The Rise of Hairstrokes Technique (2023-2024)

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1. Background

Foundation of Research

This article draws insights from 38 accomplished pigmentation artists who have recently incorporated the Hairstrokes technique into their services. Most of these artists, 32 to be precise, had previously specialized in microblading and powder brows for over three years. The remaining six were exclusively experienced in powder brows procedures.

Expertise and Location of Participants

All contributing artists have been practicing various pigmentation procedures for more than four years and are considered among the top earners in their respective regions. Our panel of experts includes 27 artists from the European Union, 8 from the United Kingdom, and 3 from the United States. Interestingly, the tactical and strategic advice shared by these artists showed no notable variation based on their geographic location, indicating a universal appeal and applicability of the Hairstrokes technique.

2. Origin and Rising Popularity

Technique Overview

Hairstrokes are a specialized brow pigmentation technique that involves creating patterns of long, hair-like lines. Performed using a PMU (Permanent Makeup) machine, typically with a single needle, Hairstrokes have been a part of the pigmentation world for decades. However, since the latter half of 2023, there has been a noticeable surge in the popularity of this style.

Reasons Behind the Accelerated Growth

Several factors have contributed to the rapid growth of the Hairstrokes technique in 2023 and its increasing popularity heading into 2024. These include the following.

Improved Pattern Design. Advances in the design of Hairstrokes patterns have made the results more natural and appealing.
Merger with Powder Brows. Integrating Hairstrokes with the Powder Brows technique has created a more versatile and sophisticated brow appearance.
Challenges with Microblading. A growing realization within the industry is that the constant need for retouching in microblading is often impractical, leading professionals and clients to prefer Hairstrokes.

The following sections will delve deeper into these reasons, exploring why Hairstrokes have become a go-to technique for top-brow artists.

3. Improved Patterns: Artistic Evolution

Artistic Allure in Hairstrokes History

From the beginning, the Hairstrokes technique in pigmentation has held a distinct artistic allure. Initially, the focus was more on showcasing the artist's creative skills through intricate patterns rather than replicating natural hairstrokes. This tendency was partly influenced by artists in the modern Western world adopting Asian patterns, which were tailored to different client needs and types of natural brow hair growth.

Shift in Client Preferences

For many years, these stylized Hairstrokes patterns struggled to compete with other techniques like microblading, primarily because they didn't align with the preferences of ordinary clients. The emphasis on artistic expression over natural resemblance meant that Hairstrokes didn't immediately appeal to a broader client base.

The Quest for Hyper-Realism

The Hairstrokes technique has been characterized by a pursuit of hyper-realism, infused with an artistic touch. Each brow was treated as a unique masterpiece, aiming to blend natural hairstroke mimicry with the artist's signature pattern. The creation of such brows involved extensive work, including multiple passes, crafting 'baby hairs', and adding refined extra lines with varied pigments to create 'shadows'. The outcome was visually stunning and realistic, yet simultaneously appeared natural. Ironically, this artistic goal of achieving a 'wild', untouched look was also where the challenge lay.

Market Expectations vs. Artistic Vision

Artists who mastered this high level of realism found that, despite the artistic excellence of their work, it didn't fully align with market demand. While these brows showcased the impressive potential for hyper-realism, only about 10% of clients seeking semi-permanent makeup and considering Hairstrokes were bold enough to opt for this style. The primary barrier to the wider adoption of Hairstrokes has been the hesitance of clients to embrace such bold and artistically intense brows.

The Transition from Microblading to Hairstrokes

The recent evolution in Hairstrokes patterns has been significantly influenced by artists transitioning from microblading to Hairstrokes or increasing the use of pigmentation machines in their Combo Brows techniques. Initially, this shift appeared somewhat rudimentary compared to the highly artistic approach traditionally associated with Hairstrokes. Yet, this change marked the beginning of a new era in brow styling.

Commercial Success of Simplified Hairstrokes

The 'microblading style' Hairstrokes gained commercial traction not for their complexity but for their appeal to the average customer. Contrary to the industry's previous focus on ultra-hyper-realistic, ungroomed brow looks with intricate details like 'baby hair' and multiple shadows, the market preferred a more groomed, shaped brow appearance. Customers favored Hairstrokes that mimicked a well-groomed natural brow rather than an untamed one.

Redefining Brow Patterns

Responding to this market insight, many Hairstrokes artists revised their patterns. They began 'shaping' the brows more distinctly, reducing the number of stray hairstrokes and minimizing the elaborate 'baby hair' and artistic shadows. This resulted in a style that retained the artistic essence of Hairstrokes but aligned more closely with the appearance of a natural, groomed brow. Testing with target demographics confirmed this approach matched customer expectations – they preferred brows that looked naturally groomed rather than wildly grown out.

4. Advantages of Modified Hairstrokes

Maintaining Technical Superiority

Despite simplification, the revised pattern in Hairstrokes retains its technical advantages over other techniques. This includes aspects such as line intersections, gradients within a single line, and a multidimensional look, contributing to its overall success and popularity. These elements are crucial in achieving a realistic and aesthetically pleasing result.

