We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sophie Hard a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Sophie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear from you about what you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry and why it matters.

The “school” I went to to learn microblading was 3 nights and one full day. The texts I was supposed to learn from were full of spelling errors and incorrect medical information. When it came time for me to take a model for my first hands on experience, I only did one of the brows while the instructor did the other one. I was not at all prepared to take on a client with little to no eyebrow hair. As the months went on and I was starting my business, I learned the ink I was told was “the best in the industry” would either completely fade, or turn red.

I was really lucky to do an advanced training program with who would become my mentor and friend, Audrey Glass. Her training program was much more informative and her teaching style was straight forward- she told us when our artistry was not good enough for someone’s face.

I’ve learned over the years that many training programs in cosmetic tattooing over promise and under deliver – leaving people vulnerable and in debt. It takes years and hundreds of clients to build skill. Even 6 years into my microblading career and 600 brows later, I’m still learning and developing my craft!

This is all to say, you cannot teach microblading online (supplemental learning- sure), or mass produce a cookie cutter training program. There are so many predatory companies out there charging thousands of dollars and promising a 6 figure income- it’s possible to get there but it requires artistic skill (or the dedication to learn!), and a clever mind for business.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

I’m a super realistic eyebrow tattoo artist! I specialize in tattooing blonde brows and creating realistic, 3D eyebrows on those who have lost all their hair.

I got into my industry through Instagram- I followed a really good microblading studio called Studio Sashiko that was based in Canada. I wanted to get my own eyebrows tattooed – I had been a makeup artist for 10 years and knew the importance of good shaped brows. When One of the artists from there moved to Los Angeles, I tried really hard to get an appointment with her but she was booked up for months. I settled for a random salon in the city and realized just how artistic it was to pick the shape and choose the stroke pattern of the little lines that would mimic the realistic brow hairs. It was while I was getting my brows done that the lightbulb went on in my head- could I do this for a living? I took a pretty bad beginning course and then a really good advanced training course with Audrey Glass, who offered me a part time job at her studio. I leaped and never looked back. I’ve always felt within myself that this was the perfect path for me- beauty/art/medical/meeting new people. It’s everything I want in a career!

My speciality is creating undetectable tattooed eyebrows that look like real hair! One of my challenges is that people think just because you get your brows done, it means you never have to do anything to your brows ever- this is how it’s always been marketed. For some, especially those with dry skin, this is the case. For most people, you’ll still want or need to do at least a little something to your brows like comb them into place with brow gel or use a tiny bit of pencil.

I feel like an expert at picking the perfect color for blonde brows and I LOVE drawing on the shape and showing clients why they might light this way or that compared to how they are used to filling them in. Brows are like a frame for a beautiful painting. It either draws out the beauty of the painting, or distracts from it. I’ll always be honest with my clients about how the shape we choose looks, which means I have my own limits as an Artist- I’m not willing to tattoo something on someone’s face that doesn’t look natural. Doing natural tattoo work also means you’re building up the color and amount over 2 sessions. You don’t know how someone heals until they heal, so I always do a slightly lighter color and a little less.

I seem to attract clients who are very nervous about getting their brows tattooed- but I love it! I love creating a safe space to voice concerns and showing clients that this doesn’t need to be some big scary transformation… unless they want it to be, of course!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

You are never, ever done learning. To say you’re an expert is to be arrogant to the learning process. My clients, their skin and eyebrows are my greatest teachers!

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

I was really lucky when I lived in Los Angeles to be taken under Audrey Glass’s wing. She took a chance on hiring me and my life was forever changed! And then it changed again during covid. I moved to austin for a better life, but I went through my savings after 8 months of not legally being able to see clients and moving across the country.

I was really lucky to get a grant through Peoples Fund. I highly recommend reaching out to them if you’re local to Austin and just starting out! They have really great resources.

Contact Info:

• Website: SophieHard.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/sophiehardmicroblading?igshid=MTA0ZTI1NzA=
• Other: Sophie Hard Microblading 5700 S MoPac Expy Bldg B, suite 32, Austin, TX 78749 (213) 290-3274 https://g.co/kgs/GXhVmX

Image Credits
All photos are taken by me and I have consent