SharpBrows training concept

The easiest way to explain the training concept of SharpBrows and the microblading training concept, in general, is to compare it to a car. Why? Because then one can very bluntly see the interconnection, relative importance, and the idea of everything related to becoming a microblading artist. Long story short, to get your microblading career started, you need four things: competence, tools, pigments, and marketing. Those four parts of the jigsaw puzzle are interconnected, and in comparison to a modern car, those represent accordingly: the engine, tires, gas, and cleanliness of the car. Now, let us start with the most important part: the engine.

THE ENGINE - YOUR COMPETENCE. Training and the specific trainer you choose is the most crucial, the most important, and influential decision of your microblading career.

Choose your trainer well. As with a car: quite often, replacing the engine can be almost as expensive as buying a new car. No matter if it is personal training or training in a group - you always develop a personal relationship with your trainer. Choose your trainer well! It is ultimately impossible (or highly unlikely) to start making better brows or becoming more successful with microblading than your trainer has. If you make a wrong choice, then all else is secondary, and nothing (literally nothing) can correct that mistake. The trainer has to be able to make you understand the essence of microblading art, teach you at least one brow pattern and show you effectively how to put the pigment into the skin the right way in different brow areas. And there is more. In the business of microblading training, some trainers (even within the same company) have sometimes a great deal more demand for their classes compared to others. What is the reason for that? The simple answer is: they can teach. It does not really matter how much one knows if he or she is unable to transfer this knowledge to the student. Therefore, it also pays off to make sure that the person is not only a supreme artist but also a fluent and experienced communicator who has been trained to be able to train others.

It pays off to have a humble attitude.  If your goal is to become financially successful in making immaculate brows and you have found a trainer that has succeeded in that, it pays off to listen to every word he or she says with the utmost attention. There is quite a legendary story about a man wanting to learn from a guru and the guru taking the man to the sea, then pushing his head under the water until the man was almost out of breath and then telling: "I will teach you only when you need my teachings as you needed air right now". The point: choose the right attitude - need the knowledge. Throughout the years, we have seen two extremes and everything in between those. One extreme is a very interested, active, and prepared student that has a humble attitude, is able to take the responsibility for her development, and has an open mind. Quite often, even if the skill level is lower at first, combined with enough grinding, she will eventually succeed. Then, at the other end of the scale, there have been students that either already think that their cup is already totally filled (they have got nothing to learn), say they are ready to practice on live models on the first day, etc, or students that take no responsibility whatsoever (coming to training with no preparation and telling the trainer to make them artists in 2 days). Obviously, the latter does not succeed.

Event vs system. Modern microblading training should not be single two (or sometimes three days) events anymore as they used to be. All academies that provide that are sadly stuck in the past. Nowadays, the academy should provide a complete combination of online and offline training (video training, a support system for all questions, analyses, legal advice, etc)  that ranges from 3 months to a year. The two-day training event serves a highly important part of that all, however, is not by any chance even a minimum viable solution if everything else is missing. We have seen incredible changes in students’ skill-level when coming to the class in case they have prepared beforehand on the internet-based learning system. We can pretty safely make a claim that the number of students now that have better skills coming to the class (because having learned things on the learning system before) is higher than the skill level of many students leaving the class before when there was no such systematic and complete learning environment on the internet. 

GAS - PIGMENTS. It is smart to acknowledge that every producer markets its pigments the best way they can. The ones that use dyes explain why dyes are superior to pigments, and the ones that use iron-oxide show the studies that praise the positive aspects related to those being less toxic than Carbon. The ones using synthesized substances and Carbon stress the stability of those components etc. Almost all want to make it look like they have carried out humongous studies to develop the pigments and obviously without any tests on animals. In reality, tests on animals when mixing the substances together are not carried out because those are just not needed, whereas all components have usually been intensely tested on animals. That is all a marketing play and can be compared to different gas stations labeling their gas brands with phrases that make you believe that those are the best ("Ultra," Power," Nordic," Nitro," Super," etc). 

Once again, the reality is much less complex: all major producers have pigments that comply with all the laws and regulations. Although some particles in those can be considered cancerogenic and less stable, in practice, it makes no difference. Why? The number of pigment particles that enter the bloodstream is absurdly small, and all other effects on the body over time are thousands of times smaller than everything related to other sources of influence. Practically everything related to a client's health and well-being, in general, is affected tens of thousands of times more by a person's lifestyle, environment, makeup use and quality, diet, drug abuse, hereditary inclinations towards some illnesses, sleep deprivation, work stress, age, relationship problems, and many other things compared to which kind of certified quality pigment you put in her brow skin. For anyone that has studied chemistry and medicine, any sort of playing-a-doctor approach (on the internet or offline with the clients) and telling very smart-sounding things about the health benefits of certain kinds of pigments is just ridiculous. As one should note reading this article, if a person eats at McDonald’s every day and twice a year you replace her classic Coke with a diet Coke, all other remain the same - the effect is as non-existent as it was in the opposite situation: a person lives a healthy lifestyle, and you replace her drink a couple of times a year with coke. No doubt that there is an effect, however extremely small. When it comes to microblading, it has been proven that one would have to retouch the brows constantly every day for 40 years to enter as much as potentially health-risk-related substances into the human body that people ordinarily get from food and everyday cosmetics. 

