Microblading consent form: skin screening, ghosting and the touch-up
With microblading, the client's skin can decide the result before you pick up a blade. Oily skin and large pores blur hair strokes, and a client who was never told that will blame the work. Then there is ghosting, the stage where her brows seem to vanish and she messages you late at night. A good consent form puts both on paper before you start.
This exact form is built into SlickChart: send it to your client's phone to sign before the visit, and the aftercare below goes home with her.
Say what microblading is, and who it suits
My form opens with a short "about this service" box. A single-use hand blade places fine, hair-like strokes of pigment just under the skin. The appointment runs about 2 to 3 hours, and results usually last 1 to 3 years.
The same box carries the line that saves the most heartache: very oily or large-pore skin blurs strokes and often suits powder brows better. My intake form backs it up with a yes or no question about large pores in the area, so you know before the consult whether to talk about powder brows instead.
The touch-up is part of the service
The form says a touch-up at 6 to 8 weeks is part of the process, not before 6 weeks and ideally within 12. Then she acknowledges it on its own line: a touch-up is usually needed, and some strokes may not hold the first time. After that, a missing stroke at week six is the plan, not a complaint.
Risks in plain words
The risk list is written for strokes:
- strokes that blur or merge, more so in oily skin
- uneven fading or asymmetry, refined at touch-up
- allergy to pigment or numbing, even months later
- granulomas (firm bumps), which are rare
- color change as it fades, cooler or warmer
- scarring or texture change if skin is damaged
- infection, especially without good aftercare
- a Koebner reaction, where psoriasis or vitiligo flares
Then an MRI note: iron-oxide pigments can rarely cause warmth or swelling, so she tells the radiologist and never skips an MRI because of PMU.
A health check with the windows built in
The quick health check puts the timeframe inside each item, so "no" means something: Accutane in the past 12 months, retinol or acids on the brows in 14 days, Botox in the past 2 weeks, chemo or radiation in 6 months, and a peel, laser or microneedling in 4 weeks. It also covers pregnancy, keloids, a tan on the area, a previous brow tattoo, blood thinners, allergies, and skin conditions near the brows.
A free text box lets her explain anything she checks. A check opens a conversation, not a diagnosis; what a condition means medically is for her physician to decide. My intake adds the reminder clients need most: never stop a prescribed medication, including blood thinners or daily aspirin, without your doctor's OK.
Design approval before the blade
She confirms she has seen her brow shape drawn on in a mirror and approves the shape, placement and pigment color. My separate brow mapping form adds measurements, and its approval line notes that a shape can be refined later but not easily made smaller or thinner.
The acknowledgement that prevents the late night text
This is the one line I would never cut:
My brows will look dark, then patchy or almost gone (ghosting) before color returns at 4 to 6 weeks.
The others cover an honest health history, results that vary and are not guaranteed, following aftercare, the fact that this is semi-permanent and removal is not guaranteed, required private before and after photos with social media only by her separate OK, and deposits and refunds following your policy. She signs to confirm she is 18 or older and has shown government photo ID.
Aftercare she can find on day 12
My microblading guide runs in stages. Day 0: blot with sterile gauze every 15 to 20 minutes for 2 to 3 hours, and sleep on her back. Days 4 to 10: flaking, and picking pulls pigment out. Days 10 to 21: ghosting, and the advice is simply to be patient. Weeks 6 to 8: healed, about 20 to 40 percent lighter than day one, and time for the touch-up.
It ends with a call-me list (spreading redness or warmth, fever, hives, pus or red streaks, pain worse after 72 hours, firm bumps weeks or months later) and 911 for trouble breathing or swelling of the face or throat.
Questions to decide for your own practice
- At what point do you recommend powder brows over strokes for oily skin?
- Will you work over a previous brow tattoo, or ask for photos first?
- Where will you record pigment and blade for each session? (Here is what to record in a client chart.)
- PMU licensing, health department and bloodborne pathogen rules vary by state and county, so check with your state and local health department and board. This post is not legal or medical advice.
Use this form with your clients
SlickChart has this exact microblading consent and aftercare built in for subscribers. The form goes to the client's phone to sign before the visit, or she signs on your device in the room, and any contraindication she checks is flagged for you. The aftercare lands in the client's own app, styled with your logo, and it all works alongside the Square account you already have. If that would save you paperwork, try SlickChart.
Prefer paper? The printable microblading set, with the consent form, protocol and aftercare, is in my Etsy shop, ready to print or edit in free Canva.