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My 3D Eyebrow Embroidery Experience at Strokes By Momoi Supe

3D Eyebrow Embroidery Experience at Strokes By Momoi Supe

It’s time! Now sharing my 3D Eyebrow Embroidery Experience at Strokes. My embroidery was done by Momoi Supe himself. I actually have never even needed to tell people so far because I get compliments on my eyebrows since getting it done by him! It’s become quite a conversation starter, actually, as friends whom I haven’t spoken to in a while have been messaging me about my brows. My gym friends also noticed it immediately, as I usually go to the gym with just lip and cheek tint. I got my embroidery done in September 2019, but I wanted to wait until a good amount of time had elapsed before making a post so that I could show how the embroidery looks like after a while. 
As I write this, due to enhanced community quarantine, I still have not been able to go for my free retouch treatment. I’ll have an FAQ’s section at the end of this post, so that’s where I’ll be discussing pricing and timelines. As for my documentation, I’ll just keep it by date so it’s easier to follow!


September 6, 2019
This is the day I got my eyebrow embroidery done! I was scheduled for 1:30PM, but got out at about 4:30PM or 5:00PM as the numbing cream needs time to be processed. This is how the clinic looks like:

Strokes Vertis North Treatment Bed

Strokes Vertis North Inks and Materials

Strokes Vertis North Prep Area
To give a background on things, I had eyebrow embroidery done in 2016 elsewhere, and it had faded already into red. Aside from the original eyebrow embroidery being a bit uneven, it was also weird that it faded into red, so I wanted to be able to cover it. I did a consultation with Strokes in July 2019, and thankfully, my eyebrow embroidery faded to red and was deemed faint enough that it can be colored over. There are cases of eyebrow embroidery that have faded into purple or green, and in those cases, the person would need to get it lasered off first or have some other remedial step before eyebrow embroidery can be done again. 

This is me right before everything. This is how my eyebrow embroidery looks like without makeup. It may not look red in photos because it’s covered by brow hairs, but in real life, it’s reddish. 

Before 3D Eyebrow Embroidery

And then I had numbing cream put in. It was left for about 30-45 minutes. 
With Numbing Cream
After the numbing cream was left for a good amount of time, it was wiped off, and the tracings of my eyebrows were done. This was done by Sean, Momoi’s associate. 
With Draft Tracings

Here I was being prepped for the process. The reason why the eyebrow embroidery of Momoi Supe looks so good is because he goes at it at several layers. The last time I had eyebrow embroidery done, it went much faster as it was only one layer, with strong lines on the single layer. You’ll see in the following photos of how dimension is added in several rounds. 
Before 1st Stroke Layer
Before 1st Stroke Layer

This is how it looks like after the first round of tracing, right before the excess ink was wiped off.

After 1st Stroke Layer

Right after the ink was wiped off, this is how it looked like. The ink used was lighter in shade, and the general shape of my brows was filled in with very fine lines:

Zoom after 1st Stroke Layer

For the second round, as seen here, a darker ink was used:

2nd Stroke Layer

If you look closely, the lines made with this darker color were a bit more spaced out than the previous one. This is how the illusion of brow hairs is done by Momoi.

After 2nd Stroke Layer

Sorry for my expression here hahaha. I was also chatting with them during the idle or waiting times so yeah I captured myself mid chat. This ink for this third layer is similar to the ink used for the first layer.

3rd Stroke Layer

This time, more ‘background’ hairs were drawn in to really give a life-like appearance of bushy brows.

After 3rd Stroke Layer

The ink was cleaned up, and my brows were treated with a special cleanser.

After Eyebrow Embroidery

The final step was going under PhotoLite treatment to sterilize the eyebrow embroidery. It’s technically a form of tattoo and technically involves small wounds, which is why keeping the site clean is of utmost importance. 

