Eyebrow microblading is a procedure that imparts semi-permanent tattoos onto the brow. It creates the appearance of fullness and is sometimes chosen by people with sparse eyebrows, those who have undergone chemotherapy and lost hair, people with alopecia, people who’ve overplucked and anyone who desires fuller, more shapely eyebrows.

Appreciated by her clients and held to her own high standards, Kylie Kalishek — originally from the Sault Ste. Marie area but with family in Gladstone, where she now owns a home — seems to have found her calling in a roundabout way.

After college, Kalishek moved to North Carolina for some time and then to Detroit.

“I opened a restaurant, and I hated it,” she confessed.

Strings help create a stencil before eyebrow microblading begins. (R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press)

One of the reasons the restaurateur career wasn’t fulfilling may have been because it was during the pandemic, but in any case, Kalishek knew she wanted to do something else.

“I had had my eyebrows microbladed, and it just made me feel so much more confident,” Kalishek said. “I had stopped wearing makeup and everything.”

She decided to go to Phi Academy to learn the art herself.

Phi is a well-known school. Kalishek had advice for anyone considering microblading: “Make sure you know where they went to school, because most microblading schools will certify you after two days. Mine was a six-month course.”

After earning her certification and completing training, Kalishek opened Blading Boutique LLC in Rochester Hills in 2021.

Measuring is key to finding the shape of eyebrow best suited to an individual's face. (R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press)

After moving back to the Upper Peninsula, Kalishek rented a space in downtown Escanaba at 1107 Ludington Street. Blading Boutique celebrated a grand opening at that location in October 2023.

It was a large space — 1,500 square feet — and Kalishek aimed to transform it into a “small business emporium” where multiple enterprises could make their home. In 2024, the site displayed a collection of memorabilia about 1920s wing-walking daredevils — Kalishek’s ancestors.

While Kalishek’s blading business was gaining traction, the emporium didn’t work out. But Kalishek felt blessed when she found Delta Hair Company.

“I ended up coming here and collaborating with Delta Hair Company, which has been incredible. My favorite thing about being here is the owner, Christa (Madgwick). She puts so much effort into reaching out to the community,” Kalishek said.

Blading Boutique is now located in the subterranean level of the salon at 1308 Ludington St., which had once been The Ritz.

Microblading clients come in with sparse eyebrows and leave with tattoos of hair. Kylie Kalishek of Blading Boutique has practiced to make her work look as realistic as possible. Shown are before (top) and after (bottom) photos of someone who recieved microblading from Kalishek, who studied at Phi Academy. (Courtesy image)

When people book an appointment at Blading Boutique, they get a consultation at the beginning; “mapping” of the ideal brow shape for the individual, based on their unique features; and a free touchup after six weeks. Kalishek said she leaves three hours for each appointment, though it doesn’t usually take the full time.

To map the outline, Kalishek uses a compass to determine the ideal brow shape based on the golden ratio. Similar to the way a carpenter snaps a chalk string to mark lumber, a microblader uses strings to create lines on the face that act as a stencil. After marking the outline of the future eyebrow with a wax pencil, Kalishek shows the customer a mirror to confirm the shape before pulling out the blade.

The actual microblading process — putting ink to skin — is different from the usual modern tattoo. While typical tattoo artists use a gun that moves an ink-carrying needle up and down rapidly, microblading slices into the skin extremely fine lines that are brushed in with ink. Though the handheld blade carries ink, too, Kalishek sweeps a swab of ink over her handiwork to ensure each line looks complete. Each line, carefully drawn, resembles a single eyebrow hair.

Kalishek has found a practice that she feels looks especially realistic. Her lines take a slight “S” shape, and she calls the finished inked brows “sisters, not twins,” explaining that it looks unnatural if they’re perfectly symmetrical.

The semi-permanent ink used for microblading is a product different from traditional tattoo inks.

A blade dipped in ink is used to create lines fine enough to resemble a single eyebrow hair. Excess ink seen on the brow here will be wiped away. (R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press)

“We don’t want it permanent, because permanent inks, when they fade — and they do fade — they fade to blue and green,” Kalishek explained. “Where this ink, when it fades, it either fades out 100% or it fades out to a very light brown.”

As microbladed brows are technically tattoos, they do require a similar level of aftercare. They must be moisturized and kept relatively protected until healed.

Kalishek offers her customers a free touch-up about seven to eight weeks after the initial appointment to ensure best results. The treatment is a luxury, an expense, so she strives to make sure each guest is pleased with the results.

The finished work tends to last from one-half to three years.

Kalishek admitted that there have been times where she wondered if the line of work she was in was silly or vain.

“There was a point in time where I actually almost quit, because I’m like, ‘there are people like starving to death, and I’m doing EYEBROWS?’ But then when I linked up with the Sauler Institute, I had like three back-to-back who had had cancer … and it really showed me, like, it’s not just about eyebrows, it’s about feeling confident in your skin.”

The Sauler Institute connects people to cosmetic procedures following devastating medical treatment. In addition to work like Kalishek’s to restore the appearance of hair, Sauler also provides micropigmentation for scar camouflage, 3D nipple tattooing and more.

“I had a girl who came, and I thought she had pretty decent eyebrows, but she had had cancer, and she said they used to be really full,” Kalishek said. “She said, ‘every time I look in the mirror, I think about what (cancer) took from me.'”

Whether it’s restoring pre-chemo bushiness or filling out the space on someone who tweezed their brows too thin in the early 2000s, Kalishek enjoys helping feel happy with their reflection.

Additionally, a perk of one-on-one time with each patient means that some really interesting conversations can occur. Kalishek treasures some of the things she’s learned from people in her chair.

Though microblading is not massively in demand in the U.P., people who have come to Blading Boutique are pleased with Kalishek’s work. She’s had clients from Green Bay because her reviews trump artists down in Wisconsin, and last week, one woman from Minnesota who’d heard raves from her sister in Escanaba booked an appointment with Blading Boutique when she knew she’d be in the area.

Kalishek said she’s considering adding a new technique in the autumn — a form of shading she has already learned. Thus far, she has stuck to the linework because she feels it’s the most realistic-looking, but there is a demand for shading, which gives a more makeup-like appearance.

A self-proclaimed jack of all trades, Kalishek sometimes promotes her blading while selling her other work — a book she wrote about her airplane-walking relatives of the past, titled “All of them but Fear,” and herbal concoctions like face scrubs and chapstick made from her own beehives’ wax. She’ll likely begin selling the “Blading Boutique Blends” online in the near future, she added.

Kalishek is actively involved in referral programs with other salons around the area and in Menominee and Marinette. In such an agreement, when clients at certain hair salons hear about Blading Boutique from a stylist and then go to Kalishek, the stylist who referred them earns a discount on a future microblading visit.

A lot of Blading Boutique’s clients already drive over an hour to find her, Kalishek said. She’s open to engaging in additional referral programs or exploring other opportunities.

People may find more about the business at bladingboutique.com or on the Facebook page “Blading Boutique Microblading.” The phone number is 906-233-6085.