Just like Queen Camilla, I've had an eyebrow transformation - and it's one of the best tweakments I’ve tried

From social media to This Morning's sofa, the beauty world has been abuzz about Queen Camilla's newly defined-looking eyebrows. And while The Palace has not directly commented, high-end eyebrow artist Suzanne Martin, famous for her semi-permanent 'couture brow' method, posted an image of The Queen to her Instagram page, saying, "Our beloved Queen Camilla, always a pleasure! Thank you for trusting me," claiming credit for the flattering transformation.

It's not often I have something in common with the royal family, but I can relate. Just like the hair on our head can thin as we age, so can our brows, thanks to a shift in hormones. Now I’m in my late 40s, and very much in the throes of peri-menopause, I’d started to notice that my eyebrow shape was looking thinner and more sparse.

They’ve never been thick, thanks to the 90s trend for skinny brows and one too many tweezing sessions with Gwen Stefani as my muse! And sadly, over the years, they’d just stopped growing. Without my trusty brow makeup, I started to resemble a boiled egg and couldn’t possibly leave the house without some careful artistry with my best eyebrow pencil. Increasingly, semi-permanent solutions began to appeal.

Our beauty director's microblading transformation - with before and after photos

I’d been considering microblading for a while, but was put off by the thought of it being painful and also a bit scared that I might hate the results and not be able to get rid of them. However, one too many mornings of my browless face peering back at me in the bathroom mirror was starting to get me down, so I booked in to see brow guru Karen Betts, one of the UK’s leading authorities in permanent makeup and microblading.

There are a lot of things to know before having microblading, and I was keen to find out what benefits this semi-permanent tattooing could hold. Firstly, Karen explained to me that redefining the shape and the shade of sparse brows with a permanent treatment can restore symmetry, subtly lift the features, and create the impression of a more refreshed, youthful face. "A slightly lifted arch can open up the eye area, while the right tone ensures the brows look harmonious and natural," explains Karen. "Our eyebrows are such a defining feature, and when done well, they really do frame the whole face," she added. And with that, we were ready to begin.

What happened during the appointment?

Karen talked me through the process and applied numbing cream to the area. First, she drew out the shape with a brow pencil and asked me to ok it, as well as the brow shade she’d chosen for me. Then I relaxed and let her get to work. She uses a little handheld tool with tiny needles that deposit pigment into the top layers of the skin. After the initial shape was done - I didn’t feel a thing - she then applied more numbing cream and continued to draw tiny hairlike strokes to build up the shape and colour of my new brows.

Afterwards, the area did look a little red, and once the numbing cream wore off, my eyebrows were a bit stingy, but nothing serious. The next morning, I did get a shock when I looked in the mirror as overnight the dye had oxidised and turned much darker, but Karen had assured me this was temporary and things would calm down after a few days, which they did. Extra coats of mascara and my favourite bright red long lasting lipstick helped balance out the dramatic brows until then!

Is there any aftercare needed?

,For the next four weeks, I applied a clear balm to my brows twice a day to help them heal, and at first, you can’t get them wet either, which makes washing your hair and face a bit tricky. Karen gave me some plastic visors that you stick to your forehead whilst in the shower, which means you can wash your hair without water pouring down your face, and they were brilliant to use for the first week. I also used cotton pads and micellar water to cleanse my face until I was able to get my brows wet again.

I went back to see Karen for a top-up session six weeks later, where she could review the shape and fill in any gaps. "Well-defined brows can frame the eyes, soften the face, and create a natural lift - no injectables or surgery needed," she told me. And she’s right!

What are the finished results like?

I can’t believe the transformation. I’m lucky enough to try lots of treatments as part of my job, and getting my brows microbladed is up there as one of the best ‘tweakments’ I have tried. It has made such a difference to the structure of my face, as well as my confidence.

Five months down the line, my brows still look fantastic. The colour has faded a little, but that's completely normal - actually, they look so natural I often forget that they aren’t my real eyebrows. And they are so low-maintenance, too. I used to have to spend quite a lot of time each day using a brow pencil to add definition, but now all I do is slick on a little bit of brow gel to fix the hairs that I do have in place, and that’s it!

I’ve booked in to see Karen again in 12 months for a top-up. And that's the only thing to consider with microblading. It is a semi-permanent treatment, and the results won’t last forever. If you want your brows to continue to look fresh and defined, you do need to get them refreshed every 12 to 18 months. But in my opinion, it’s money very well spent.

How to choose the right treatment and practitioner

Before you choose a practitioner ensure they are properly qualified and licensed to practise. Evaluate their portfolio either on Instagram or their website and make sure what they are showing is a fully healed result and that it matches your own desired outcome. Any semi-permanent brow treatment looks great when its first done but you want to check it still looks good months or even a year afterwards, that way you can check they understand about using the right colour pigments and that their technique is good enough that the result won’t bleed or blur after it heals.

Depending on your skin type and the kind of effect you want, there are different semi-permanent brow treatments to choose from.

• Microblading: uses a semi-permanent tattooing technique with a hand-held tool to deposit pigment into the skin, creating tiny hairlike strokes, for natural-looking, fuller brows. It works best on drier skins that hold onto the pigment for longer, while in oilier skins the hairlike strokes can fade and look less crisp over time.
• Powder brows use a machine to add tiny dots of pigment into the skin, which creates a soft, filled-in effect, as if you’ve applied a brow pencil. It's a more defined look than microblading and is also a good option for oilier skin types.
• Combination brows blend the two techniques together, with fluffier hair-like strokes at the front of your brows and a more defined powder brow effect through the mid to ends of the brows.

Cost and upkeep

A permanent brow treatment costs anywhere from £350 to £1000 depending on your area and practitioner. This should involve a thorough consultation, the first treatment and then a top-up session six weeks later. If you want to keep brows looking defined, you’ll need to commit to a colour boost treatment at least every 18 months to two years, but this won’t cost as much as the initial treatment. Without this the tattoo effect will eventually fade away over time.

Tools to up your brow game