Correction and cover-up of old permanent makeup
Brows that healed grey, orange or too wide. Strokes that blurred. A lip line drawn outside the lip. Kate Kanner sees this work every month and gives you one of three honest answers: cover it, correct the colour first, or wait until it has been lightened.
Exact price at the free consultation, no obligation.
Send two photos before you book
Daylight, no brow or lip makeup, both brows or the whole mouth in frame, taken straight on. Kate looks at three things: how dark the old pigment is, what colour it has turned, and whether the old shape fits inside a new one. From that she can usually tell you which path applies, and there is no charge for the opinion.
Path one: correct and cover
If the old work is light enough and sits inside a shape that suits your face, Kate builds the new brow or lip over it. Grey and blue tones get a warm corrective pigment first so they stop showing through; orange and pink tones get a cool one. Then powder or ombre work gives the brow a shape that hides the history. Most blurred microblading from other studios ends up here, once the strokes have faded enough.
Path two: lightening first, elsewhere
If the old pigment is dark, saturated, too wide or too high, adding more on top makes a darker mistake. Kate does not do removal or lightening herself. She will tell you that a cover-up will not work yet, so you do not pay for one, and that the old pigment needs lightening by a removal specialist first. Once it has faded and the skin has rested for about eight weeks, she builds the new brow or lip on the clean base.
If you want old work gone and nothing new, that is a removal job from start to finish, and Kate will say so rather than sell you a correction.
What correction cannot do
It cannot move a brow that was tattooed too high back down; the old pigment has to be lightened out of the way first. It cannot turn a wide, saturated block into a fine soft brow in one visit. It cannot restore skin that was scarred by repeated cutting, though pigment can be placed around scar tissue to hide it. Kate says which of these applies before you pay for anything, which is why the photos come first.
Timeline for a full redo
Light old work: a colour correction and the new shape, then the retouch six to eight weeks later, about ten weeks in total. Heavy old work first needs lightening elsewhere, which takes several months; Kate’s part starts once the base is clean.
What correction costs
It depends on what is there, so Kate quotes from the photos or at the consultation. New work is priced on the prices page.
Before and after
What clients say
★★★★★DeniseJuly 2026 (excerpt)I'm so happy with how my eyebrows turned out! Kate was warm, professional, and made me feel comfortable from the start. She really took her time with the shape and made sure everything looked natural and suited my face.
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Questions about correction and cover-up
Can you work over my old brows?
Often, if the old pigment is light enough and the shape can be built around. Grey and blue tones get a warm correction first, then the new shape. Send a photo taken in daylight without makeup and Kate will tell you whether a cover-up will work.
When does old work need lightening first?
When it is too dark, too wide or too high to hide inside a new shape. Adding pigment on top of a mistake makes a darker mistake. Kate tells you from the photos, before you pay for anything.
Do you do permanent makeup removal?
No. Kate does correction and cover-up. When old work is too dark to cover, she tells you it needs lightening by a removal specialist first, and you come back for the new brow or lip once it has faded and the skin has rested.
How long does a correction take?
Light old work: a colour correction and the new shape, then the retouch six to eight weeks later, about ten weeks in total. Work that needs lightening elsewhere first takes several months longer.
How much does correction cost?
It depends on what is there, so Kate quotes after seeing a photo or at the free consultation. Prices for new work are on the prices page.
Book a free consultation
Twenty minutes with Kate in Salcedo Village. Shape, colour and price, no obligation.