PhotoLite Treatment
This is me right after the eyebrow embroidery:
Immediately After Eyebrow Embroidery
September 7, 2019
This is the day immediately after the eyebrow embroidery. I’m putting here a photo I took months before getting the eyebrow embroidery done so that y’all can really see the drastic change: 
Before Eyebrow Embroidery

1 Day After Eyebrow Embroidery

You cannot get the scabs wet for 48 hours, and yes, no gym for 3 days as well. Any activity that may get your eyebrows wet (water sports) or make you sweat profusely is not allowed for the first 3 days.

To be able to shower, I was provided with Banitore. You can buy more of these from them if you want to, but they do send you home with enough strips to make sure you’re covered for the first  48 hours. Banitore is basically a bandaid, but it’s wide, and it also goes on in such a way that it sticks when you need it, but can be pulled off easily when you’re done. As the eyebrow area has puffs and recessions with the browbone, this cannot really seal your brows off from water a hundred percent, so caution must still be exercised during showers.

Banitore after Eyebrow Embroidery
Using 2 Banitore Strips

This is how my brows look like through macro lenses. As for why they look oily, it’s because I was sent home with their fast healing gel, and was advised to apply the gel on my brows for 5-7 days. 

Macro of Eyebrow Embroidery After 1 Day
September 8, 2019
You’re not supposed to put any makeup on the brow area for a week, but I had been asked to do a Lazada Livestream when my eyebrow embroidery appointment was already set. So I worked smartly around this awkward phase. In real life, my brows looked really dark, but it helped as I was able to do a dramatic eye makeup look to go with it. I applied makeup as usual but avoided the brow area for all the processes (like I applied foundation to everywhere except the brows, and did not use any brow product at all). My lashes were still a bit curled thanks to my Keralift treatment, so I just used false eyelashes instead of using waterproof mascara. In doing so, I was able to do a look that could be easily wiped off with micellar water and didn’t need baby oil, as baby oil would necessitate me to use a facial wash. 
2 Days After Eyebrow Embroidery
September 11, 2019

It’s almost a week after the eyebrow embroidery, so while I still had a bit of an awkward phase (as the scabs still look a bit puffed in real life), it was generally natural looking already. The fast heal gel they provided was also very helpful, as the scabs were healing quickly, instead of falling off in weird chunks. The last time I had eyebrow embroidery done, I was only advised to use petroleum jelly on the area. In the latter part of the healing process (in 2016), there’d be some scabs that would peel off, but only halfway, so if you were not careful in wiping over the area, you could accidentally pull on a scab that was still not supposed to fall off. 

5 days after Eyebrow Embroidery
September 30, 2019
I’m sorry I skipped over the 2 weeks! In general, the two-week “awkward phase” wasn’t as bad as was described. I didn’t mind having dark brows as it went well with my dark hair color, and generally made me look quite youthful as well. So this is me without makeup at 3 weeks after the eyebrow embroidery. The eyebrow embroidery looks natural but also looks prominent enough to still show up even under harsh strobe lighting. 
24 Days After Eyebrow Embroidery
December 3, 2019

To those who knew me personally, I think y’all know that I took the JLPT last December 1, and it was so hard that I was studying at Starbucks for October and November. This is why the next proper photos I was able to take without any eyebrow makeup was on December 3 already. Sorry I skipped again!!! But yeah, at this point, the lines were generally still clear and prominent, but there was already a bit of blurring at this point. Retouches are done exactly because of the nature of the eyebrow embroidery to become a bit blurry after a while. 

