Welcome back to Glowing Review!

It is bittersweet to share that this will be the final installment of this incredibly rewarding experience. Glowing Review has been an exploration of some of the self-care, health, and wellness opportunities created and offered by amazing local people in our community. Between Glowing Review and the recent launch of the Chapel Hill Insider’s Guide to Health and Wellness on Chapelboro.com, I’m very proud of our place in the local self-care conversation.

It seems fitting that my final review is for a service I received from my Partner in Wellness, the amazing Angela Hugghins, owner of Monarch Brow and Facial Studio in Carrboro. I recently visited Angela for two Microblading sessions – a.k.a. permanent eyebrows! As a survivor of the thin-eyebrows craze, which I fully blame on Gwen Stefani, this is something I’ve wanted for a while. I was hesitant to commit because of the permanent results, but I knew I could trust Angela thanks to her high-level training and comfortable demeanor.

If you’re asking yourself “Ali, why would anyone ever need their eyebrows permanently tattooed on their face?” then I’m guessing you’ve never plucked your eyebrows to the high heavens and maybe this article isn’t for you. This is one of those “if you know, you know” things.

The first thing Angela did was use the lines and dimensions of my face to determine the most natural shape of my eyebrows. It’s important to remember that Angela is going to enhance your existing features, not change them. If you want a high-arch eyebrow, but you currently have ruler straight eyebrows, Microblading won’t get you there. By drawing these lines on my face, Angela had her map to get to work.

Microblading is permanent make up, which is basically a face tattoo. You’ll get numbing cream, which definitely helps, and overall it’s pretty mild on the pain scale, but this isn’t something you would seek out if relaxation was your goal. My goal was to feel more confident going makeup free, something that wasn’t going to happen as long as I had sad, splotchy eyebrows.

I know that everyone’s expectations with self-care investments are different. That is why I use the “Self-Care Scale” in each edition of Glowing Review, so you can choose what to try based on what matters the most to you.

Experience: Microneedling at Monarch Brow and Facial Studio

Relaxation Level: 4. I know I mentioned this is not something you’d seek out for relaxing purposes, but Monarch is such a peaceful and serene place tucked into downtown Carrboro, even with teeny-tiny needles going into your face you’ll still find a couple moments of zen.

Painful Meter: 6. I would compare the experience to someone roughly brushing through your eyebrows with a small scratchy brush. Also, while the numbing cream will be at it’s strongest for the end of your sessions, your skin’s sensitivity will be too. This is not much worse than the sensation of a bad sunburn.

External Results: 10! I love being able to go makeup free and feel more confident doing so. I still fill my eyebrows in when I wear a full face of makeup, but it’s great to feel like a full face isn’t my only option now.

A few things to prepare for:

  • Microblading is done in two sessions, roughly 8 weeks apart. The first sesson is the more involved of the two – not just because of the measurement and mapping, but Angela is laying the full groundwork for your final product. The second session is for touch-ups, fill-ins, and final touches.
  • The healing process is interesting. It can be itchy and painful, but the most important thing is they need to be kept clean. Angela will send you home with a little kit that holds specific face-wash and cream to apply after you clean your face. As anyone with tattoos, face or otherwise will tell you, the aftercare is the most important part.
  • You’ll pay for both sessions at your first appointment.
  • Because she’s the best in the business, Angela books out really far in advance. Call her and get on the calendar ASAP!

Speaking of Angela, Monarch Brow and Facial Studio, and just being awesome overall – a major thank you is necessary. Angela is so kind, welcoming and knowledgable, it’s impossible to feel anything other than comfort & joy around her. She recently launched a kickstarter for her skin care line, Cult of Reason, and I hope you’ll choose to support it. I know how hard she’s worked on these products, and she wouldn’t put anything out there in the universe that wasn’t the absolute best it could be.

Thank you so much for following along with Glowing Review. I got to work with some amazing people throughout this journey, each who taught me something special along the way. I hope you’ll check out the Glowing Review Archives and take the time to find something that makes you feel good. We all deserve that.

 

As an accomplished painter and sculptor, Angela Hugghins brings an artist’s eye to her work transforming how the world sees her clients’ faces. A professional aesthetician since 2000, Angela launched Monarch Brow & Facial in 2016, providing expert skincare treatments, organic facials and lash and eyebrow tinting. After intensive training under Francek Prsa and the pioneering Serbian Master Microblading artist Branko Babic, Angela is one of only a handful of professionals in North Carolina fully certified in PhiBrows microblading.

The Monarch studio is an intimate space, designed for private, personal attention. She uses only organic, hypoallergenic and sustainable cleansers and makeup, providing treatments and simple-to-follow guidance to achieve great looking, healthier skin with a minimum of regimen at whatever budget you can manage.

 

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