Correction, cover-up and removal 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 lighten it before anything else.
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 of the three paths 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: lighten first
If the old pigment is dark, saturated, too wide or too high, adding more on top makes a darker mistake. Kate lightens it over two to four sessions, six to eight weeks apart, until there is a clean enough base to work on. The area is red for a few days after each session and flakes for about a week.
Path three: remove and stop
Some clients want the old work gone and nothing new. The same lightening sessions apply, usually more of them, and the skin is left to heal between each. Kate will say if a faint shadow is likely to remain, which depends on how deep the original artist went.
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
Lightening sessions six to eight weeks apart, then eight weeks of rest, then the new brow, then its retouch six to eight weeks later. For heavy old work that is six to nine months from the first photo to the healed result. Light old work skips the lightening and takes about ten weeks.
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; lightening is quoted per session.
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 removal
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 do I need removal first?
When the old work 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. Lightening it first gives you a clean base.
How many removal sessions?
Two to four, six to eight weeks apart, depending on how saturated the old pigment is. Each session lifts part of it.
Does removal leave a scar?
Not when the skin is given time to heal between sessions and aftercare is followed. The area is red for a few days and flakes for about a week.
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.