f I had to guess, you clicked on this story because you’re over filling in your eyebrows every damn day. We’ve all been there—spending so much time (and $$$) loading up your brows with gels and pencils only to have them slide off your face a few hours later. And now that you want off the struggle bus, you’re considering microblading, the semi-permanent form of brow tattooing. But if the idea of microblading scares you too much to try it (there’s something about permanent makeup that feels so…permanent), don’t psych yourself out. Not only does the process hurt way less than you think, but the results don’t actually last forever—which is great news if you’re still weighing your options.

You’ve probably got a lot of questions about microblading, and thankfully for you, I’ve got all the answers. I turned to makeup artist, certified esthetician, and cosmetic tattoo specialist Piret Aava, aka the eyebrow doctor, for alll the info. P.S. I even tried out the treatment myself, so keep reading for my before-and-after pics.