If you have spent any time looking at brow tattoo photos, you have probably noticed that they do not all look the same. Some brows are made of fine, separate hairs. Some look softly filled in, like a good brow powder. Some do both. Those are the three techniques we offer at Pretty In Ink: microblading, ombre brows and combination brows.
All three are $550 here, so the choice is never about budget. It comes down to two things: your skin, and the look you want to wake up with. This guide walks through how each one works, who it suits, and how to decide before you book.
The short answer
- Microblading suits normal to dry skin and anyone who wants a natural, textured brow made of individual hairs.
- Ombre brows suit oily skin, large pores, very sparse brows, and anyone who wants a defined, made-up finish.
- Combination brows suit the middle ground: hair strokes through the front, soft shading through the body and tail. On skin that is somewhere between dry and oily, which is most people, it is the technique that ages best.
If you read that and still are not sure which camp you fall into, that is normal. Keep reading, and if you are still undecided at the end, a 20-minute consultation will settle it.
What microblading is
Microblading is a manual technique. Pigment is placed into the upper layers of the skin with a hand tool made of fine needles arranged in a blade, one stroke at a time. Because each stroke is drawn individually, the pattern can follow the direction your own brow hairs already grow. That is what separates brows that look real from brows that look printed on.
It is the right choice if you have some natural hair to build around and you want texture rather than a solid finish. The appointment takes about two hours, and roughly the first thirty minutes go to mapping the shape and matching the pigment to your hair and skin tone.
The catch is skin type. On very oily skin, or skin with large pores, fine strokes tend to blur and heal soft. They can spread within months, and the crisp hair-like detail you paid for turns into a hazy line. Microblading also fades sooner than the other two techniques. Most clients get one to three years from it, depending on skin, sun and skincare.
What ombre brows are
Ombre brows, sometimes called powder brows, are applied with a machine in thousands of tiny pigment dots instead of cut strokes. There is no linework to blur, so the result holds its shape on skin that breaks microblading down quickly: oily skin, large pores, and anyone who uses retinol or acids regularly. It is also gentler on the skin than a bladed technique, which matters if you have had permanent makeup before.
The name comes from the gradient. A well-built ombre is not one flat color. The front of the brow is left sheer so it fades into your forehead the way a real brow does, the body builds gradually, and the tail is the most saturated part. You choose the density during mapping: some clients want barely there, others want to skip brow pencil entirely.
Ombre brows take about two and a half hours and usually last two to three years before a refresh is worth booking, which is generally longer than microblading on the same client.
What combination brows are
Combination brows, often called combo brows, put crisp, individually drawn hair strokes through the front third of the brow, where the eye actually looks for texture. Soft machine shading goes through the body and tail, where density and shape do the work. The front stays convincingly natural and the rest holds up over time.
This is the technique clients choose most often once they have seen all three side by side. It gives you the hair-stroke look where it counts, with far more staying power than strokes alone. The appointment takes about two hours.
Microblading vs ombre vs combination brows at a glance
| Microblading | Ombre brows | Combination brows | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Technique | Hand tool, individual strokes | Machine, soft shading | Strokes at the front, shading behind |
| Finish | Natural, textured | Soft, defined, made-up | Natural front, defined body |
| Best skin type | Normal to dry | Oily, large pores, all types | Most skin types |
| Appointment | About 2 hours | About 2.5 hours | About 2 hours |
| Price at Pretty In Ink | $550 | $550 | $550 |
How to choose: four questions
1. How oily is your skin?
This is the biggest factor. If your forehead is shiny by midday, your pores are visible, or your foundation tends to slide, lean toward ombre or combination brows. If your skin is normal to dry, microblading will heal crisp and hold its detail.
2. What do you use on your face?
Retinol, glycolic acid and other exfoliating skincare speed up fading, especially on fine strokes. If you are committed to an active skincare routine, shading holds up better than strokes alone.
3. How much brow hair do you have?
Microblading builds around existing hair. If your brows are very sparse, or you have lost most of the hair, the soft shading of an ombre or combination brow fills the shape more convincingly.
4. Do you want “my brows, but better” or “brows done”?
If you want people to assume you were born with good brows, microblading or combination brows give that hair-like texture. If you like the look of filled-in brows and want to stop reaching for the pencil every morning, ombre is made for you.
What is the same for all three
Whichever technique you choose, the appointment starts the same way. Your brow is measured against your own features and drawn in pencil, and nothing is implanted until you have looked in the mirror and said yes to the shape. Pigment is mixed to your natural hair color and undertone. A topical anesthetic is applied before and during the work, and most clients describe the feeling as light scratching or pressure rather than pain.
Healing follows the same pattern too. Brows look noticeably darker for the first week, flake as the skin renews, and settle into their true, softer color around week four. We cover every stage in our day by day healing guide.
Every new set of brows also needs a second appointment. The Brow Touch Up is booked six to eight weeks after your first session and is a separate $150 appointment. It is where any strokes or shading that did not hold are filled in and the shape is refined, now that it can be judged healed. So budget $700 for a complete new set of brows, whichever technique you choose.
Already have old brow tattoo work?
Old permanent makeup has to be looked at in person before anything new goes on top. If the previous work is too dark, has healed gray, or is badly shaped, saline removal sessions may be needed first. A consultation is the right first step.
Still not sure? Book a consultation
A consultation at Pretty In Ink takes twenty minutes and costs $50, and that $50 is credited toward any service you book on the day. Your skin is assessed in person, your brows are mapped, and you leave knowing exactly which technique will give you the result you want. It is a much cheaper way to find out than a set of brows that blurs.
When you are ready, you can book online, and it is worth reading our pre-care and aftercare guide before your appointment. For what to expect long term, see how long microblading lasts.