POWDER your brows

Permanent makeup has come a long way since the 'very saturated, solid Khoki-pen eyebrows of the past.

- LIESL ROBERTSON

Following chemo treatment a few years ago, FAIRLADY photographer Liza van Deventer's eyebrows became quite sparse. Enter the latest eyebrow-enhancing treatment beauty buffs are raving about: nano brows.

Liza had breast cancer in her 30s, and chemo damaged her hair follicles. ‘A lot of the hair on my body just didn’t grow back,’ she says. ‘My eyebrows, especially, have never been quite the same, and it bothered me a lot. I’m not good with makeup, so even when I try to fill them in they don’t look quite right.’

Liza sought advice from Reneé de Wit, a Cape Town makeup artist she’d worked with on photo shoots. ‘Reneé referred me to Lisl Boshoff, a permanent-makeup artist who does a lot of work on people with alopecia. So it’s more than just a brow touch-up; she works on people who don’t have any eyebrows.’

Powder brows

Lisl is quick to point out that she does what is referred to as powder brows, or nano brows, and not microblading – the two procedures are (ahem) arch-rivals.

‘Microblading doesn’t work for 80% of my clients. You need very strong, dry skin with fine pores, for it to look good. The second thing is that those cuts create a lot of scarring. And you need a lot of follow-ups and maintenance. It also fades very quickly. If you have oily skin, you don’t get those fine, crisp lines.’

The difference between the two methods lies in the tool you use to do it. ‘Microblading is done with a hand tool with a row of needles in the shape of a blade. You dip it in pigment and then you draw hairlike lines by cutting the skin.’