Health officials warn about risks of popular new 'microblading' beauty trend

State officials warn microblading is considered tattooing

DETROIT – Eyebrow "microblading" is one of the hottest new beauty trends, as women are all over social media are showing off perfect brows.

State officials warn microblading is considered tattooing and should only be done at a body art facility licensed by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

The Department of Health and Human Services reached out to Local 4 after our story about a Metro Detroit woman, who we'll call Jennifer, who said she regrets undergoing the procedure, as it landed her in the hospital. She doesn't want to show her entire face because she's embarrassed, but she wants people to know what happened to her.

When Jennifer walked out of the salon after the procedure, she thought her eyebrows looked great.

Microblading involves the use of a hand tool with tiny needles to make shallow cuts on the skin. Then pigment seeps in, giving the user semi-permanent results.

"Basically, it gives the appearance of hair on your eyebrows instead of regular tattooing," she said. "This makes your eyebrows look like you actually have hair."

But later, redness started setting in, it became painful and swelled up.

"Going to urgent care, they diagnosed me with cellulitis on my face, gave me antibiotic and sent me on my way," she said.

The situation got worse, she went to the emergency room and spent three days at the hospital.

"I was terrified," she said. "I didn't know. My face is swelling up. My eyes are closing. I'm thinking, 'I don't know what's going to happen.'"

Michael Kucab, facility licensing coordinator with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, said they have received a lot of applications for microblading licenses in the last year.

"People are realizing the amount of money they can make by this small procedure but they don't realize how threatening it could be," Kucab said.

Owners of body art facilities apply for a license through MDHHS to microblade, tattoo and body pierce. These procedures cannot be done in a home and even in places like salons, they must be done in a room separate from other services like hair or nail care.

"Most folks go through a training. They pay about a $1,000 a week to $2,000 a week for a training by some certifying artist that belongs to some national organization and they get a piece of paper certification that, 'Yeah we trained them.' The problem is that they think that's the only thing they need to do this work. They also believe they can do the work at home, which is not a safe environment to work under,” Kucab said.

The license should be posted where customers can easily see it. To get the license, a facility's procedure process and equipment is inspected by the health department.

Kucab said there are many requirements that have to be met in order to get the MDHHS licensure.

"If they don't know the proper disposal techniques, they could be re-using their equipment, passing on an infection because they've tatted to someone and there're going do it to somebody else," Kucab said.

Kucab said there can be problems with allergies, and has seen cases where tattoo ink has been recalled because it's been contaminated with bacteria. He said those are examples of what the health department will look for during an inspection.

To check if a facility has a license, click here.

Kucab said facilities must also have a disclosure posted that if anything goes wrong that facility will contact the local health department.

Dr. Stephen Grekin, a dermatologist, began treating Jennifer after her hospital stay. He said people should be careful of deciding on a microblading procedure solely based on cost. It typically costs $700 to $800. Jennifer thought she found a deal for $250, but she said she will never try the procedure again, but instead stick with eyebrow makeup.

Kucab said people need to do their homework and not take shortcuts with this procedure.

"It's too big of a gamble, too big of a risk for your health for you to be able to do something like that, seriously," Kucab said.

Anyone caught doing this work without the proper license or somewhere other than in a proper facility faces a $2,500 fine and up to 93 days in jail. They can also face civil fines.

For more information on body art facilities, click here.


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