Matt Andrews and his friends were laughing at photographs of bad scalp micropigmentation when he decided to get a procedure himself.
What started as a joke soon became an experience that gave Andrews, a 41-year-old Bloomington resident, a better hairline and confidence he has not had in years.
“I didn’t see any results after my first session, but my wife did, and my friends did and, after the second time, I did, too,” Andrews said. “People are really shocked about how much it changed my appearance. It makes me look 20 years younger, and I feel pretty good.”
Shaena and Max Litwin opened Litwin Cosmetic Solutions, a micropigmentation and microblading business, last fall. The duo started last year by mixing Shaena’s experience with the beauty industry and Max’s experience with business.
“People were constantly asking me, ‘Are your eyebrows real?’” Shaena said. “I was giving them all these tips on how to grow eyebrows, but then I came across a way to actually give them really natural-looking eyebrows.”
Both micropigmentation and microblading use a carbon-based, semi-permanent ink that is inserted with a small blade. The process is similar to tattooing, but it does not go as deep and does not last as long.
Microblading is a beauty procedure that reshapes eyebrows and can make them look fuller and thicker.
Scalp micropigmentation is a new technique for men and women who suffer from hair loss or thinning on their head. It makes patchy hair look fuller and balding people look as if they have short, just-shaved hair.
According to the American Hair Loss Association, 85 percent of men lose their hair by age 50, and 40 percent of women start losing their hair by the age of 40.
Microblading and micropigmentation can also help people with cancer, alopecia, trichotillomania and other diseases that cause baldness. Shaena said that half of her patients are people with these conditions or other factors that aggravate hair loss, such as burns or scarring.
Shaena said that for her, microblading is a passion and something she finds to be rewarding and therapeutic.
“It is not a job when you’re so passionate about something,” Shaena said. “It is just the most rewarding thing to see people leave with confidence. I love the feeling of making someone feel beautiful and confident.”
Max said patients oftentimes leave in tears, which he said often ends up bringing Shaena to tears, too.
She spent the last 15 years working as a cosmetologist and esthetician, but she said she was ready to take on a new challenge. Litwin Cosmetic Solutions started with only Shaena doing the procedures, but Max has since joined and does a large number of the scalp micropigmentations.
Max decided to join the business after Shaena did the procedure to him, and he realized the help he could provide to people dealing with hair loss.
“This is something that can make so many men feel more confident,” Max said. “Once Shaena did it to me, I was sold. I couldn’t believe the difference it made.”
Max said he often works with men, while Shaena deals primarily with women, to make customers feel comfortable.
Shaena and Max said they want to help as many people as they can but find it's difficult when many people do not know about their business.
“These procedures can help so many people and help them gain their confidence back, but they just don’t know we’re here,” Shaena said.
