Look no further, Mahan is an eyebrow master-genius (and an awesome person to spend the hours with…read moreduring the appointment)!
Let's start by saying, I am cynical AF. I always check yelp reviews before I go anywhere, and I always read the worst ones assuming "well, that could happen to me"! I assure you that you are in safe hands with Mahan! She is super professional, experienced, and knowledgable. She is also that person you would want to befriend, while drunk, in a bar
Its definitely (very) scary to trust a stranger to basically change your appearance. I have a lot of friends that went to reputable salons, who now look very "surprised" and are having to spend hours fixing their eyebrows every morning, after they spend hundreds of dollars. So my initial, obvious advice is: do your research, read the reviews, and make sure you feel comfortable with the person go to.
Before I saw Mahan, we discussed everything about my eyebrows; from shape to color to inspo. She asked to see my eyebrows with and without makeup, she asked a lot of questions and she made me feel super confident (well as confident as you can be to see a stranger to tattoo your eyebrows). In all honesty, Mahan was super knowledgable in the different styles of eyebrow looks/ techniques/ needs and was frank in all of her responses. And she was super nice on top of it! She never made me feel like I was an obnoxious customer. From the moment we talked she treated me like a friend, whose eyebrows she would not Fuck up lol.
Read my (lengthy) experience below:
I went to my appointment with Mahan super prepared with questions and concerns. I told myself, "I don't care how annoying I will have to sound- this is my life after all." ( life/ eyebrows- same thing). She explained everything about the process, super throughly, answering all of repetitive questions with complete sincerity. She then first drew my eyebrows, taking extra precaution to measure them. I was really concerned about my eyebrows looking fake and drawn in and obviously tattooed and I wanted to make sure they appeared as natural as possible.
In my short expertise of eyebrow tattooing, the color your eyebrow artist chooses to use is key! I was very inarticulate about which color I wanted, but Mahan was somehow spot on. She went a little bit lighter, less defined at the the initial tattooing appointment which I also think was key in achieving my look. In the weeks after my appointment, I was able to assess where I wanted her to fill them in more, and if I wanted them darker. I initially wanted them to be the exact shape right away, but looking back, I really respected and appreciated Mahan knowing to do them lighter/ less defined in the beginning. It's obviously easier to add then to erase a tattoo. ( I'm sure this situation would vary person to person/ shape/ color).
Ok, about the pain. My friends who had their eyebrows tattooed scared the beejesus out of me (anyone else still use that word?) when they talked about how painful their sessions were. I KID YOU NOT! I DIDNT EVEN KNOW THAT MAHAN WAS TATOOING ME, FOR ABOUT A FULL MINUTE SHE WAS DOING IT lol. I had never had a tattoo before and I had no idea what to expect. She also numbed me every time she would switch sides ( according to my pain/ tolerance) which really helped. Towards the end of the session my eyebrows hurt a little more but at that point, my sensitivity was so high that just her brushing my eyebrows was painful. The sessions are pretty long and last a couple of hours.
Aftercare: Easier than you think/ read online. I put aquaphor on my eyebrows for a few days after (when I remembered, when they itched) and tried to refrain from sweating and working out. But honestly (and don't necessarily take my advice) I didn't do much, and they haven't faded and they didn't scab/ scar. But do what Mahan or your eyebrow artist suggests lol.
As I mentioned before, my 6 week follow up really solidified the shape I want, and somehow kept the color perfect as well and I was able to achieve that natural, "annoying girl", "perfect" eyebrow look.
If you are still reading this- thank you
and you're beautiful. But honestly, if you are lazy AF like me and want pretty, full eyebrows with no filter,
I really recommend Mahan! She is really the best. At least that's what my friends with shitty eyebrows tell me haha.
In my essay conclusion: Am I little obsessed with Mahan? yes. Is her office also super clean and precious? yes. Does she play your favorite music? Yes. Does she give you cute little Hershey kisses at the end- yes.
Favorite experience ever.
PS. Is that a photo of me in the hospital with no makeup, after a crying session with awesome brows? Yes yes yes.