A woman is warning everyone to do their research before attempting microblading for the eyebrows after her session ended with disastrous results.
Last November, a 42-year-old Missouri woman, Jami Ledbetter, who was born without eyebrows, went in for a microblading session to get a pair of eyebrows semi-permanently tattooed on her brow, reported Fox 4 KC. However, the woman left the session scarred … with four eyebrows.
Ledbetter had been excited to get the treatment after her daughters gave her a $250 Groupon voucher for the microblading procedure. However, the practice of microblading is not licensed in Missouri.
FORGET UNI-BROW – HOW ABOUT A QUAD-BROW? Botched microblading procedure leaves woman with 4 eyebrows https://t.co/ePJNwzX7cT
— Melanie Lawson (@MelanieLawson13) April 13, 2019
“I would never wish this on my worst enemy. What it’s done to my self-confidence, it’s been hard,” she told Fox. “I was devastated. I was even dating a guy, and he stopped dating me at that point.”
The botched job ruined Ledbetter’s confidence and she only ventured outside of her house for work or to get food as she was afraid of what people would say, she told Fox.
“It was pretty painful,” she said. “I tried to have a good attitude, but it burned a lot. It kind of felt bruised.”
“It just looked like I was really surprised,” Ledbetter said, according to ABC News.
Even makeup couldn’t conceal the botched brows.
BOTCHED: “I would never wish this on my worst enemy.” https://t.co/DmAmYynV9R
— WHNT (@whnt) April 12, 2019
Eventually, someone told Ledbetter about Kara Gutierrez; a licensed and insured tattoo artist.
When Gutierrez saw the botched job, she told Fox, “It took everything in me to hold back tears because this is the worse I’ve ever seen.”
Gutierrez, who owns Spot On Beauty in Lee’s Summit, had been in the beauty industry since 2001 specializing in permanent cosmetics for three of those years, according to Fox.
Here is a story that couple of weeks ago was placed in a group am in and now Kara Gutierrez gave us permission to re post. This is why you MUST ask for… https://t.co/tGgWPAYVgi
— Bonita’s Salon (@Bonitassalon210) April 12, 2019
Ledbetter’s first session with Gutierrez was in February. The removal process involved a product known as Li-ft, which is a pigment-lightening solution that is tattooed into the bad ink and removed in eight-week intervals.
“You want scabs so it will out that pigment,” Gutierrez told Fox. “It’s very unpredictable to how much you can remove, but it works.”
Since microblading isn’t regulated, Gutierrez said she was worried that more and more women would end up in a similar situation to Ledbetter.
“Nobody’s governing this,” she said. “No one is saying, ‘This is the right way. This is the wrong way.'”
Even Missouri state’s Office of Tattooing, Body Piercing and Branding posted a disclaimer on its website about microblading.
“Although the office recognizes the potential for public safety issues … the office has not been given specific statutory authority to regulate this practice,” the disclaimer read.
Gutierrez warned those wanting to get microblading treatments to do their research before having the procedure done.
“This is something that is permanent on your face,” Gutierrez said. “You have to make sure your artist knows what they’re doing.”
A warning to anyone considering microblading: make sure the person knows what they’re doing.
This Missouri woman learned that the hard way, and is currently undergoing a procedure that will take months to correct her botched brows.
The full story tonight on @fox4kc at 9pm. pic.twitter.com/3H8DF0CVS2
— Zac Summers (@ZacOnTV) April 12, 2019
Ledbetter has a similar message, and is hoping her story can serve as a warning to others.
“If I would have known it was going to turnout like this, I probably would’ve never done it at all,” she told Fox.
While Ledbetter’s eyebrows have improved under Gutierrez’s treatment, she still has to go in two or three times more before her botched brows will be completely removed. And the whole process will cost over $1,000, reported Fox.
Jami Ledbetter underwent microblading which left her with “four eyebrows”.After receiving a voucher on Groupon from her daughter, she was delighted with the gift. However, the procedure ended in disaster. @ElaineCrowley pic.twitter.com/7W1fGUarvg
— Elaine (@ElaineVMTV) April 13, 2019
The unnamed woman who did the original botched microblading brow job is reportedly no longer in business.
