, it’s a semi-permanent procedure which can last between 12 – 18 months and unlike other procedures it does not rely upon any natural hair being present. Using a specially designed micro-blade, natural 3D hair strokes are placed under the epidermis. Specially formulated pigments are used to recreate the natural eyebrow colour.
Initially I was a little nervous, this was short-lived, I was introduced to Joanie the therapist who was going to be carrying out my treatment. By just speaking with her I knew she was very competent and knowledgable. During my consultation I was talked through the procedure, we agreed on the shape I would like my eyebrows to be, I also had a photo with me of what shape I liked. Joanie then tinted and shaped my brows, even after getting that done I was happier with them. I also had a patch test in advance of my EpiBrow treatment just to ensure there would be no adverse reaction. Then my appointment was booked for the following week and I couldn’t wait.
Last Thursday was D- DAY, again I was greeted by Joanie and we had another consultation before she began my EpiBrow treatment. She really put me at ease and to be honest I was so happy with my tint and shape I knew I was in safe hands. I really felt she listened and understood exactly what I wanted. The treatment itself took about 90 minutes. I lay down, listened to some really good music and let her do her thing. Anesthetic cream is applied to the brow area so it’s not a painful procedure. She makes little feather like incisions on the brow to create the shape then pigment is applied. I was very relaxed throughout the whole treatment and it was over before I knew it. Although it’s not painful you may feel a slight scratching sensation but its only very slight. Joanie showed me the results, before she showed me she explained I may be shocked and think the brows are very dark. The brows are at their darkest in the first week because a lot of pigment is applied and within 7 days as the brow area heals there is a loss of some pigment and the colour will fade. When I saw my brows I was thrilled, I actually really liked them being dark and the shape was just PERFECT.
It’s now 5 days since I had the treatment done. I stayed away from the gym Friday and Saturday just to give the brows time to heal. I went to a workshop on Saturday and had lots of bloggers inspect my brows they even got a complimentary reaction from the wonderful James Patrice I was thrilled with that. I have to say my brows looked fab. I was kind of fearful that I would look like I had just got my brows done but that was not the case. I have got so many compliments and even when I tell people the stage they are at now is the healing stage and that they will look even better as time goes on they have all been really surprised. I have just kept them free from my Glycolic creams and washes. I have been applying Vaseline as necessary but not overdoing it. I have my follow up treatment in just over 3 weeks from now, this will be a top up type treatment and I can opt for thicker brows if I want then. I will of course be doing a further post about this to show you all my brows when they heal, I was just so happy with the results I had to share it with you all NOW !!
I have to say I am just thrilled with the results. I’m really glad that I finally went for it and am able to share my experience with you girls. I know most of you will understand how it feels when your eyebrows just aren’t right. It can also be a bit daunting opting for a treatment that will last for a while but I can honestly say if you are like me and all about the brows you just wont regret getting this done. The staff at NuEssence are extremely professional, the standard of consultations and aftercare is excellent so that is very reassuring.
Also the lovely Margaret in NuEssence has very kindly offered a 10% discount off the full price of the EpiBrow treatment for any of my followers just tell them Breast Friends sent you. Here is the link to NuEssence they are based in South Anne Street and very easy to find. http://www.nuessence.ie
