Lena Dunham may or may not be the voice of her generation, as the actress’s Girls alter ego once claimed, but she does fall firmly into millennial territory. Like many of her contemporaries who came of age circa 2001, Dunham also plucked the shit out of her brows as an impressionable youth — and continues to pay the price. It’s frightening to think that there’s an entire generation of women (and probably some men, too) out there with paltry eyebrows to this day, all because the early 2000s happened.
After years of brow-related grievances, Dunham discovered the life-changing art of microblading — thanks to the receptionist at her ear, nose, and throat doctor’s office who clued her in on the semipermanent treatment — and documented the entire process on camera for Vogue. The star says it all began when she first saw the music video for Britney Spears’s “...Baby One More Time.” “That is the most beautiful and dynamic person I have ever seen, and she has .5 percent of an eyebrow,” she told the magazine of her then-thought process.
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That’s how Lena found herself in the care of Dominique Bossavy, a Beverly Hills-based cosmetic artist who specialises in the technique. Microblading involves the use of a sharp tool to place tiny amounts of pigment under skin to create the appearance of fuller, more even brows. It’s essentially a tattoo, but the needles involved are tiny, and the process is not so extreme: She describes the pain level as “like scratching a sunburn.” So pretty bad, but not the worst.
Judging by the amount of press its received lately, microblading has plenty of fans — celebrities included. “My first reaction was ‘hell to the F-no,’” Dunham said, but two sessions in, and she’s now a believer. Hannah Horvath, on the other hand? “My character was a woman of weak eyebrows and that’s what she had to be,” she explained. “I think maybe I discovered my eyebrows just when I was supposed to.” We may be mourning the end of Girls, but at least we have the sight of Lena’s newly revitalised brows to bring us some joy.