The Use of Intersections

Limitations in Microblading. Creating intersecting lines, where hairstrokes cross each other, has long been a challenge in microblading. The blade technique used in microblading inherently limits the ability to form crisp, intersecting lines, particularly on normal or oily skin types. While advanced microblading patterns can merge lines, achieving clear, healed intersecting results is practically impossible. The blade often causes intersecting cuts to over-accumulate pigment, leading to migration or an excessive deposit at the crossing point.
Advantages of Hairstrokes Technique. Conversely, the needle-based Hairstrokes technique allows for effective use of intersecting strokes. This advantage has been embraced by many Hairstrokes artists, who incorporate intersecting strokes into their patterns. While not all patterns suit every client, the technical capability of creating intersections offers versatility in pattern design with varying stroke directions.

Experienced microblading artists have attempted to replicate intersecting strokes with the blade, but achieving this is generally beyond the scope of average practitioners. There is a substantial consensus that average microblading artists face challenges in implanting the right amount of pigment particles at the cross-section of cuts, often resulting in unpredictable or excessive accumulation.

Utilizing Gradients

Limitations in Microblading. In microblading, each line created with a blade consisting of needles lacks the capability for varied color density within a single stroke. This is due to the nature of the technique, where the skin is sliced open, causing the cut to be uniform in depth and coloration. This limitation reflects a fundamental drawback of microblading - creating large, linear cuts that cause significant trauma to the dermis' collagen network.
Advantages of Gradients in Hairstrokes. Conversely, the Hairstrokes technique allows for more nuanced coloration and gradients within each stroke. This is achieved without the risk of oversaturation and with a high degree of predictability in the results. While it might seem like a subtle detail, the ability to create gradients within strokes significantly enhances the overall quality of the final brow appearance.
Mimicking Natural Brow Variations. Natural, well-groomed brows display varying shadows and colorations influenced by several factors, such as the shape of the brow ridge, hair growth patterns, orbital bone structure, and forehead shape. Skilled artists can analyze how light interacts with the brow and adjust the intensity of certain lines or parts of a line accordingly. Typically, gradients are used to emphasize the midsection of each stroke, with the beginnings and ends seamlessly blending into the natural skin - a distinctive feature of the Hairstrokes technique.

Multidimensional Look with Hairstrokes

Bringing Strokes to Life. The multidimensional look in Hairstrokes is a key feature that adds depth and realism to the brows. Technically, this involves adding a single pass line to each stroke to create a shadow-like effect. While this might seem complex, it doesn't significantly increase the workload for the artist. Not every stroke requires this multidimensional treatment. The overall pattern gains depth by selectively adding these shadow-like lines to the main, longer strokes, resulting in a more natural and nuanced appearance.
Contrast with Microblading. In microblading, creating varying densities within lines to simulate shadows isn't feasible. While it's possible to include single pass or intensified lines, these don't function as shadows to enhance more prominent lines. Instead, they are integral parts of the overall pattern. Furthermore, the multi-dimensional approach in microblading is technologically limited compared to Hairstrokes. In microblading, larger lines must be considerably stronger and more prominent to achieve a similar effect. It's also important to note that this technique doesn't involve creating 'powdered' or 'shaded' areas within the brow, distinguishing it from Hairstrokes. Therefore, creating a multidimensional look is a distinct advantage of the Hairstrokes technique over microblading.

5. Merging with Powder Brows

The Ideological Shift

The recent 'merger' of Hairstrokes with Powder Brows extends beyond merely applying powdering techniques over hairstrokes to create 'combo brows'. While that is a viable approach, the key change we're discussing is more ideological than technical.

Changing Perspectives in the Brow Business

Since early 2023, there's been a notable shift in how leading artists and academies perceive Hairstrokes and Powder Brows. Previously, these were often seen as two distinct and competing techniques, with Hairstrokes relegated to a small niche and not considered part of the mainstream Powder Brows method.

Recognition of Hairstrokes as an Enhancement

The transformation in this perspective began when many Powder Brows artists recognized that while they could often persuade clients against microblading due to potential blurring issues, Hairstrokes might actually be a more suitable alternative. This realization led to a pivotal change: rather than viewing Hairstrokes as merely an alternative to Powder Brows, many influential artists started to see it as an enhancement to their existing Powder Brows technique. This approach allows for a more versatile and refined brow artistry, catering to a broader range of client preferences and skin types.

The Real Merger: Redefining Hairstrokes

The recent 'merger' of Hairstrokes with Powder Brows reflects a significant change in how these techniques are perceived and practiced. Several artists began to describe Hairstrokes as a blend of about "60% Powder Brows and 40% Hairstrokes style, akin to microblading." While this definition is a broad generalization, it symbolizes an important shift in mindset. Leading Powder Brows artists started reframing Hairstrokes not as a competing technique but as an integral part of their skill set, which they had already mastered significantly.