3 Months After Eyebrow Embroidery

3 Months After Eyebrow Embroidery

December 8, 2019
As this was taken just a few days after December 3, the brows still look generally the same from December 3. The changes are very slow and inconspicuous, so you’ll need to review photos to be able to make comparisons. 
3 Months After Eyebrow Embroidery

December 29, 2019
I just wanted to put this photo in to show how it looks like with makeup over it! I know a lot of people get curious about how it’ll look like. Having eyebrow embroidery will not overpower over the makeup you want to do as your eyebrows will still quickly fade once it’s covered with foundation. You can also use concealer if you’re opting to change your brow shape for the day. In my case, I actually use the eyebrow embroidery as a stencil to make eyebrow makeup easier and faster. 
Makeup Over Eyebrow Embroidery
February 14, 2020
At this point, it’s been 5 months since the eyebrow embroidery was done. The hue is still generally the same as when it was done. But there is also a bit more blurring with the lines. This is why they usually recommend getting the retouch session done about 6-8 months after the primary eyebrow embroidery, to be able to address blurring. But in general, from afar, my eyebrows look more or less the same as the day the eyebrow embroidery was done. I’m just noting these changes for the sake of this review. 
5 Months After Eyebrow Embroidery
March 9, 2020

This is more or less at the 6th month after the eyebrow embroidery was done. At this point, up close, between this and the day the eyebrow embroidery was done, there is already a little occurrence of small empty patches. Like there are lines which are incomplete––like there’s 1/3 or 1/2 that’s faded. But I will note that this s really only if you will look at the eyebrows up close and scrutinize it with respect to photos of when it was newly done. From afar, it still looks like it was still freshly done. From the time I got it done, up until this point, I still have been getting eyebrow compliments at least once a week. 

