Unhappy with her thin eyebrows, which didn’t match with the recent worldwide trend of women vying for fuller brows, Chitra Malla got herself temporary eyebrow tattoo stickers. But instead of elevating her look, the patch made her more conscious whenever she was out in public.

“The sticker didn’t match with my natural skin shade and I could feel people staring at my brows when I was talking to them,” Malla says.

However, in 2017, she came across microblading—a semi-permanent eyebrow tattoo technique in which thin strokes of pigments, known as micropigmentation, are drawn over one’s eyebrows to lend them the illusion of natural-looking fuller brows. After knowing about this technique, Malla tried it almost immediately. And she is now happier than ever with her brows.

“It’s been two years now, and I have not had any problems with my brow. It has also made life effortless,” she says.

Microblading started gaining popularity in the West after many international celebrities got themselves tattooed. American actor Lena Dunham, who had Vogue tag along with her for her appointment, described the experience to the magazine as “less painful than a sunburn and utterly delightful.”

In Asia, Yunisha Shahi, beauty therapist at Aavaran clinic, says women have been modifying their eyebrows for the last 25 years but microblading as a new measure to tame eyebrows is a relatively new idea.

And these places offer not just microblading but other facilities as well such as—botox, face contouring, lip fillers, lash extensions, scar and acne treatment, hair transplant and others. However, apart from many other facial treatments, for the past one year, skin clinics and parlours have been swamped with queries over microblading.

“The pressure to look good all the time is one of the primary reasons why people are increasingly investing in such therapies these days,” says Shahi.

According to Shahi, the microblading process is convenient and straightforward. It is precise thanks to the tool—a pen, which is a sloped blade with 10-12 little needles at the end. These needles don’t penetrate the skin but delicately scratch the surface like a paper cut. Before microblading, numbing cream is applied so that the process doesn’t hurt customers.

Shahi often guides her client’s to the best possible service. She sits them down and reviews their skin colour and the kind of shape they want.

“Clients may come with their own desired shape, but I don’t recommend that. Eyebrows are shaped through their face shapes and sizes,” she says.

Rushiya Rai and Pramila Rai have also been providing microblading services at their clinic, Meroskin Care, based in Lazimpat. Apart from microblading, they also offer lash extensions and hydrafacial. While eyelash extensions are used to enhance the length and thickness of natural eyelashes, hydrafacial is a resurfacing treatment that clears your pores out and hydrates your skin.

Similar to Shahi’s treatment, Pramila Rai also offers two sessions to her clients. The first phase of microblading is tattooing, whereas, the second is giving the tattoo a re-touch, which should be done within a month.

“If a client is placing their trust on us, we need to ensure that we give them the best service,” she says.

According to the services offered and the clients’ skin type, the price may vary from Rs 5,000 to Rs 15,000.

For the microblading to last and to avoid any infections, aftercare treatment is extremely crucial, says Pramila Rai. "The new brows must be clean and moisturised with petroleum jelly.”

While many people prefer the idea of microblading, there are many who prefer to go the extra mile, and that is: eyebrow transplant. “Microblading could be an easy and a quick technique to get fuller brows, but hair transplant is a better option,” says Shahi.

At Baneshwor-based Skin Arts Aesthetics, Dr Laila Lama Bista believes in laser surgery for fuller eyebrows rather than microblading. “I don’t consider microblading as a true aesthetic procedure.”

Laser improves the quality of the skin and rejuvenates from within, whereas microblading just clears the dead skin cells from outside and thins the skin, she says.

"Microblading needs filling in every three years, but once you transplant it permanently, there is no going back," the doctor said.

The side effects of microblading, she says, is that it can cause eye infections, and the numbing cream and ink may not be favourable to all skin types. Bista says she doesn’t suggest people opt for microblading; instead, she suggests people choose micropigmentation to her clients after the laser surgery.

But many prefer microblading to laser treatments. Like 26-year-old Sangeeta Limbu from Dharan, who opted for microblading because she thought it was the best option to enhance her thin eyebrows.

“I wanted to enhance my eyebrows but it also had to look natural,” she says. “People may consider microblading as a fad but it’s just a beautiful method to make you look and feel beautiful and comfortable in your own skin.”

Malla agrees with Limbu, so much so that she has recommended microblading to almost everyone in her family and friend circle. “It just changes your life,” she says.