Mutual Acknowledgement

This approach was recognized and welcomed by Hairstrokes professionals in 2023. Several experts in this field issued statements affirming this new perspective. They suggested that a highly motivated and experienced Powder Brows artist could independently learn the Hairstrokes technique. These statements positioned Hairstrokes as an advanced extension of Powder Brows, capable of significantly transforming the final appearance of the brows.

Shared Foundations and Advanced Integration

This merger implies that the foundational skills in line technique, machine handling, pixelation, and area filling are common to both Hairstrokes and Powder Brows. However, Hairstrokes introduce an advanced, more intricate aspect to this combination. The merger is not just about using both styles in the same brow; it's about recognizing that Powder Brows techniques form the basis of Hairstrokes. Mastering Powder Brows is essential for creating Hairstrokes, and those proficient in Powder Brows are well-positioned to learn and add Hairstrokes to their repertoire, thereby enhancing their service offerings.

7. Unattainable PRC in Microblading

Key Factors Limiting Unattainable Perpetual Retouching (PRC)

One of the primary factors driving the popularity of Hairstrokes is the growing recognition that a perpetual retouching cycle in microblading is essentially unattainable. This challenge stems from a combination of chemical, biological, and psychological reasons. The issue is that the skin's collagen network doesn't recover quickly enough to accommodate the removal of broader pigment particles, which would allow clients to be satisfied with the gradual fading of their brows.

Practical Implications

From a practical standpoint, this means the following.

Healing Time for Cuts. The linear cuts made by a microblading blade require significant healing time before the skin is ready for the next retouching session. Ideally, this interval should be no less than 6 to 12 months.
Pigment Removal and Blurring. Clients might tolerate this interval if the pigment fades gradually and aesthetically. However, the lines often blur biologically and chemically, and black pigments (particularly those containing carbons and hydrocarbons) do not fade evenly.
Client Expectations. Psychologically, clients tend to seek solutions sooner than the collagen network has fully healed, leading to unrealistic expectations for retouching frequency.

These factors collectively conclude that a perpetual retouching cycle in microblading is not feasible, pushing the industry towards alternatives like Hairstrokes.

Perpetual Retouching Cycles with Hairstrokes

Healing Differences Between Microblading and Machine Pigmentation. The feasibility of perpetual retouching cycles in Hairstrokes hinges on understanding the differences in how the skin heals from microblading versus machine pigmentation wounds.
Microblading: Linear Wound Challenges. Microblading creates linear wounds by cutting into the skin, which disrupts the collagen network more extensively than puncture wounds. These larger wounds take longer to heal, potentially creating more disorganized and dense collagen formation during recovery, leading to scar tissue. The manual application of the blade can also cause inconsistent depths, further complicating healing and increasing the likelihood of scarring.
Machine Pigmentation: Advantages of Puncture Wounds. In contrast, machine pigmentation involves rapidly moving needles that pierce the skin, making smaller, localized puncture wounds. These wounds heal quicker and with less disruption to the collagen network. The uniform depth achieved by machine needles contributes to consistent healing and a lower risk of scarring.

Implications for Hairstrokes

Given these dynamics, Hairstrokes, which rely on machine pigmentation, present a more viable option for perpetual retouching cycles. The technique’s less invasive nature means that the skin can recover more efficiently between sessions, aligning better with the natural healing process and customer satisfaction. This contrasts with microblading, where the healing process is more complex and prone to complications due to the nature of the wounds it creates.

8. Conclusions

Hairstrokes: A Technique Evolving with Time

Hair strokes, a method of creating realistic and artistic eyebrows using line patterns and a pigmentation machine, have been a staple in brow artistry for decades. However, its popularity has surged since 2023, which is expected to continue into 2024. This growth is largely due to Hairstrokes addressing the limitations of microblading and enhancing the quality of Powder Brows.

Three Pillars of Hairstrokes' Rising Popularity

Enhanced Patterns. Traditional Hairstrokes patterns, known for their artistic complexity, are evolving. While clients appreciated the artistry of intricate designs and natural, ungroomed looks, the demand shifted towards groomed, natural-looking brows. Updated Hairstrokes patterns retain technical advantages — such as intersecting lines, gradients within lines, and a multidimensional look — which are unachievable with other techniques like microblading.
Ideological Merger with Powder Brows. The growing popularity of Hairstrokes also stems from an ideological shift rather than just a technical combination of styles. Many Powder Brows artists now view Hairstrokes as an extension of their existing skills, comprising about "60% Powder Brows." This perspective has encouraged many in the industry to see Hairstrokes as an enhancement to Powder Brows, rather than a competing alternative.
Acknowledgement of Unattainable PRC in Microblading. The industry's realization that a perpetual retouching cycle is unfeasible with microblading — due to chemical, biological, and psychological factors — has led to a significant shift towards Hairstrokes. Industry leaders further support this transition by recognizing Hairstroke as a safer and more artistic method than microblading.

Thus, the enhanced patterns, ideological merger with Powder Brows, and recognition of the limitations of microblading's retouching cycle contribute to the growing preference for Hairstrokes. This technique compensates for the shortcomings of other methods and elevates the art of brow creation to new heights.