Micro-blading gone wrong: 2 women share their stories

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Micro-blading is a popular way for people to get more full-looking eyebrows. While most procedures can deliver stunning results, there are times when it doesn't work out the way it's expected.

This was the case for Starla Giordano.

Giordano opted for the popular, semi-permanent make-up procedure where a technician inserts pigment into the upper layers of your skin, filling in and shaping your brows. It's essentially a semi-permanent tattoo.

The results can be beautiful -- thousands of before and after photos are posted on social media -- but for Giordano and Amy Lanz, they were disappointing.

"They were uneven, and the wrong shape, and one was higher than the other, so I had to draw that in," said Giordano. "I wasn't happy."

"My eyebrows had oxidized with the ink so they were like a very bizarre silvery gray color," said Lanz. "They were very uneven."

So what can be done about a micro-blading procedure gone wrong?

Both women turned to Ruth Swissa, a certified medical micro pigmentation technician, for help, and they aren't alone.

"Correction is the number one, what I do today," said Swissa. "And it's sad because it's so hard and sometimes the damage is so bad that I cannot really correct."

Swissa said as many as 60 percent of her clients come in for corrections, and the procedure is expensive, ranging from $400 to $1,000.

Swissa attributes the bad results to technicians with little to no experience.

"Definitely you need to go to someone that has years of experience," said Swissa. "They know what they're talking about."

Swissa said people should be cautious because many people are jumping into the lucrative business.

"It's everywhere, why? Because it's easy," said Swissa. "Some people are taking it, 'Oh my God, I'm an esthetician. Let's do a little more income.'"

Giordano and Lanz are happy with their brows now, but both say the correction process took time and patience.

"I didn't do my homework the first time and you know I regret that," said Giordano.

"It's really important to research who you go to," said Lanz. "To go to somebody that has an artistic vision and is aware of the science behind it."