This, however, does not mean that one should be careless about the pigments. Conversely, you have to know what you are using very well. Why? For the following reasons. Firstly, although a great artist could produce excellent results with different pigments, there may be allergies related to the ingredients of the pigments (therefore, you are in a quite bad situation if you do not even know the actual ingredients). A small percentage of clients can be allergic to rate things, and you want to put your finger on the potential reactions before the procedure. Secondly, sometimes there are client-related reasons, and some clients just prefer some sort of pigment. It is far easier to use that kind of pigment with that client than try to change her whole belief system. Thirdly, one should just be professional. If you are a microblading artist, you have to be able to know and explain all important components of the pigments you use - plain and simple. However, being prepared does not mean that you have to give the client long lectures about pigments or their making process. The reality is that the majority of clients just don't care.

Still, in conclusion, let us stress that different pigments are like different gasoline brands. As long as those are certified and come from trusted producers, they can be used. There are two caveats: you might like some better because of the color theories related to those and ways you can mix those together, viscosity, branding, or what have you - that is purely a matter of taste. And secondly  - last but not least - nothing and let us stress NOTHING that the pigment maker can do in its laboratories and with the component’s help if you cannot make the brows the right way. The same as with a car with a broken engine. Pour in the best gasoline, and the car still won't move. If you do not have the competence - the skills, knowledge, and techniques, never even dream that different kinds of pigments could solve your problems. You most probably just end up hopping from one brand to another, always finding something wrong with the previous one, whereas the real problem is the chasm between your (somewhat delusional) vision of yourself as a professional microblading artist and reality.

TIRES - TOOLS. Professionals must have professional tools. When it comes to the main tools you use - the holder and the blades, it is obvious that you should not try to save money on those. Although to some extent there are bells and whistles related to those, the reality is simple: usually, you get what you pay for. It pays off to keep in mind that in case the price for your procedure ranges from 250-750€ it does not really make a great difference if you spend 1 or even 2 euros more on a blade. The same is with all pre-and post-procedure substances. It is better to get the best and not to worry. However, the only one caveat once again: even the best products in the world will not save you if you do not know how to advise the client to behave after the procedure. If you do not know the different stages of healing and daily (and sometimes nightly) care related to those, even the best products in the world can not do the trick for you. Õ

In comparison to a car - good tires matter. Bad tires (in case those are really bad) start affecting the control over the car and most probably will also affect the end result of the race even if the driver is excellent. However, it is a way more simple task to change the tires compared to changing the engine of the car. If all else is working fine, you can choose the tires of your liking and achieve immaculate results. 

KEEPING IT CLEAN - MARKETING. If all else is working perfectly: you have got the competence, you have certified quality pigments you like and know how to use, and you have got the best tools, then you do need marketing to put it to work. Although you can drive your car well with all that, it just does not look presentable if it is not clean and shiny. We have seen over time how systematic and high-quality marketing has become more and more important in the microblading business. In a nutshell, this means that one has to have a long-range strategy for building her brand, demanding the highest quality when it comes to portfolio brow-pictures and, above all, putting time and effort into marketing activities. The simplest way to understand the role of marketing in microblading business is to compare it to a throughout carwash when it comes to a car - it clears up, magnifies, exposes, and amplifies everything. In case one has a lousy car with a no-good engine - it just draws more attention to that and eventually puts the person into an even worse situation than she was before. Thus it is downright dangerous to come out with anything less than perfection when it comes to developing your microblading career. 

However, in the same way, it is downright devastating not to put your best foot forward if you do have the competence and everything else. Throughout the years, we have seen very many artists that are really good right after the class and start to decline when it comes to microblading business success because they just do not market themselves. That eventually, unfortunately, leads to a situation when the person gets fewer customers, earns less with microblading, and starts looking for other sources of income. When it comes to getting clients nowadays, marketing has moved to the Internet to a large extent, and it is a numbers game. The more attention, and eyeballs to your channels you get, the more potential clients contact you, and the more of those actually have the resources, desire, and urgency to get the microblading done and the more actual paying customers you will have. It is pretty mechanic and predictable, actually. Thus we have really spent a lot of our time and resources developing customer-targeting tools that do the trick. In the future, the competition will be even more fierce, and the ones that get the customers will get even more in the future, and the ones that do not end up doing something else. Thus it pays off to keep your car clean :)

SharpBrows is not a fashion design brand, a lifestyle company, or a pigment factory. We are in the microblading training business worldwide. And facts prove we are good at that. We can assure you that you will get the best car with the best engine when you choose our training systems. Based on the trends, we predict over 20-30% of microblading training that was held in 2017 to move online in 2018. However, most definitely not to environments or tools that were used in the past. We have worked hard so that the online environment and training would not be diluted, simplified, and minimized versions of actual training - to the opposite: we believe the online training should nowadays include the full offline training experience and, in addition to that, have more tools and advantages. That is the reason why our online system Brow Analytics is growing more than 25% monthly in Europe, Asia, and the United States of America. We make cars with the best engines, and that is the reason our artists end up making more money than others.