Shaping
Step 4: Prep the Brows
Once you’ve taken your before photos, you now want to clean the client’s eyebrows with alcohol wipes to prep the area and remove any dirt and bacteria. Once you’ve prepped the area you can begin shaping your client’s eyebrows
Step 5: The Shaping Process: Brow Mapping + Pre-Draw
Shaping is the process of mapping out your client’s eyebrows and finding the shape that they love that suits them. This is commonly known as Brow Mapping. This allows you to draw out the shape of the brows prior to tattooing so your client can approve the shape. This drawing is referred to as the Pre-Draw.
My shaping work tray is typically set up prior to my client’s arrival. Therefore, once the area has been prepped, you can begin shaping your client’s eyebrows. I like to think of the shaping process as 2 different steps:
- Brow Mapping
- Pre-Drawing
First, I mapped the brows using a 5-point mapping technique. In this mapping technique, I combine the use of mapping strings and points to help me find the client’s perfect shape and make sure that they are symmetrical. Brow mapping will be discussed in detail later.
Once the brow mapping is done, I ask my client to take a look and approve the shape. If there’s any changes she’d like, I make them now before I begin the Pre-Draw step.
Secondly, I begin the pre-draw. I use the brow map I’ve created with the 5-point mapping to draw in the eyebrows and create the pre-draw. I pencil in the brows using a black grease pencil by Sharpie or Tina Davies Pro Silk Pencil. I pencil in the brows inside of the strings and 5 dots I have created. I make sure to avoid penciling the fronts of the brows too dark and keep the front light to create an Ombré Effect. This allows your client to accurately determine if they love the brows or not. When the front is penciled in too dark, the brows tend to look thicker or bolder. This may throw off your client and make them indecisive of the shape.
After the brows are penciled it, I conceal the brows with concealer and a concealer brush. This allows me to create a precise and sharp pre-draw and make any tweak I may need to do.
Once the pre-draw is completed and the client has approved the shape by loving it, we can begin the procedure. I don’t begin the procedure without the client’s full confidence that she loves them.