This Woman Says She Suffered a 'Life-Threatening' Infection After Microblading Treatment

Microblading is a trendy beauty treatment that can give you fuller, more defined brows. But one woman is speaking out after she says a microblading session at a salon left her with a severe infection. In an interview with local Detroit news station WDIV, the woman—referred to as "Jennifer"—detailed her harrowing experience.

After leaving the unnamed salon, Jennifer was happy with the results, she told reporter Karen Drew. Within days, however, she noticed "little lumps" on her brows. She went to an urgent care center, where she was diagnosed with cellulitis, a common bacterial skin infection.

"They gave me antibiotics and sent me on my way," Jennifer said. After her symptoms worsened, she headed to the ER, and she spent three days in the hospital receiving antibiotics and steroids.

"I was terrified," she told Drew. "My face is swelling up, my eyes are closing, [I'm] thinking, 'I don't know what's gonna happen.'"

During a microblading session, a technician reshapes a customer's brows by drawing in individual hairs with a special tattoo pen. It's not cheap; Jennifer said she spent $250 for the treatment. But it shouldn't cause such a serious side effect.

"It's a safe and effective procedure when done by someone experienced," Debra Jaliman, MD, a dermatologist based in New York City, told Health in a previous interview. "It must be done under sterile conditions, otherwise you can get a skin infection like staph or strep, even herpes."

Jennifer is now under the care of a dermatologist, who said that the skin infection she blames on the salon could have been lethal. Behind the inflamed skin are her sinus cavities, her physician told WDIV, and the infection could have spread to her brain through her sinuses.

If you are interested in microblading, do your research: Check out the salon before your appointment to make sure the environment is sterile and the technicians are properly licensed and trained.