A mother-of-two has been left with unfortunate and semi-permanent tattooed eyebrows after an unskilled make-up artist botched her microblading procedure.
Crystal Weinstock, from Houston, paid $340 ($493 AUD, £278) to have the procedure done, which sees small needles pierce the skin with semi-permanent pigment to create a fuller brow.
The common procedure is supposed to leave eyebrows looking neat and tidy for a long period of time - if done correctly.
Advert
Unfortunately for the Texas woman, her's were not done correctly.
"As a busy mother, I found that trying to fill in my brows and make sure they were the right shape took so long. I thought that having microblading would be a great idea," she said.
It turned out to be a terrible idea, with the makeup artist tattooing halfway up her forehead, despite telling her client she knew how to do the job correctly.
"At the end of the session, she looked and told me not to freak out," Weinstock said.
Advert
"She thought she might have gone too high with the hair stroke, but it was fine because she would order a remover to correct it.
"When I took that first glance in the mirror I couldn't believe my eyes. It was horrifying."
The makeup artist told her it would look better when the swelling went down - which was untrue.
"My daughter came into my bedroom to wake me up [the next morning] and she got such a fright," Weinstock said.
.jpg)
Advert
"She started freaking out. I saw the fear in my daughter's eyes and my heart dropped."
The mum-of-two had to have removal sessions in an effort to break down the pigment faster.
"I may have to have laser treatment," she said. "It could take up to a year to get them looking better."
The 37-year-old has to travel to and from California to have an expert remedy her ruined eyebrows; a distance of 4,137 kilometres one way.
Weinstock said she has been left humiliated by what happened to her, but hopes others won't make the same mistake.
Advert
"Although it is embarrassing to share my story, I hope it makes people realise how important it is to check credentials and show artists that are getting into the field that their clients are real people that have to deal with the consequences," she said.
Luckily, the actually-skilled technician helping her fix the damage has offered to do the work for free, and has even set up a fundraiser to help her cover travel costs.
Rachel Lang