6 Months After Eyebrow Embroidery
April 20, 2020
This is at about 7.5 months after it was done. Going off from March, there are a bit more micro gaps in the eyebrow embroidery. Some are actually already visible in this photo I think, especially if you’ll scrutinize this alongside the photo when it was a day old. But in general, in real life, no one will keep a distance of less than 1ft away from me, so these differences are almost negligible to the naked eye in real life. Heck, everyone should stay at least 6 feet away from me, and I should do the same, so we can flatten the curve! 
7.5 Months After Eyebrow Embroidery
It’s May 9, 2020 as I write this, and at this point, I could already go for a retouch if I want to, in terms of the eyebrow embroidery timelines. Of course, I can’t, due to enhanced community quarantine. It’s a non-essential treatment, and as it is, my brows still look fine in general, so I can put it off. I definitely will just update this post when I get to my retouch session. 
Overall, I definitely find this eyebrow embroidery with Momoi Supe to be amazing. I really never had to tell anyone I got it, as friends have always been the first to message or approach me about them. Most people who have found out about how much I paid for these were not shocked, as these are the brows that are worth the price I paid. These brows pay for themselves! I really feel that I can leave the house without makeup because my brows are well done. When I run quick errands, I can only apply sunscreen and lip tint and already leave the house, as my eyebrows are truly done. The last time I had eyebrow embroidery done, I often had to use makeup over it as the shape wasn’t optimal, and generally, they just didn’t look polished enough that I could leave it as is. 
I paid for this treatment, and I paid a lot, but I definitely find this to be worth every penny. 
I did quite a lot of research and chose Strokes because I found that it’s not a factory approach yet. Sadly, most of the big names you’ll hear usually have factory approach stores. They hire and hire and hire people to do eyebrows, and then let them perform on dozens of clients even if these people have not yet even received adequate training. The customers end up dissatisfied and end up spending much more money than planned to remedy the poorly done brows. I have also seen many cases of brows becoming purple or green, especially with my aunts, and in these cases, it’s also hard to remedy. The ink used also matters a lot, so it’s best to inquire about that as well. This time around, since I was spending for it, I wanted to go for a place that did not forcefully try to meet quotas, but instead paid attention to each client carefully. I’ll also mention that I specifically paid more to have Momoi to do my brows (it’s an option in their menu to ask for the grandmaster to do your brows), so I’m reviewing my experience with him in specific. Every eyebrow embroidery artisan is different, so of course, feedback varies from one artisan to the next. 
Okay, now that’s done, here are the FAQ’s.
FAQ’s
How much did you pay? 
I paid in July 2019 when they had a promo, but since I studied in Japan in July and August, I set my appointment in September. They thankfully allowed me to do that. 
3D Eyebrow Embroidery by Grandmaster (at 15% off from Php25,000)= Php21,250
Photolite Therapy (the sterilizer lamp)= Php1,000
Aftercare kit (includes fast heal gel, vitamin sunscreen gel, and Banitore strips for 2 days)= Php1,000
Total: Php23,250 (from the original total of Php27,000)
How much time do I need to set aside? 
It’s best to set aside one entire afternoon for this. While the actual microblading is just about 30-40 minutes, you’ll also be spending time with the mandatories (documentation, payment, confirmation, etc.) and waiting for the numbing cream to set. There are also a few other clients, and only limited grandmasters, so it’s not always going to be immediately your turn. You need not do anything special to prepare for this, but it, of course, helps if you schedule this as the last activity for the day. Like go home already after this, so that you can avoid getting dirty, and hence will have less to clean if you shower. 
Does it hurt?
It generally doesn’t hurt because of the numbing cream, but there are some patches that will be more sensitive than the others as they’re being done. The middle part of the brow that sits on the browbone usually hurts a bit for most people. For me, the more memorable part was how weird my eyebrows felt as the numbing cream was wearing off. 
Is there a downtime?
If you mean downtime as in the time that you are prohibited from doing activities, there is a 48-hour timeframe wherein you should not wet the brows. This also covers all activities that may make you excessively sweat, such as vigorous exercise. You should also refrain from swimming and beach activities for at least 2 weeks. 
 There is an awkward phase where the eyebrows are so dark for 1-2 weeks, but if you are not bothered by it so much, you can go out as usual. You only really need to be careful about the first 48 hours against it wetting. In general, you need not worry about needing to miss school or work if you’re getting eyebrow embroidery done, except if your work or school has vigorous physical activities. The 48-hour window is also generally easy to work around with schedule-wise, so I don’t think it’ll be disruptive to anyone’s schedules. 
When can I apply makeup?
After 1 week at least, but if you can do 2 weeks without applying anything on the brows, better. The less makeup you apply, the less makeup you’d need to remove, and as such, the fewer risks you have with disturbing the scabs. Your eyebrows will be so dark anyways that you really don’t need to do anything about them, so lip and cheek tint will already suffice. Try to do makeup that can be easily removed by micellar water, so you can spot clean and avoid touching the brows. 
How long is it to last?
I was told 1-2 years, depending on lifestyle and care. It’s supposed to slowly fade into lighter and lighter browns as time goes by. One must take care to frequently apply sunscreen over the brows to keep the color vibrant. But they are confident that their inks don’t turn into ugly shades of purple or green as time goes by. 

Doll Up Mari: Top Beauty and Female Lifestyle Blogger Manila, Philippines

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Comments

  1. Giiieeel N. says

    Your brows looks beautiful! It is precisely & beautifully done and yes, super sulit nga yung binayad mo Ms. Mari. For a span of almost half a year, ang gandagganda pa din ng itsura. I think if you have enough budget naman to invest for something like this, it is really sulit. Especially when your the type of person na always on the go. You don't have to rush and bother your brows everyday. Or if hirap ka to do your brows, dito ka na lang lang para no need to do your kilay always. Hehe! Kilay goals indeed! ?

    Reply

    • Hazel G says

      Mari!! I’m finally commenting here because I’ve had my brows done (finally). You inspired me to have them done at Strokes! It’s just my day 1 and I’ll frequently go back sa post mo for reference and inspiration ? Super love this detailed post. Dahil dito, alam ko na ang bawat step so I didn’t feel nervous. Thanks ?

      Reply

  2. Salome Macaspac says

    I like to know if I can setup an appointment this week for eyebrow touch-up. I was not able to come back on time due to pandemic. Please advise as I leave Manila Dec 2, 2022

    Reply

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