Habiba MedJust walked out of your session and want to get everything right? Eyebrow tattoo aftercare is simple, but it makes a big difference to a beautiful result. Here are the two healing methods, the rules for the first 10 days and a checklist to keep handy.
Key takeaways
- Your artist's instructions always come first.
- For at least 7 days, ideally 10: no water, no cream, no sauna, no intense workouts.
- For 1 month: no sun, whatever the method.
- Don't touch or pick at the scabs.
Two schools of healing
Wet healing or moist healing
- Gentle cleansing morning and night
- A thin layer of balm or petroleum jelly
- Blot off the excess
Dry healing with no product at all
- No cream, no balm
- No water on the brows
- Scabs kept completely dry
Wet healing: you gently cleanse your brows morning and night (lukewarm water or saline solution, no rubbing), then apply a very thin layer of balm or petroleum jelly (Vaseline). You blot off the excess with a clean tissue: too much product suffocates the skin.
Dry healing: you apply nothing for 7 to 10 days. You keep your brows dry by washing your face around them, and you let the scabs fall off on their own.
Both have the same goal: beautiful healing. Which one you follow depends on your artist.
Habiba's choice: dry healing
For powder brows, Habiba recommends dry healing. The results stay beautiful, more powdery, natural and well balanced. The wound is superficial: there's no need to speed up healing with a healing cream, like Cicalfate from the pharmacy.
The drier the scabs stay, the longer they hold on, and the more the pigment stays trapped under the skin instead of coming out: retention is better once healed. Since 2019, no problems have been reported with this method.
“For powder brows, the best aftercare is to do nothing: dry scabs mean pigment that stays.”
Habiba MedAftercare instructions for the first 7 to 10 days
- No water on the brows.
- No cream.
- No steam room, no sauna.
- No sun.
- No intense workouts: the problem is sweat.
- Don't touch the scabs.
- Don't pull them off when you wash your face: wash around your brows.
Exception: dry, itchy skin
On dry skin, dry healing can cause itching. In that case: a very thin layer of petroleum jelly, the size of a grain of rice, to calm the itching and dryness. Always with your artist's approval.
Sun: off-limits for 1 month
Whatever the healing method, the sun is off-limits for one month: it can change the color of the pigment. As soon as the scabs have fallen off, protect your brows with SPF 50 sunscreen. And after healing, keep protecting them from the sun to make the result last.
And for 2 months, avoid exfoliants and retinol on the area: they make the pigment fade faster.
What you'll see during these days
- Days 0 to 3: dark, crisp brows.
- Days 4 to 10: the skin flakes and the scabs fall off on their own.
- Around days 7 to 10: the result looks very light, that's normal.
- 2 to 3 weeks later: the color comes back. That's the final result, about 1 month after the session.
All the details in the eyebrow tattoo healing process, day by day.
When to call your artist or a doctor
Normal: slight redness, a little swelling the first few days, itching, flaking skin.
See a doctor if
You have pus, a lot of heat, fever, or redness that gets worse after a few days. Don't worry: these cases are very rare.
Your eyebrow tattoo aftercare checklist
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| Days 0 to 10 | No water (at least 7 days, ideally 10), no cream, no steam room or sauna, no intense workouts, don't touch or pick at the scabs |
| Days 0 to 30 | No sun |
| Days 0 to 60 | No exfoliants or retinol on the area |
| Dry, itchy skin | Petroleum jelly, the size of a grain of rice |
| About 1 month | The perfecting touch-up |
Frequently asked questions
At least 7 days, ideally 10, for water, creams, saunas and workouts. 1 month for the sun.
With dry healing, none. If your skin is very dry and itchy: a grain of rice's worth of petroleum jelly.
For powder brows, the wound is superficial. Dry healing keeps the result more powdery and balanced.
Yes, avoid steam rooms and saunas for 10 days.
During healing, yes: it gets the scabs wet. That's why you avoid intense workouts for 10 days.
Written by
Habiba Med
Permanent makeup artist since 2019 and trainer, I share what I see every day in my studio to help you make the right choices.
