Looking for microblading in Makati? Read this first
Kate Kanner tells every client who asks for microblading the same thing, and it is written down here so you can read it before you book anywhere. She does not offer it. She does powder and ombre brows instead, and most people who arrive asking for strokes leave with dots once they have seen both drawn on.
What microblading is
A hand tool with a row of fine needles arranged like a blade. The artist draws one hair-shaped stroke at a time, cutting a shallow channel and filling it with pigment. Close up, on the day, it reads as hair. That is its appeal, and it is real: on the right skin, in the right climate, microblading looks like brows you were born with.
Where it fails
The right skin is dry to normal, with small pores, in a cool climate. Makati is none of those things for most people. Oil rises through a shallow cut and pushes pigment out of it; humidity keeps the skin soft so the channel never sets as a crisp line. The stroke widens, then two strokes merge, then the brow reads as a smudge with a hard outline. On oily skin this happens within months. On combination skin it takes a year. Large pores, thin or mature skin and any acne in the area speed it up.
A second problem shows up later. Each microblading session is a set of cuts, and skin that is cut in the same lines every twelve to eighteen months scars. The scar tissue holds pigment badly, so the third or fourth refresh heals patchy, and the brow that started as the most natural option ends as the one that needs removal.
What Kate does instead
Powder brows and ombre brows are built from thousands of fine pigment dots placed with a machine, no cutting. There is no line to lose. When oil lifts some pigment the brow gets lighter, evenly, and a colour boost brings it back. Healed powder brows look like a soft pencil fill; healed ombre brows look like a brow done with product, without the product. Neither looks like a block once the first week’s darkness has flaked off.
Up close, dots do not imitate individual hairs. Kate is open about that. If you have almost no brow hair and want strokes you can count, she will say so at the consultation and tell you what the strokes will look like in a year in this climate, and you decide with both drawings on your face. Powder and ombre brows, explained.
What it costs, compared
Studios in Makati price microblading and powder brows close to each other. With Kate, brows start price at the free consultation, with the retouch visit in the plan. The bigger cost difference comes later: a microbladed brow that blurred usually needs lightening before it can be reshaped, and that is two to four extra sessions. All prices.
If you already had microblading elsewhere
Bring it to the consultation, or send two photos on WhatsApp first: daylight, no brow makeup, both brows. Kate will tell you one of three things. The old strokes are light enough to work over with powder, and the shape can hold what is there. The colour has turned grey or orange and needs a warm correction before the new shape. Or the old work is too dark or too wide to hide and needs lightening first. Correction and removal has the details, and there is no charge for the opinion.
Questions to ask any brow artist before you sit down
- Can I see healed photos, taken six weeks or more after the session, on skin like mine? Fresh photos prove nothing; every brow looks good on the day.
- Who does my retouch, and is it in the price?
- How long will you spend drawing the shape before pigment, and will I approve it in a mirror?
- What happens to this on oily skin in two years?
- Do you do the whole procedure yourself?
Kate’s answers: healed photos are on this site and on her Google profile, the retouch is hers, the drawing takes about forty minutes, dots fade evenly, and yes.
What brow clients say
★★★★★Abi RazoteSeptember 2026Did My Powder brows with Kate. She spent like 40 minutes just drawing the shape before touching me which I did not expect but ok now I get why. Month later they still look amazing. Thank you so much!
Read on Google
★★★★★Janet LimSeptember 2026 (excerpt)I first came across Kate Kanner's Permanent Make-up ads on Facebook. I messaged her to ask some questions, and she sent over photos of her work. She happened to be running a promotion at the time too, which got me even more interested.
Read on Google
For the longer version of the skin argument, with the healing timelines side by side, read Kate’s article Microblading vs powder brows in the Philippines.
Read next
- Old microblading that blurred: cover, correct or lighten first
- Eyebrow embroidery, microshading, powder brows: what the names mean
- Microblading in the Philippines: how it works, how long it lasts, who it suits
- Microblading near me: what to ask before you book
- Microblading healing and aftercare: what happens day by day
Questions about microblading
Is microblading the same as an eyebrow tattoo?
It is one kind. Microblading cuts hair-shaped strokes into the skin with a hand blade. Powder and ombre brows place pigment as fine dots with a machine. Both are semi-permanent brow tattoos; they heal and age differently.
Why do you not offer microblading?
Because on the skin Kate sees every day in Makati it does not hold. Oil and humidity push pigment out of a shallow cut and the crisp stroke turns into a soft smudge, often within a year. She would rather give you a brow that still looks like the one you approved.
Will powder brows look like a solid block?
Not when they are done lightly. Healed powder brows read like a soft pencil fill, with the front kept airy. The dark, sharp look people fear is the first three days, before the surface flakes.
I already have microblading from another studio. Can you fix it?
Often. Old strokes that healed grey or orange can be colour-corrected and reshaped with powder work. Dark or badly placed strokes need lightening first. Send a photo in daylight and Kate will tell you which before you book.
Which lasts longer?
Powder and ombre brows. Microblading is usually refreshed every 12 to 18 months and looks patchy in between. Powder brows fade evenly over two to three years.
Is powder cheaper or dearer than microblading?
Prices are on the prices page. Brows with Kate start price at the free consultation, which includes the retouch visit.
Not sure which brow suits you?
Book the free consultation. Kate draws both options on you and you decide in the mirror.