Answers to
your questions.

If you are new to cosmetic tattooing and are not sure which service is right for you, we are here to help. Email hello@boltbrow.com with all the details — clear photos with and without makeup, your areas of concern, the makeup products you currently use — and we will steer you in the right direction.

Not a requirement unless you have previous work from a non-Bolt Brow artist. A thorough consultation is part of your first appointment with us, before any tattooing.

If you are not ready to commit to an eyebrow tattoo, we recommend booking a shape and tint to dip your toes in.

If you are ready for perfect eyebrows forever but are not sure which service, email us a photo of your brows to start a virtual consult.

We are an appointment only studio, meaning we are only here when appointments are booked. We hold loose hours Mon–Sat, 10am–7pm. Need something outside that? Email us — we are happy to accommodate earlier, later, or even Sundays.

Right at your appointment time. Numbing and paperwork are included in your appointment, so there is no need to arrive early.

Appointment lengths vary by service and by artist. Our apprentices are still in training so they tend to take longer; our more experienced artists take less.

Pro tip: give yourself a large cushion of time. Tattooing should never be rushed, and times vary client to client.

Please do not. We want you to come in with as much brow hair as possible — let your brows grow wild until your appointment and we will take care of the rest.

Every PMU procedure takes a deposit, applied towards your first session. You pay the majority at the first session and the remaining $100 at your second session touch up.

Example: if microblading costs $500 — $100 deposit to secure the appointment, $300 at your first session, then $100 at your touch up six weeks later. Total $500.

Pricing varies from artist to artist. Start the booking flow and pick your artist to see their full pricing breakdown.

Every artist has a different level of expertise, and their services are priced to reflect that.

Yes — though we prefer cash. We accept every major debit and credit card, gift cards, Apple Pay, and Afterpay (pay in instalments).

Yes. Beauty and tattooing are tipped industries. We do not expect tips but we accept them — cash or Venmo are the best way to tip your artist. Not mandatory, but courteous.

Bolt Brow gift cards are available in any amount, online and in person. Email us and we will sort you out.

Email us as soon as possible.

• New client appointments can only be rescheduled with 24+ hours notice.
• Appointments may be rescheduled once as a courtesy. A second reschedule means rebooking online and paying another booking fee.
• You have 7 days to reschedule before your deposit is forfeited.
• No-showing automatically forfeits your booking fee, and you will be asked to rebook online.
• We hold a 3 strike policy for tardiness and no-shows.

Depending on the service, touch ups are scheduled 6–12 weeks after your initial session. This is mandatory. If you do not receive your second session within that window the work is considered incomplete, and you will have to wait a year before it can be tattooed again.

Returning clients can book maintenance touch ups through our online booking. Maintenance is for clients whose last Bolt Brow visit was at least 12 months ago.

Once you get your brows done by any Bolt Brow artist you are a client for life — we will never charge you as a new client again, no matter how many years have passed. Book a maintenance appointment any time.

Free street parking all around. Trenton Ave — the cobblestone road behind the studio — has plenty of pull-in spaces, no parallel parking required.

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We pre-numb topically for 20+ minutes when you arrive, and again after the first pass. Most clients feel no discomfort. In rare, highly sensitive cases the pain has been about a 2–3 out of 10. Afterwards it has been compared to a minor sunburn, lasting 24 hours or less.

Yes. Worth knowing that on some darker skin tones stroke visibility will not be as bold right away — clients see results after a few weeks.

For some microblading clients we recommend a dry heal; for combo and powder brows we encourage a wet heal. We diagnose once we have worked with your skin — your artist will tell you which suits you.

Both methods are written out in full here →

Everybody heals differently and at their own pace. Superficially the skin takes around 7–9 days; the "true heal" takes 6–10 weeks. Your touch up comes after 6 weeks.

A true heal is what your brows will look like going forward. Skin takes 4–10 weeks to complete a full cell turnover cycle, so only after that do we know how the brows will stay permanently.

We take cover ups case by case and need to approve your current brows before you book. Email hello@boltbrow.com with everything relevant about your previous work.

An additional $100 fee applies to all cover up work. Even if your brows were tattooed 30 years ago, if we can see the previous tattoo it counts as a cover up.

Removal is ideal and preferred. We recommend Removery in Center City.

In the tattoo world, reworking, covering and fixing tattoos done elsewhere is difficult and requires expertise. We have to consider shape, any scar tissue, and how the old pigments already in your skin will interact with the new ones. Often we need to tone and neutralise unwanted colours before we can deposit the colour we want. That is the $100.

You cannot under any circumstances get PMU while receiving chemotherapy. Once chemo has stopped completely you must wait 6 months and get a doctor's approval before booking.

We cannot perform any tattoo service while you are on antibiotics. Wait the same number of days you were on them before booking — five days of antibiotics means waiting five days after your last dose.

Get Botox a minimum of 2 weeks before your brow appointment.

Get lip filler before your lip blushing appointment and allow all swelling and bruising to go — roughly a month.

A minimum of 2–4 weeks after lip injections. You can also get lip filler 2+ weeks after lip blushing.

Actives must be stopped at least 2 weeks before PMU. We love skincare, but active ingredients cause premature fading of facial tattoos. Keep them at least one inch away from the tattooed area indefinitely.

Get a facial 2 weeks before your appointment, or wait 4–6 weeks after.