I had my brows microbladed here recently. Here is the good, the bad, and the ugly of my experience:…read more
The salon was clean and the service was relatively inexpensive (note to self: NEVER cheap out on this sort of stuff!), there were detailed AFTERcare instructions provided, they listened when I brought up my concerns, the shape of the brow, as they first appeared, wasn't bad, the color was swatched on my skin before any tattooing was done, and she numbed my brows VERY well - there was little to no pain or discomfort.
Now, for the bad.
When I had initially made the appointment, I explained that I had previously had my brows done up North and that I had a combination of shading and hairstrokes. It was done by a friend of mine, who owns a high-end salon and spa.
I had expected that prior to the appointment, I would get some pre-appointment instructions. I did not. Now, any reputable place will send you PRE-appointment instructions. This is a TATTOO, after all, even if it's only a surface tattoo - pre-care instructions are vital to your health and the longevity of the results. Fortunately, as I had had them before, I still had my instructions.
They also tried to have me sign off on received pre-care instructions. I refused, since they didn't send any.
When I arrived, the person at the f4ont desk was not wearing a mask, and was standoffish. Okay - everyone has off days. Whatever.
I went into the actual room, and the woman didn't ask me any questions about what I wanted to achieve, or anything, really. I had to stop her as she told me to lay down and walk her through what I wanted. I brought pictures of my previous results (which were AMAZING), the color I wanted, etc. She listened well, which I thought boded well for the visit.
She didn't measure anything - most places will do some initial measurements and talk to you about placement, thickness, etc. She didn't.
She also had her mask UNDER her nose the entire time.
But the real problem started when, after she took a look at my brows, she said she couldn't do them because I had a previously had shading and the the individual hair strokes, which is what I was there for, would look "wonky."
As a side note, afterwards I called my friend - who had originally done my brows - and asked her about this, and she laughed and said, "Absolutely NOT true."
I explained that when I called I had told them what I had before (which had faded quite a bit, hence the new appointment to get them re-done).
So I had her get the manger (owner?) of the spa and I explained the situation. She wanted me to reschedule and I told her I had taken half a day off from work.
I also told her that I had explained my previous microblading to the person who booked my appointment and she shrugged and said, "She's new."
In the end, I had the them do the fine-hair strokes, thinking that I would come back for the follow up with the owners and fill the brows in with more hair strokes and *maybe* a little shading (which I am trying to get away from).
The results? While there was a VERY minor improvement in my brows (hey, the 90s RUINED me and they were super sparse and fairly see-through) but they were FAR too thin. (Mind you, I had SHOWN her several pictures of my previous microblading which had been taken just after the first session, in fact) but they looked nothing like them and really needed to be half again as thick. One was also shorter than the other by a bit.
The overall impression is that they simply didn't want to do the service once I walked in there. I'm a professional who works in a conservative field, so it's not like I walked in there in shabby clothing and flip flops. Also, the experience just didn't seem professional at all - from the reception experience right down to speaking with the owner - it felt very slapped together and ungracious. It's notable that they had me sign a waiver AFTER the procedure.
After this, I got lip filler as a correction for some asymmetry at a different spa - and it was like night and day. I was so happy with my results, as well as the experience, that when I went back for my follow-up, I booked an appointment to have my brows FIXED and then re-done there. The microblade artist took time to see me right then and there and TALK to me about what I wanted and essentially everything that SHOULD happen prior to someone taking a tattoo tool to your face.
Needless to say, I cancelled the follow up with Nia Clinic. I won't be back, and I cannot recommend them. I'm not a high-strung person nor am I unreasonable, but there's a threshold of client service and skill that just wasn't met. This procedure is a tattoo on a person's face, not a manicure.
It's a shame, because their IG pictures were gorgeous. A reminder that everything on a company's social media is carefully curated, I guess.
