HD Brows - First Time Experience

I recently saw pictures of a friend on Instagram who had the HD Brows treatment and her brows looked awesome, which sparked my interest in this new form of brow sorcery. She advised me to look on the HD Brows website to find out more information.

When you visit the website, it gives you a list of HD Brow specialists, including ones in your local area. I contacted some professionals on the list, only to find out that some addresses were invalid, and some weren’t even offering the service yet - great start. I then came across the Karen Betts Professional company based in Harley Street, and thought that would be the safest bet considering Harley Street is the hub of beauty and cosmetic procedures.

Initial impressions were good as the receptionist was friendly and professional. Soon after taking a 50% booking fee (£25) over the phone, she straight away confirmed the appointment via email and text. I received the patch test through post and an online questionnaire. The patch test is to ensure you don’t have allergic reactions to the dye and needs to be applied on your arm 48 hours prior to the treatment. I was informed this would be removed at the appointment (which it wasn’t FYI).

The medical questionnaire was very thorough and since it asks whether you’ve taken any medication (including paracetamol etc) in the last 24-48 hours, I thought it would be best to complete it on the morning of the treatment. After this, you complete your details and submit online which was quick and without technical glitches.

When I arrived at 1 Harley Street, the friendly main receptionist told me to go to the 3rd floor. 1 Harley Street is a big building that houses many different beauty & cosmetic companies. I was feeling excited about my brow treatment and giddy on the thought of having to spend less time on them every bloody morning.

When I entered Karen Betts Professional, there were two clients already waiting in what looked like the waiting room and no-one from the company to greet me. I was about to walk through to find someone, when I read a small sign that asks clients to wait in the waiting area, and that someone would be out to meet you. I waited a couple of minutes, when a woman came out and whisked one of the waiting clients away. Before I could even expect a hello, they were already gone.

In the time I was waiting, I was able to finish my Starbucks coffee, and the other client was able to complete that long questionnaire by hand (she clearly hadn’t completed it online). Eventually a snobby woman with short red hair, who had the air of a manager (less Devil wears Prada, more Devil wears Zara) appeared and without saying a basic “hello”, instead asked impatiently “who are you here to see?” I told her I was here for my HD brows treatment (as I didn’t know the name of the person who would be doing my brows). She then walked off to find someone.

Not long after, the second client was whisked off and I was left in the waiting room, wondering what was going on and could almost hear the crickets in the background. Eventually another woman came to see me, who was friendlier, but asked me the same question “who are you here to see?”. I didn’t know the name of the therapist and wasn’t sure if they were deaf or unprofessional. I repeated that I didn't know the name of the person, but that I had a 2pm appointment. She looked a little confused about the situation, and almost made me paranoid that I had come to the wrong place or on the wrong date. I had to show her the confirmation text on my phone which confirmed I was where I was meant to be, on the correct date and time. She walked away promising to double check, and then came back, apologising sweetly saying that I was going to be seen by Naomi.

I was also asked whether I had brought my paperwork and when I said I had completed the online form, I was asked if I had emailed it over. I had to explain it’s a form that is just simply submitted online which the lady didn’t seem to know anything about. 

Whilst I was waiting for Naomi, I witnessed the red haired woman saying goodbye to a client, who she was extremely friendly to. Judging by her arse licking, I’m assuming the client was a VIP and/ or a regular. Either way, I wasn’t impressed….oh so you do have some manners and a personality, do you love!?!

Not a good start so far. 

Naomi who was the therapist for the HD brows treatment was very friendly, professional and put me at ease straight away. I don’t think I could have handled another idiot or unprofessional person in this place to be honest. I lay down in a comfortable chair and in a brightly lit room which was very relaxing. Naomi started by asking me questions about what I wanted and what outcome I’d like to see. After explaining a few things, the first information I took in was that the results would last a month (perfect), but since it was only dyeing the hair and not the skin, I would probably still need to fill in the gaps with brow makeup (shit). I didn’t know what I expected and felt a little deflated at this point but I persevered because well… I was already here.

Naomi started by removing my brow makeup and applied dye to my brow hairs which literally only took a few minutes. I was surprised by this as I expected the dye to be on for longer. Naomi got me to check the colour, asked me if I was happy and whether I wanted to go darker. I always think it’s great when beauty professionals check with you every step of the way and make sure their client is happy. The colour in honesty didn’t look that different to my natural hair colour, but Naomi did say that if we went any darker, it would be black which I didn't want. She also stated it would make my brow hairs more glossy - I didn’t know that was a thing but why ever the hell not?!

After the dye, she took time to wax, thread and pluck my brow hair, being careful to maintain the natural shape of my brows. Again she checked if I was happy with the outcome and I was. There’s never a better feeling than having a clean brow area and sometimes it can even make you feel lighter (normally because it looks and feels like Epping Forest) - if you know, you know!

Normally when I’ve had my brows done, they don’t reapply the makeup they’ve taken off so you literally walk away looking like you’ve had an allergic reaction to the therapist! But here, Naomi surprised me by reapplying the makeup to not only my brows but my skin! She explained she was using HD Brows makeup (which you can purchase on their website - don’t buy it, it’s shit) and is designed to not aggravate the skin after treatment. She first applied some skin tone powder to my skin which was a good match and though it didn’t cover all my redness, it did take it down, which was good enough. As for the brow powder, it was a bit dark and the application was a bit strong. I don’t think it’s due to lack of skills, I’m just particularly fussy with my brows and when you’ve worked in makeup for such a long time, you know what suits you the best.

My final thoughts:

I personally wouldn’t get HD Brows treatment done again because for what I had in mind, I think micro-blading would be better which is more permanent and lasts at least a year. When you get your brows micro-bladed, you literally don’t have to fill them in and that is what I need because I feel like I waste so much time doing them! I wasn’t naturally blessed with Cara Delavinge-esque brows sadly.

I would however, recommend HD Brows to those who have full brows with fair hair and want to go a shade darker. For £50 I think it is worth it to have your brows tinted, groomed, shaped and then makeup reapplied. For anyone else who doesn’t have full brows and wants to minimise time in the mornings, go for a different, more permanent treatment.

Though my initial impression and experience of Karen Betts Professional wasn’t positive, and far from “professional”, Naomi was lovely and I would completely recommend her to anyone wanting HD brows or other services as I understand she’s also trained to do other procedures. She literally is an asset to the company!

Until next time xo

After the treatment

After HD Brows Treatment (without makeup) - as you can see, there are still gaps.

After I filled in my brows using brow products.